Netflix concept spurred by $40 VHS late fee -- who knew?
We've listened to Netflix founder and CEO Reed Hastings talk business about his company, but how's about a little background? After announcing a momentous Q4 while practically every other outfit on the planet hung their head in shame, the understandably elated exec sat down with Fortune to explain how Netflix came to be. As the story goes, Reed lamented the $40 fee he was nailed with upon returning a VHS copy of Apollo 13 in 1997. Soon after, he began to research the idea of starting a rental-by-mail outfit. Interestingly enough, the subscription based model that nearly 10 million people enjoy today was something that came after the first concept, but obviously he hasn't tried to mess with the magical elixir very much sense. Have a look at the read link for the full writeup.
