Marc Randolph

And we test this new idea, and then it would not work, wouldn't do anything. And we'd kind of look at each other and go, we just wasted a month. So, okay, faster. And then we'd do a test in two weeks and it would still fail. Okay, faster. And we'd do it in a week, faster. And we eventually started getting to the point we could do a test every day or multiple tests every day.

And we test this new idea, and then it would not work, wouldn't do anything. And we'd kind of look at each other and go, we just wasted a month. So, okay, faster. And then we'd do a test in two weeks and it would still fail. Okay, faster. And we'd do it in a week, faster. And we eventually started getting to the point we could do a test every day or multiple tests every day.

And it turns out that once you go that fast, things get very, very sloppy. So we would have the wrong image, or it would have the watermark on it, or the pages we had Greek'd would still be Greek'd. We'd have bad links, we'd crash the site. But that was such an incredibly big insight for us. because it turns out that it didn't make a difference.

And it turns out that once you go that fast, things get very, very sloppy. So we would have the wrong image, or it would have the watermark on it, or the pages we had Greek'd would still be Greek'd. We'd have bad links, we'd crash the site. But that was such an incredibly big insight for us. because it turns out that it didn't make a difference.

That if it was a bad idea, even spending a month crafting this perfect test, wasn't going to make it a good idea. But if it had even an inkling of being a good idea, no matter how bad the test was, it's shown through. Customers would immediately perk their head up. They'd raise their hand. They would fight to do it. They'd call us. They'd reboot the site.

That if it was a bad idea, even spending a month crafting this perfect test, wasn't going to make it a good idea. But if it had even an inkling of being a good idea, no matter how bad the test was, it's shown through. Customers would immediately perk their head up. They'd raise their hand. They would fight to do it. They'd call us. They'd reboot the site.

It was this incredibly loud signal that there was something there. And it goes back to what we said before, which is that it's not about having a good idea. It's about building this whole process and this culture and this system to try lots of bad ideas.

It was this incredibly loud signal that there was something there. And it goes back to what we said before, which is that it's not about having a good idea. It's about building this whole process and this culture and this system to try lots of bad ideas.

And we got really, really good at trying lots of bad ideas, one after another, hundreds of them, each one informing us to some little bit about what to try next. And eventually we got to this point where we had these two big ideas left. And one of them was at that point, Netflix was pretty big. We had probably in our warehouse, several hundred thousand DVDs.

And we got really, really good at trying lots of bad ideas, one after another, hundreds of them, each one informing us to some little bit about what to try next. And eventually we got to this point where we had these two big ideas left. And one of them was at that point, Netflix was pretty big. We had probably in our warehouse, several hundred thousand DVDs.

And I remember one day we were, Rita and I were in the warehouse and looking at all these DVDs and going, it's such a shame that all these DVDs are here in the warehouse where they're not doing anyone any good. I wonder if there's a way to store them at our customers' houses. Let them keep them. And then when they're done, they mail it back. Well, let's replace it.

And I remember one day we were, Rita and I were in the warehouse and looking at all these DVDs and going, it's such a shame that all these DVDs are here in the warehouse where they're not doing anyone any good. I wonder if there's a way to store them at our customers' houses. Let them keep them. And then when they're done, they mail it back. Well, let's replace it.

And rather than having them have to pay each time they replace it, let's just have a monthly fee, a subscription, and they can rent as often as they want. There's no due dates and no late fees. And it was a ridiculous idea. But when we tested it, it was that mythical product market fit. It worked. People loved it. They couldn't get enough of it. They told their friends.

And rather than having them have to pay each time they replace it, let's just have a monthly fee, a subscription, and they can rent as often as they want. There's no due dates and no late fees. And it was a ridiculous idea. But when we tested it, it was that mythical product market fit. It worked. People loved it. They couldn't get enough of it. They told their friends.

They did not cancel their subscriptions.

They did not cancel their subscriptions.