Netflix CEO Reed Hastings Reflects on What Went Wrong


Netflix CEO Reed Hastings says entrepreneurs cant be afraid to move fast on enormous opportunities, even when mistakes are made.

At the f.ounders conference in Dublin, Hastings openly discussed the controversies that have erupted at Netflix since its decision to raise prices. He explained that like him, many people will make mistakes and have to apologize if the goal is to move fast and seize opportunities.

You have to keep trying, Hastings told a small audience of prominent startup founders. You cant be afraid to make mistake! s. Every entrepreneur is about creating change.

Hastings explained the world is moving towards faster Internet connections and mobile devices pointing out 5 billion people are active mobile phone users and that Netflix has to be positioned to seize the opportunities these changes represent. That means moving fast, making mistakes and focusing on the digital side of the business, rather than the still-lucrative DVD arm of the company.

Hastings hopes that, as more people gain smartphones and broadband connections, they will become Netflix subscribers. Its important to note Hastings isnt thinking about Netflixs growth in terms of months or years, but the next two decades.

We have to go country by country and build a subscriber base, Hastings told the audience. The next step towards Netflixs international expansion starts early next year with the launch of Netflix in the UK and Ireland.

Hastings also told the audience of entrepreneurs that honesty, simplicity and culture are fundamental to building a great business, even at scale. He thinks of his marriage counselor as a CEO mentor because his counselor taught him to confront dishonesty and superficiality. This helped him get his marriage and his life back on track and make Netflix a more honest company.

Those values were put on public display in 2009, when Netflix released an internal presentation that discussed its philosophy on management and culture. The unusually honest presentation explains that Netflix is a team, not a family, and that the company doesnt care how many hours its employees are at the office as long long as they perform.

BONUS: Ireland Rolls Out the Red Carpet for Techs Elite

Kicking It Off With a Panel




f.ounders, an intimate conference for 150 of the world's most prominent technology and startup founders, kicked off the first night with drinks, appetizers and a panel that included Bebo co-founder Michael Birch and Angry Birds co-founder Mikael Hed.

Click here to view this gallery.

More About: f.ounders, netflix, reed hastings

For more Business coverage:



Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

12 startup founders discuss working on Christmas Day

Image
Well, it would seem a trifle rude to not begin proceedings with a warm Merry Christmas. But I must askwhat the hell are you doing reading this when you should be playing your new Nintendo 3DS, or guzzling that tenth mince pie of the day? But then, you will probably ask what the hell am I doing here writing this piece on the holiest of holy-days. My excuse? I love what I do, so its not like Im really working per seplus, I actually prepped much of it yesterday. And your excuse is likely along the lines of I love all things tech, why would I switch off just because my calendar says December 25? Fair point. Confucius once said: Choose a job you love, and you will never have to work a day in your life. Nice sentiments for sure, but theres still the issue of a healthy work/life balance to contend with even for startup founders. So I asked a handful of founders and CEOs whether they would be working on Christmas Day this year, or whether theyd treat themselves to a day off. I mean, it is a...
Keep reading

Flipboard needs to branch its content out from US/UK, heres why

Image
Earlier this month, an eagerly anticipated iPhone app was finally launched as Flipboard took its highly acclaimed iPad app to the phone. The app has been out for a few weeks and, with the deafening chorus of cheers fading, Ive found myself shunning its beautiful and innovative design for the simple fact that its content isnt relevant enough for me. Compared to Zite , which may not be as aesthetically pleasing, Flipboard comes up wanting on content. Zite is, among others , an app which aggregates content from my social web Twitter, Google Reader and others giving it to me in a magazine style layout. Though it lacks the page flipping ingenuity of Flipboard, the reading is more varied, which is ultimately what Im looking for from a social magazine. There is credit to be given to Flipboard however, as it is addressing the issue by building an editorial team, as its founder told Robert Scoble recently . The company has also started curating content publicly too, with @flipboardtech cura...
Keep reading

Digitimes: Apples iPhone 5 to include smaller screen and metal chassis

Contray to previous reports that suggested Apples next-generation iPhone would include a 4.2-inch touch screen panel, Asian technology publication Digitimes reports that the device will feature a smaller 4-inch panel, adapting the rear of the device to ship with a metal chassis instead of reinforced glass. Digitimes points out that the many of the rumoured specifications expected to be featured in the iPhone 5 are the markets expectations, with sources indicating that the device will possibly adopt a significantly smaller screen than first imagined: The sources pointed out that the upcoming iPhone will not have many differences compared to iPhone 4 in terms of components and the panel will still be less than 4-inch. The iPhone 5 will adopt a 3.5- to 3.7-inch panel with a design to allow the bezel of the panel to become thinner and make the screen look larger. The inclusion of a metal back will divide opinion, given suggestions that Apple had intentionally utilised glass designs to boo...
Keep reading