Nowadays Netflix has become the go-to streaming site of numerous users around the globe. It has produced a plethora of amazing series and movies.
From the Emmy awards "House of Cards" in 2013, to "The White Helmets" in 2017, Netflix has provided entertaining quality content to its audience. Nowadays, the present generation has turned its eyes to it.
It has repeatedly produced hits such as "Bridgerton," "Stranger Things," "Squid Game," and "Money Heist."
Let us all learn how Netflix evolved into the greatest streaming platform it is today.
Story Behind How the Streaming Site Netflix Started
Netflix was founded in 1997 by two entrepreneurs in Scotts Valley, in Santa Cruz county, Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph.
Hastings was an entrepreneur who founded a company that makes tools for software developers called Pure Software in 1991. Pure Software had several acquisitions throughout the years and was able to make its initial public offering (IPO) in 1995. In 1997, the company was acquired by Rational Software.
Hastings received a BA from Bowdoin College in 1983 and an MSCS in artificial intelligence from Stanford University in 1988.
Marc Randolph and Reed Hastings founded the idea of Netflix from working together in PureSoftware. Marc Randolph was the VP of Marketing while Reed Hastings was CEO.
One day, Reed approached Marc and said "Let's come up with an idea and you can run it and I'll fund it." This was due to the looming merging of their company to another that might possibly lead them jobless.
Randolph came up with multiple business ideas, from custom pet food, home-delivery shampoo, selling of surfboards, to personalized baseball bats, Hastings kept on saying "it will never work".
This was not until Randolph heard an emerging technology from Japan called DVDs. he saw the vision that it would replace VHS Cassettes. After brainstorming about the idea, Reed was convinced with their business plan. Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph came up with the idea of renting DVDs through mail.
How Netflix Started to Operate
After coming up with the business idea, Marc and Reed walked into Logos Books & Records in Santa Cruz on a hot summer day in 1997 and purchased a CD of Patsy Cline's greatest hits.
They put the concept to the test by mailing themselves a copy of the DVD, which they then mailed to Reed's house a few blocks away.
The fact that the CD arrived in perfect condition convinced them that they had discovered their ticket to e-commerce success.
Netflix was registered and established on August 29, 1997, with at least $1.9 million in funding provided by Reed Hastings.
Reed Hastings, who now owns 70% of the company, was named Chairman whereas Marc Randolph was named CEO and a minority owner.
According to Netflix, Netflix.com became the first DVD rental and sales site in 1998. The following year, Netflix made its debut, providing members with unlimited DVD rentals that are not subject to due dates, late fees, or rental limits per month. The subscription provided unlimited access at $19.95.
The packaged DVDs would arrive in a thin envelope with a postage-paid return sleeve inside, all postage costs covered by Netflix. After a few years of doing this, the company added subscribers in a steady pace and reached a million shippings of DVDs after 5 years.
The Netflix That We Know Today
In 2001, the streaming platform reached 1 million subscribers. The following year, Netflix made its IPO with a NASDAQ ticker NFLX.
Netflix raised $82.1 million in its initial public offering, valuing the company at $309.7 million. Reed owned 500,000 shares of the company while Marc owned 166,000.
As reported by MUO, in 2003, Marc Randolph resigned from Netflix and sold his stock in the company. It was also the year where Netflix was granted a patent by the United States Patent and Trademark Office to cover its subscription rental services as the company's membership has surpassed one million members.
Fast forward to 2010, the streaming platform launched in Canada and provided a dedicated kids experience. The following year, Netflix launched in Latin America and the Caribbean.
In 2014, the streaming site had more than 50 million members and is represented in Austria, Belgium, France, Germany, Luxembourg, and Switzerland. Netflix has begun to stream in 4K Ultra HD for the first time.
By 2016, Netflix was available in 21 languages in 190 countries. This was also the year where the streaming site launched offline and on-the-go viewing. From then on, Netflix's audience grew exponentially making it the leading platform in streaming.
The maneuver and adaptation of Netflix from renting DVDs to shifting towards streaming and production of original content made the company what it is today.
Netflix is undeniably a platform so far ahead of its time. A company that pioneered streaming. And a company that helped numerous users be entertained during the pandemic.
