That Will Never Work (The Story of Netflix)
That’s what the founder of Netflix heard when explaining his idea about selling DVD’s as rentals.
Netflix then overcame many obstacles and eventually the mighty Blockbuster. It is now one of the largest and most prestigious companies in the world.
In the book, Marc Randolph outlines his role in the creation and early stages of Netflix before his exit in 2002.
The one thing I took from this book was the following: Don’t be afraid to start.
Maybe your idea does suck, but you’ll never know until you try.
So many of us get stuck at the stage of not even trying our idea. We never get to even see how or where our idea is wrong.
Part of the process is starting with a bad idea but finding ways to make it work and then, after much persistence, coming out on top.
Netflix is a fantastic example of hurdles that continue to arise but people continually rise above.
A lesson to us all about perseverance and faith.
Below is a great excerpt from the book
“What do they all say? That will never work.
By now, I hope you know what my answer to that line is. Nobody Knows Anything.
I only get to write this book once. And I’d feel like I missed an opportunity if I ended this story without giving you some advice.
The most powerful step that anyone can take to turn their dreams into reality is a simple one: you just need to start.
The only real way to find out if your idea is a good one is to do it. You’ll learn more in one hour of doing something than in a lifetime of thinking about it. So take that step.
Build something, make something, test something, sell something. Learn for yourself if your idea is a good one.
What happens if your idea doesn’t work? What happens if your test fails, if nobody orders your product or joins your club? What if sales don’t go up and customer complaints don’t go down? What if you get halfway through writing your novel and get writer’s block? What if after dozens of tries – even hundreds of attempts – you still haven’t seen your dream become anything close to real?
You have to learn to love the problem, not the solution.
That’s how you stay engaged when things take longer than you expected.”
― Marc Randolph, That Will Never Work: The Birth of Netflix and the Amazing Life of an Idea