Netflix
Founded by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph as a DVD-rental-by-mail service.
Founded1997
HeadquartersScotts Valley, CA
IndustryMedia / Streaming
Netflix headquarters, 100 Winchester Circle, Los Gatos · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Overview
Netflix reinvented itself twice — into streaming and then original content — and reshaped global entertainment.
Founders
Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph
Founded August 29, 1997
Landmark Achievements
- Pioneered the DVD-by-mail subscription model with no late fees, disrupting and ultimately outlasting Blockbuster.
- Launched internet streaming in 2007 (“Watch Now”), fundamentally changing how the world consumes television and film.
- Its original-content strategy (from House of Cards, 2013) turned a distributor into a major global studio.
Netflix's place in the story
Continue through the chronicle — the builders of American technology, in founding order.