This presentation was given at #ProductCon Online 2021 by Gibson Biddle, fmr VP of Product at Netflix. Download the PDF & complete the NPS survey (https://prdct.school/3aDG0OI)

1. JM Coaching & Training © 2020
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Inventing The Future (Is Hard)
by fmr Netflix VP of Product

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5. Gibson Biddle
ProductCon Online

6. PDF available at
gibsonbiddle.com/ProductSchool
@gibsonbiddle

7. Inventing
the Future
Mars
Netflix
Your Rocket Ship
@gibsonbiddle

8. Your new job:
Colonize Mars
@gibsonbiddle

9. @gibsonbiddle
@gibsonbiddle

10. @gibsonbiddle

11. @gibsonbiddle

12. @gibsonbiddle

13. @gibsonbiddle
I’ve got to grow
four years of food
on a planet that
doesn’t have soil?”

14. @gibsonbiddle
Matt Damon
“The Martian”
I’m going to
science the shit
out of this.”

15. Series of decisions about people, product & business
@gibsonbiddle
Culture Strategy
Consumer
Science

16. @gibsonbiddle
Culture Strategy
Consumer
Science
Experiments
Series of decisions about people, product & business
Judgment Plan

17. Get big on reusable rockets
Lead in-orbit refueling
Expand into Mars-based transport/supply partnerships
Expand further via space construction consortium.
Mars product vision
@gibsonbiddle

18. Inventing the future requires:
● A fuzzy vision
● A long-term strategy
● Constant experimentation, and
● A culture of iconoclasts.
Why Mars?
@gibsonbiddle

19. Speaker, Adviser, Teacher (2015-Present)
CPO, Chegg (2010)
VP Product, Netflix (2005)
SVP, Creative Wonders,The Learning
Company, Mattel (1995)
Director, Product, Electronic Arts (1991)
Gibson Biddle
@gibsonbiddle

20. Netflix
@gibsonbiddle

21. 1998: “It’s NETflix, not DVDflix”
“We’ll launch downloading in 2000.”
The initial vision
@gibsonbiddle

22. Get big on DVDs
Lead streaming
Expand worldwide
Expand further via originals.
Product vision
@gibsonbiddle

23. Jeff Kagan
Financial Analyst
Yahoo!
@gibsonbiddle
Every successful company rides the
growth wave until it crests and falls. The
secret is to create the next growth wave
before the first one collapses.
”

24. 1997: 1 DVD by mail
2007: Streaming launch
2015: 190 countries
2020: 21 Emmys.
Long-term thinking makes all things possible
@gibsonbiddle

25. Netflix Journey
@gibsonbiddle
DVDs
by Mail
DVD subscription
Cancel UK
DVD launch
Launch
downloading
Streaming-only
in Canada
“Max” on
Playstation fails
“House of Cards”
Qwikster
Kill “House
of Cards”
160 Emmy nominations
Kill
Red Envelope

26. Get big on DVDs
Lead streaming
Expand worldwide
Netflix’s multi-stage rocket
@gibsonbiddle
Expand further via original content.

27. Delight customers, in hard-to-copy, margin-enhancing ways:
Simple/easy
Personalization
Instant
Device ecosystem
Original content.
Product strategy
@gibsonbiddle

28. Two Quizzes
@gibsonbiddle

29. Growing DVD by mail library
$22/month for 3 DVDs at a time
Blockbuster launches “Total Access”
5% of customers cancel each month
Unprofitable.
Stage 1: DVDs (2005)
@gibsonbiddle

30. @gibsonbiddle

31. @gibsonbiddle

32. Netflix core: selection, value, next day DVDs
DVD stage
learning
Long-term bet on personalization
Delight, Hard to copy, Margin-enhancing
Margin = fuel
Consumer science is hard.
@gibsonbiddle

33. Launch “Watch instantly” in January
5% of customers watch > 15 minutes/month
300 streaming titles available
PC only.
Stage 2: Streaming (2007)
@gibsonbiddle

34. @gibsonbiddle

35. @gibsonbiddle

36. Streaming platform (not a hardware company)
Streaming
learning
Continued investment in personalization
Unanticipated: Episodic TV content
Original content success: “House of Cards”
Binge-watching: Happy accident.
@gibsonbiddle

37. An entrepreneur is
someone who will
jump off a cliff and
assemble an airplane
on the way down.”
Reed Hoffman, Angel Investor
Chairman and co-founder of LinkedIn
@gibsonbiddle

38. Stage 3: International
@gibsonbiddle

39. @gibsonbiddle

40. Stage 4: Original content
@gibsonbiddle

41. @gibsonbiddle

42. @gibsonbiddle

43. @gibsonbiddle

44. @gibsonbiddle

45. @gibsonbiddle

46. @gibsonbiddle

47. @gibsonbiddle

48. @gibsonbiddle

49. @gibsonbiddle

50. @gibsonbiddle

51. @gibsonbiddle

52. What’s next?
@gibsonbiddle

53. DVDs
Streaming
International
Original content
?
Multi-stage rocket
@gibsonbiddle

54. Sam Altman
Chairman of YCombinator @gibsonbiddle
Be more ambitious.
Then talk about that
big vision and work
relentlessly towards
it. But always have a
next step. ”

55. What’s Netflix’s
next step?
@gibsonbiddle

56. @gibsonbiddle

57. My hypothesis:
@gibsonbiddle

58. Potential to DHM
Delight: ~1% of customers watch > 1 hour/month
Hard to copy: studio tools & ecosystem
Margin: improved retention
Compete for screen time (with Fortnite, Instagram, etc.).
Interactive stories
@gibsonbiddle
@gibsonbiddle

