That Will Never Work cover art

That Will Never Work

The Birth of Netflix by the first CEO and co-founder Marc Randolph

 Preview

Audible Standard 30-day free trial

Try Standard free
Select 1 audiobook a month from our entire collection.
Listen to your selected audiobooks as long as you're a member.
Get unlimited access to bingeable podcasts.
Standard auto renews for £5.99 a month after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

That Will Never Work

By: Marc Randolph
Narrated by: Marc Randolph
Try Standard free

£5.99 a month after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Buy Now for £18.66

Buy Now for £18.66

About this listen

 In the tradition of Phil Knight's Shoe Dog comes the incredible untold story of how Netflix went from concept to company - all revealed by co-founder and first CEO Marc Randolph.


Once upon a time, brick-and-mortar video stores were king. Late fees were ubiquitous, video-streaming unheard of, and widespread DVD adoption seemed about as imminent as flying cars. These were the widely accepted laws of the land in 1997 when Marc Randolph had an idea.

It was a simple thought - leveraging the internet to rent movies - and was just one of many more proposals, like personalised baseball bats and a shampoo delivery service, that Randolph would pitch to his business partner, Reed Hastings, on their commute to work each morning.

But Hastings was intrigued, and the pair - with Hastings as the primary investor and Randolph as the CEO - founded a company.

Now with over 150 million subscribers, Netflix's triumph feels inevitable but the twenty-first century's most disruptive start-up began with few believers and calamity at every turn. From having to pitch his own mother on being an early investor, to the motel conference room that served as a first office, to server crashes on launch day, to the now-infamous meeting when they pitched Blockbuster to acquire them, Marc Randolph's transformational journey exemplifies how anyone with grit, gut instincts and determination can change the world - even with an idea that many think will never work.

What emerges, however, isn't just the inside story of one of the world's most iconic companies. Full of counter-intuitive concepts and written in binge-worthy prose, it answers some of our most fundamental questions about taking that leap of faith in business or in life: How do you begin? How do you weather disappointment and failure? How do you deal with success? What even is success?

From idea generation to team building to knowing when it's time to let go, That Will Never Work is not only the ultimate follow-your-dreams parable but also one of the most dramatic and insightful entrepreneurial stories of our time.


(p) 2019 Octopus Publishing Group©2019 Marc Randolph Business Business Development Business Development & Entrepreneurship Entrepreneurship Professionals & Academics Inspiring Thought-Provoking Success

Critic reviews

Engaging and insightful
Netflix was built on the vision and creative DNA of one man-Marc Randolph. As the founding CEO, his leadership defined the culture of Netflix and laid the groundwork for successive, global revolutions in how we make and consume entertainment.
Marc is an unusually brave soul. Marc's genius in recognizing that not knowing frees you to experiment and observe and to ultimately win.
Marc wastes no time cutting through the noise and identifying the truth. Every moment I have spent with Marc, whether it was as he formulated and launched Netflix or since then, has been truly rewarding. Marc understands what is important whether it is your product, your marketing, or your business plan. A remarkable and one of a kind visionary.
An entertaining chronicle of creativity, luck, and unflagging perseverance.
All stars
Most relevant
Recommend this book to anyone in entrepreneurship, who is interested in business or who just wants a good and enjoyable read about how, a now large company, first started off. Plus great business and even life lessons.

A great startup story with many lessons to learn

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Please tly surprised to find out this was actually narrated by Marc Randolph himself.
I found the book captivating and insightful.

This book would suit both a hopeful or newbie entrepreneur or someone just generally interested in the Netflix journey from a simple brain fart idea to the behemoth it is today.

I felt connected to Marc's story and even got close to tearing up at points in the final chapter.
I've decided to listen to it again in case I missed any nuggets.

Well worth a listen or read!

I almost teared up at the end.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
I have learnt so much in this book being a young tech entrepreneur myself.

I have learn the values of partnership, forming the right partnerships etc. Values of having the right people and team around u.

overall, its a great book

Amazing stuff

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Great book, really inspiring, really enjoyed it. Would recommend it to friends and family for sure

Amazing book

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Amazing book worth every minute of it. Easy to listen, the best narration I’ve ever heard in an audiobook and very interesting story.
Well done! Cannot recommend enough!

Amazing book

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
See more reviews