Ep. 66 - Netflix Co-Founder Mitch Lowe: Stealth Success

Often many of the key people who help create great companies work behind the scenes, out of the publicity spotlight. Mitch Lowe is one of these people.  As fate often has it, Mitch was working to develop another idea. While displaying at a trade show, he met Marc Randolph who happened to stop by his booth. After a long talk about DVDs Marc started to walk away. Mitch grabbed him by the back of his backpack and said, "Wait a minute, we should talk some more."  That "grab" changed his life, and Netflix was born. James asks Mitch three things he's learned from building one of the most successful companies created in the last decade. Mitch gives huge credit for the growth of Netflix to another of the original founders, Reed Hastings.  #1) Focus. Find that one thing you know you can absolutely be the best at and force yourself to drop all the others. #2) Use analytics to make decisions. Use analytics directionally; don't worry about if they're 100% sure. Just use them to point you in a direction.  #3) Pour your money into those things that are working best. Cut medium to poor performers, whether that's people or ideas. James asks Mitch why he left Netflix. You'll hear a story about a passion that he just couldn't let go of and felt he had to pursue. From Netflix to McDonalds to Quarterly.co, Mitch has quietly helped many of today's best companies continue to grow.  You don't always have to be the "name" that most people associate with growing companies to be super-successful ------------What do YOU think of the show? Head to JamesAltucherShow.com/listeners and fill out a short survey that will help us better tailor the podcast to our audience!Are you interested in getting direct answers from James about your question on a podcast? Go to JamesAltucherShow.com/AskAltucher and send in your questions to be answered on the air!------------Visit Notepd.com to read our idea lists & sign up to create your own!My new book, Skip the Line, is out! Make sure you get a copy wherever books are sold!Join the You Should Run for President 2.0 Facebook Group, where we discuss why you should run for President.I write about all my podcasts! Check out the full post and learn what I learned at jamesaltuchershow.com------------Thank you so much for listening! If you like this episode, please rate, review, and subscribe to “The James Altucher Show” wherever you get your podcasts: Apple PodcastsiHeart RadioSpotifyFollow me on social media:YouTubeTwitterFacebookLinkedIn