Netflix cofounder helps direct startups amid tech turmoil

Longtime Netflix chief executive officer (CEO) Reed Hastings is renowned for building a video streaming service that has transformed entertainment, but it probably wouldn’t have happened if not for his friendship with serial entrepreneur Marc Randolph.

While brainstorming with Hastings in 1997, Randolph conceived the DVD-by-mail service that launched Netflix. He then directed Netflix as its first CEO before handing off the reigns to Hastings in 1999.