---
product_id: 444271914
title: "That Will Never Work: The Birth of Netflix and the Amazing Life of an Idea Paperback – June 7, 2022"
brand: "marc randolph"
price: "€ 20.44"
currency: EUR
in_stock: true
reviews_count: 11
url: https://www.desertcart.nl/products/444271914-that-will-never-work-the-birth-of-netflix-and-amazing
store_origin: NL
region: Netherlands
---

# That Will Never Work: The Birth of Netflix and the Amazing Life of an Idea Paperback – June 7, 2022

**Brand:** marc randolph
**Price:** € 20.44
**Availability:** ✅ In Stock

## Quick Answers

- **What is this?** That Will Never Work: The Birth of Netflix and the Amazing Life of an Idea Paperback – June 7, 2022 by marc randolph
- **How much does it cost?** € 20.44 with free shipping
- **Is it available?** Yes, in stock and ready to ship
- **Where can I buy it?** [www.desertcart.nl](https://www.desertcart.nl/products/444271914-that-will-never-work-the-birth-of-netflix-and-amazing)

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- marc randolph enthusiasts

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## Description

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## Customer Reviews

### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 5.0 out of 5 stars







  
  
    Not your typical startup story, but one of the best
  

*by W***K on Reviewed in the United States on July 23, 2020*

That Will Never Work: The Birth of Netflix and the Amazing Life of an Idea by Marc Randolph is a great book about a particular company that illustrates how an idea develops. Note that I didn’t say a “great idea.” Most ideas don’t start out great.Most business creation stories feature a great flash of insight. The insight becomes a great company through a series of flawlessly planned and executed steps. But life is not like that. Most ideas don’t start out great. They don’t happen all at once. They evolve. And companies don’t become great because of great strategies elegantly executed. They aren’t great right of the gate. Instead, they become great by meeting challenges.Netflix is like most companies, except you can add a lot of testing to the mix. Marc Randolph calls this book, “a memoir, not a documentary.” He tells you the story of the early days of the idea and the company that became Netflix the way he might do it over a glass of wine on the deck on a late summer afternoon.If you were listening to Marc, you might take a sip of wine and ask him to explain a term or two you don’t understand. He’d give you a quick, but helpful answer. He does that in the book. You’ll find explanations of terms like “dilution” and “collaborative filtering.”He gets the emotional parts right. Many stories of great companies leave out the parts about being scared to death or being uncomfortable. Take another sip of wine, while Marc lays them out, including how hard it was to ask his mother for start-up money. That Will Never Work reminded me of Phil Knight’s Shoe Dog. Both show the messiness of getting from start up to success. Both illustrate the role of luck. Marc would probably take a deep breath and a sip of wine before telling you about the times Netflix came close to being another failed company.There were some big plusses for me. I loved the fact that Marc tells about how he maintained a strong relationship with his family. There are a lot of Silicon Valley “successes” where I think, “I’d love his bank account, but I wouldn’t want his life.” Marc Randolph does the rest of us a service. He shows us an example of success without shredding personal relationships. I loved the humility. Not big-time-big-deal-big-business-success humility, digging a big toe in the dirt for effect. This is real humility. It’s humility that recognizes the contributions of other people and the role of luck and how many times he screwed up. It’s real life humility.So, what’s not to like?You won’t like this book if you’re looking for a simple formula you can copy. You won’t like it if you want to know “The Secret” of Netflix success. This is more like the advice I give my grandsons. Work hard. Treat people right. Keep getting up after you stumble. In a Nutshell That Will Never Work is for you if you want to look at the reality of start-ups and innovation. There are no bulleted lists of key points, but there’s a lot of wisdom packed in the stories.

### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 5.0 out of 5 stars







  
  
    amazingly written origin story netflix
  

*by N***A on Reviewed in the United States on September 22, 2024*

Well-written and engaging story that made me want to keep reading night and day. The real story that shows the ups and downs of building a startup.

### ⭐⭐⭐⭐ 4.0 out of 5 stars







  
  
    Good book but Randolph is arrogant
  

*by L***S on Reviewed in the United States on October 18, 2019*

Good book, starts kind of slow, and spans both good and tenuous times those in the tech industry know well. There are some superb quotes, findings, and tips - just maybe not those that Marc Randolph thinks are important.This isn’t a Michael Lewis or even John Carreyrou book.He sprinkles humility and family throughout the book, which is great, and isn’t a spendthrift - also fine. I guess in today’s world, he’d be driving a Prius or Civic and not a Tesla, also okay.But I found it interesting that highlights from other users/readers are plentiful in the beginning - weirdly so - then completely stop 1/3 of the way through.Is it because readers think that he’s an arrogant douche? Might be.I really don’t look forward to ever meeting him. He’s a startup guy. He’s a product and innovation guy. I know people like him, and get along well. But completely ignoring 9/11 and everything that did to the New York area - and other reasons that Silicon Valley had its metaphorical face rearranged from 2001-2004 - kind of sickens me.Great, Netflix. But grow up a bit, dude.

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*Product available on Desertcart Netherlands*
*Store origin: NL*
*Last updated: 2026-01-24*