Lessons from Netflix co-founder on starting a business: ‘A bad idea with an incredible leader can become great’ 

Starting a business and making it work is already an achievement. But turning it into a world leader in its sector is at another level entirely. To make this happen, the difference lies in observation. “So easy and yet so difficult,” Marc Randolph notes. He’s the co-founder — alongside Reed Hastings — of the streaming giant Netflix. He also has a four-decade-long career as an entrepreneur (he has founded six companies), investor and advisor under his belt.

Randolph has contributed to the growth of 50 startups — both successful and unsuccessful — from which he has also learned important lessons. And he never tires of repeating these lessons to thousands of young people in various forums where he’s invited to speak. One of his maxims is about helping the next generations “achieve their dreams,” while “keeping their feet planted firmly on the ground.”

From this knowledge — which he disseminates through his podcast and best-selling book, That Will Never Work (2019) — and from his recent visit to Spain at South Summit Madrid 2025, as well as his meeting with international journalists, EL PAÍS has extracted the following 10 commandments from the businessman:

1. Entrepreneurship isn’t about having one idea, but hundreds: Develop them and draw conclusions. Design a system to test the ones that end up being bad (which will be the majority). Innovate and validate through simple, inexpensive experiments. Fail so that you can improve that system and correct mistakes by making the necessary adjustments to build your business model.
2. Fall in love with your project and embrace it with your passion. A bad idea with an incredible person can become great. I prefer working with that kind of person. I’ve invested in forward-thinking fields like robotics, artificial intelligence and blockchain… and I continue to reaffirm that the key is a disciplined and creative leader who can navigate change.
3. Stop overthinking: jump in and act. Netflix started with $2 million, 12 people and a basic website.  In just over a year, it was launched. Don’t be arrogant, because you’ll never have all the answers before starting a business. Persist, be optimistic and always maintain hope. Surround yourself with good talent and don’t give up even if your project doesn’t work out, or doesn’t succeed on the first try. You have to fall and get back up every time.
4. Experiment simply. Start with easy approaches. Innovation doesn’t have to be complex, or even original. Amazon started by selling books. A piece of paper like the Post-it note has sold billions of copies. Don’t be discouraged by difficulties. Entrepreneurship requires depth. When Hastings was CEO of Pure Software and I was a manager, we used to go to the office together, discussing the ideas I pitched to him. Most never saw the light of day. Among them were personalized sporting goods, subscription-based shampoo and dog food that’s sold online.
5. Align your idea with people. Find a problem that affects or complicates their lives and think about how to change it. This requires being close to the market, given that we live in a rapidly changing world.
6. Improve what doesn’t work. Another way to start a business is to improve or update someone else’s idea that’s working. Because, at some point, it’ll stop working. Hastings and I never planned to build a large company: rather, we wanted to find a simple fix to improve the video rental strategy. You must observe and be able to anticipate what’s coming next.
7. Go fast, don’t get distracted and prioritize. Forget about being a CEO before figuring out what you want to do. Don’t quit your job, don’t rent an office, don’t hire people or pay anyone. Don’t spend money, and you’ll be surprised at how much you can accomplish today without spending anything. I’m currently helping a company that’s eight-months-old. No one has gotten paid; everyone works in their free time. They’re going to wait to raise money until they have something that actually works. That’s the smart way to start. And don’t get distracted, either. Learn to prioritize. I listen to countless short pitches. Oftentimes, there are excellent ideas, but I know they’re going to be ruined for the reasons I mention.
8. Persevere, believe in yourself, and manage risk. Starting a business is for those who possess the gift of perseverance and self-belief, knowing how to navigate all the noise that says “it won’t work.” Although the critics will often be right, you must be clear that you’ll make it. You must also know how to manage your risk tolerance. Not reckless risk, but the risk of starting something without knowing what’s on the other side, of doing something without a guaranteed outcome.
9. Keep people management in mind when your company starts operating. It’s essential to have the right people in the right positions, while ensuring that they have the information they need to make sound decisions. Don’t make decisions for them and don’t micromanage them.
10. For big companies, I have some advice: you never know who’s going to come after you. Don’t doubt that there will always be someone who will attack you for what you are doing wrong. If you don’t reinvent yourself, they’ll do it for you. In the case of Netflix, a handful of people with no experience in the video industry brought down a multi-billion-dollar giant like Blockbuster.

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