Global

Reed Hastings

Netflix · Boston, USA

A former Peace Corps math teacher who built two companies, sold one, and then bet the second one on its own destruction — twice. The most disciplined cultural-product CEO of his generation.

Cultural disciplineSelf-cannibalizationBet-on-the-future

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Company

Netflix

Journey

Moves that mattered.

1997
Founded Netflix after a $40 Apollo 13 late fee at Blockbuster.
2007
Pivoted from DVD-by-mail to streaming — cannibalised own business.
2013
Bet $100M on House of Cards — Netflix became a studio.
2023
Stepped down as co-CEO; Netflix has 260M+ subscribers worldwide.

Struggles

Blockbuster turned down acquiring Netflix for $50M in 2000. Streaming pivot wiped out half the market cap before recovering.

Family

Married to Patty Quillin. Two children. Donates billions to education reform.

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The full story

Reed Hastings, in 1 chapters.

Ch 01
The story
A former Peace Corps math teacher who built two companies, sold one, and then bet the second one on its own destruction — twice. The most disciplined cultural-product CEO of his generation.

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