# Marc Randolph

> Marc Randolph is an American entrepreneur, investor, author, and mentor who co-founded Netflix with Reed Hastings in 1997 and served as its first CEO. His direct-marketing background informed the early DVD rental service; after leaving Netflix in 2003, he helped co-found Looker and turned to mentoring, writing, podcasting, and speaking.

- **Role:** Host at That Will Never Work; entrepreneur, investor, and mentor
- **Organizations:** Netflix (co-founder and former CEO), Looker Data Sciences (co-founder), That Will Never Work, Entrepreneur Elevator Pitch, NOLS, Truckee Donner Land Trust, Cheeze Technologies, Borland (former marketing executive), Integrity QA / Pure Atria (former marketing executive), Cherry Lane Music (early employer)
- **From:** Chappaqua, United States
- **Nationality:** American
- **Education:** B.A.; geology major, Hamilton College
- **Known for:** Co-founded Netflix and served as its first CEO., Helped build Netflix’s early DVD rental business and customer-facing website., Co-founded analytics company Looker, acquired by Google in a $2.6 billion transaction.

## Career timeline

- **1981** — Graduates from Hamilton College; early work at Cherry Lane Music develops his direct-marketing skills.
- **1988-1995** — Works in marketing at Borland.
- **1996-1997** — Works at Integrity QA and its successor Pure Atria; develops the Netflix idea with Reed Hastings during their commute.
- **1997** — Co-founds Netflix; begins serving as president and CEO in August.
- **1998** — Netflix website launches April 14; SEC prospectus dates the end of his president and CEO tenure to September.
- **1999** — Netflix develops its subscription rental model.
- **2002** — Netflix goes public; prospectus records his board service ending in February 2002.
- **2003** — Leaves Netflix.
- **2019** — Publishes That Will Never Work; Google announces its Looker acquisition agreement.
- **2020** — Google announces completion of the Looker acquisition on February 13.
- **2021** — Launches the That Will Never Work podcast.
- **2026** — Publishes a January 20 Substack essay on interviews as recruiting and goodwill-building.

## Achievements

- Co-founded Netflix and served as its first CEO.
- Helped build Netflix’s early DVD rental business and customer-facing website.
- Co-founded analytics company Looker, acquired by Google in a $2.6 billion transaction.
- Published the 2019 memoir That Will Never Work: The Birth of Netflix and the Amazing Life of an Idea.
- Developed a public mentoring practice through his podcast and entrepreneurial advice.

## Latest updates

- **2026-01** — Published You’re interviewing Backwards on Substack on January 20, advocating recruiting and goodwill during interviews.

## Links

- Website: https://marcrandolph.com/
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/marcrandolph/
- Twitter/X: https://x.com/mbrandolph
- YouTube: https://youtube.com/channel/UCGvn4Lkghbuw6DVOIKS5q_w
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/marcrandolph/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/marcbrandolph/
- TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@marc_randolph

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/marc-randolph
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-10-14