Reed Hastings

Co-Founder and CEO
Netflix, Inc.

Hastings co-founded Netflix as a DVD rental-by-mail company in 1997. In 2002, Netflix went public, and in 2003, Netflix reached 1 million subscribers. Thanks to streaming content over the Internet, Netflix now has over 20 million subscribers. Earlier in his career, in 1991, he founded Pure Software, which made tools for Unix software developers. He built Pure into one of the world's 50 largest public software companies before selling it to Rational Software in 1997. Reed received a BA from Bowdoin College and an MSCS in AI degree from Stanford University. Between Bowdoin and Stanford, Reed served in the Peace Corps as a high school math teacher in Swaziland. That may have been an easier task than his current one: dealing with media and cable companies who fear disruptive change.

Posts With Reed Hastings

Reed Hastings Lays Out the Netflix Comeback Plan

Posted by Peter Kafka in Media, October 25, 2011 at 3:00 am PT

The Go-Go Growth Days Screech to a Halt at Netflix

Posted by Peter Kafka in Media, October 24, 2011 at 1:14 pm PT

Just How Much Damage Did Netflix Really Do to Itself?

Posted by Peter Kafka in Media, October 24, 2011 at 3:30 am PT

Netflix Takes a (Short) Breather

Netflix Gets “Gossip Girl” — And a Time Warner Deal

Posted by Peter Kafka in Media, October 13, 2011 at 10:02 am PT

Qwikster Is Gonester: Netflix Kills Its DVD-Only Business Before Launch

Posted by Peter Kafka in Media, October 10, 2011 at 5:01 am PT

Netflix Killer? Try Netflix Promoter: Amazon Talks Up a Rival Video Service.

Posted by Peter Kafka in Media, September 29, 2011 at 3:00 am PT

Why the Dish/Blockbuster Streaming Service Won’t Wound Netflix

Posted by Peter Kafka in Media, September 23, 2011 at 11:42 am PT

Here Comes the Next Bump for Netflix: A Blockbuster/Dish Streaming Service

Posted by Peter Kafka in Media, September 23, 2011 at 4:00 am PT

Is Netflix Going to Try an iTunes Model? Nope (For Now).

Posted by Peter Kafka in Media, September 21, 2011 at 11:11 pm PT

“Qwikster” Is a Crummy Name, But It’s Better Than “Old Fogey Discs”

Posted by Peter Kafka in Media, September 19, 2011 at 7:30 am PT

Netflix Renames DVD Business, Apologizes — But Doesn’t Back Down

Posted by Peter Kafka in Media, September 18, 2011 at 9:10 pm PT

The Bull (Or at Least Less Bearish) Case for Netflix

Posted by Peter Kafka in Media, September 16, 2011 at 7:01 am PT

Did Starz Turn Down $300 Million a Year From Netflix to Make the Cable Guys Happy?

Posted by Peter Kafka in Media, September 2, 2011 at 6:01 am PT

Starz Says It Won’t Renew Giant Netflix Deal

Posted by Peter Kafka in Media, September 1, 2011 at 2:13 pm PT

Netflix Is for Movies, Hulu Is for TV Shows. Neither Is for Your iPad or Your iPhone.

Posted by Peter Kafka in Media, July 27, 2011 at 1:39 pm PT

Live In the U.S.? No Cool Netflix Facebook Integration for You.

Posted by Peter Kafka in Media, July 25, 2011 at 1:24 pm PT

Netflix Grabs DreamWorks Deal From HBO

Posted by Peter Kafka in Media, July 25, 2011 at 4:18 am PT

Big Cable Braces for a Lousy Quarter

Posted by Peter Kafka in Media, July 22, 2011 at 1:06 pm PT

Reed Hastings Doesn’t Want You To Pay More For Netflix. He Wants You To Stop Using DVDs.

Posted by Peter Kafka in Media, July 13, 2011 at 1:35 pm PT

Netflix Tells Its Customers to Ditch Their DVDs or Pay Up

Posted by Peter Kafka in Media, July 12, 2011 at 11:13 am PT

Hulu Buyers Would Get Exclusive Content, With Strings Attached

Posted by Peter Kafka in Media, June 27, 2011 at 1:38 pm PT

Reed Hastings Insists: Netflix Won’t Kill Cable! The Full D9 Interview. (Video)

Posted by Peter Kafka in D9, June 23, 2011 at 8:00 am PT

Okay, Okay, Maybe Netflix Is a Problem for Cable After All

Posted by Peter Kafka in Media, June 15, 2011 at 3:00 am PT

Netflix CEO Reed Hastings on Cable, Competition and Company Culture

Posted by Peter Kafka in D9, June 1, 2011 at 8:09 am PT