59. @gibsonbiddle

60. @gibsonbiddle

61. @gibsonbiddle

62. @gibsonbiddle

63. @gibsonbiddle

64. Netflix’s 5 Stages
1) DVDs 2) Streaming 3) International 4) Originals 5) Interactive?
Core
Value
(DHM)
Personalization
Selection
Instant/easy
Value
Personalization
Selection
Instant/easy
Value
Device ecosystem
Personalization
Selection
Instant/easy
Value
Device ecosystem
Original content
Ultra HD
Personalization
Selection
Instant/easy
Value
Device ecosystem
Original content
Ultra HD
Studio tools
Personalization
Selection
Instant/easy
Value
Device ecosystem
Original content
Ultra HD
Studio tools
Success
Failure
@gibsonbiddle

65. Netflix’s 5 Stages
1) DVDs 2) Streaming 3) International 4) Originals 5) Interactive?
Core
Value
(DHM)
Personalization
Selection
Instant/easy
Value
Personalization
Selection
Instant/easy
Value
Device ecosystem
Personalization
Selection
Instant/easy
Value
Device ecosystem
Original content
Ultra HD
Personalization
Selection
Instant/easy
Value
Device ecosystem
Original content
Ultra HD
Studio tools
Personalization
Selection
Instant/easy
Value
Device ecosystem
Original content
Ultra HD
Studio tools
Success Next day delivery
Price & plans
Advertising
Previously viewed
Subscription
Episodic TV
House of Cards
Binge-watching
Device ecosystem
Profiles
Mobile-only plan
Downloads
Ultra HD
Automated lip-synch
Original content
Comedy
Episodic Docs
Puss in Book
Minecraft
Capt. Underpants
Bandersnatch?
Kimmy Schmidt?
Failure
@gibsonbiddle

66. Netflix’s 5 Stages
1) DVDs 2) Streaming 3) International 4) Originals 5) Interactive?
Core
Value
(DHM)
Personalization
Selection
Instant/easy
Value
Personalization
Selection
Instant/easy
Value
Device ecosystem
Personalization
Selection
Instant/easy
Value
Device ecosystem
Original content
Ultra HD
Personalization
Selection
Instant/easy
Value
Device ecosystem
Original content
Ultra HD
Studio tools
Personalization
Selection
Instant/easy
Value
Device ecosystem
Original content
Ultra HD
Studio tools
Success Next day delivery
Price & plans
Advertising
Previously viewed
Subscription
Episodic TV
House of Cards
Binge-watching
Device ecosystem
Profiles
Mobile-only plan
Downloads
Ultra HD
Automated lip-synch
Original content
Comedy
Episodic Docs
Puss in Book
Minecraft
Capt. Underpants
Bandersnatch?
Kimmy Schmidt?
Failure Previews
UK launch
Friends/social
Exclusives
Netflix TV Player
Qwikster
Entertainment
Mood-based choice
China launch
Tell A Friend
No credit card
Chelsea Handler
Sense8
The Ranch
??
@gibsonbiddle

67. Netflix’s 5 Stages
1) DVDs 2) Streaming 3) International 4) Originals 5) Interactive?
Core
Value
(DHM)
Personalization
Selection
Instant/easy
Value
Personalization
Selection
Instant/easy
Value
Device ecosystem
Personalization
Selection
Instant/easy
Value
Device ecosystem
Original content
Ultra HD
Personalization
Selection
Instant/easy
Value
Device ecosystem
Original content
Ultra HD
Studio tools
Personalization
Selection
Instant/easy
Value
Device ecosystem
Original content
Ultra HD
Studio tools
2010
Invest
20% 30% 40% 10%
@gibsonbiddle

68. Netflix’s 5 Stages
1) DVDs 2) Streaming 3) International 4) Originals 5) Interactive?
Core
Value
(DHM)
Personalization
Selection
Instant/easy
Value
Personalization
Selection
Instant/easy
Value
Device ecosystem
Personalization
Selection
Instant/easy
Value
Device ecosystem
Original content
Ultra HD
Personalization
Selection
Instant/easy
Value
Device ecosystem
Original content
Ultra HD
Studio tools
Personalization
Selection
Instant/easy
Value
Device ecosystem
Original content
Ultra HD
Studio tools
2010
Invest
20% 30% 40% 10%
2020
Invest
5% 30% 30% 30% 5%
@gibsonbiddle

69. @gibsonbiddle
Conclusion:
Your Rocket Ship

70. @gibsonbiddle
Your rocket ship
GLEE: Long-term vision
Multi-stage plan/investment
Delight/H2C/Margin
“My hypothesis is...”
Strategy: Plan
Customer obsession
Fast-paced experiments
Make core better
Build to next step function
Consumer Science: Data
Values: behaviors/skills
Curiosity, courage
Experts at each stage
Iconoclasts
Culture: Judgment

71. One
Last Thing Required
@gibsonbiddle
@gibsonbiddle

72. No Late Fees
Patience
@gibsonbiddle
@gibsonbiddle

73. @gibsonbiddle

74. @gibsonbiddle

75. @gibsonbiddle

76. @gibsonbiddle

77. gibsonbiddle.com/ProductSchool
Complete Net Promoter Score survey
Download PDF of presentation
“How To Define Your Product Strategy”
series on Medium
@gibsonbiddle

78. @gibsonbiddle

79. www.pro u ts hool. om
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and
Corporate Training