Barry McCarthy, former CFO of Netflix and Spotify, explains how personalized recommendation systems allow digital distribution platforms to shift demand away from expensive suppliers to lower-cost content.
“So at a high level, I would say it's kind of in summary, whoever owns demand creation owns the gross margin.”
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More from Barry McCarthy
Insight
Tech companies must operate as professional sports teams rather than families
“As I've said to our employee base here, and as we said to the employees at Netflix, we are not a family. We are a professional sports team, and you will want to work here because you will be afforded the opportunity to work with some of the most talented peopl…”
Barry McCarthyDec 20, 2022▶ 20:16Barry McCarthy: From Netflix CFO to Peloton CEO; How Netflix Beat Blockbuster | 20VC #962 · 20VC with Harry Stebbings
Opinion
Daniel Ek's pattern recognition skills match Reed Hastings as a generational talent
“Daniel was using my pattern recognition skills as exceptional in his own way as Reed was exceptional in his way. Kind of, you know, one in twenty-five million.”
Barry McCarthyDec 20, 2022▶ 5:32Barry McCarthy: From Netflix CFO to Peloton CEO; How Netflix Beat Blockbuster | 20VC #962 · 20VC with Harry Stebbings
PredictionDidn’t hold up
Direct listings will not happen during market downturns without first-day pops
“Well, not in the current capital environment, and that's because public company shares are trading at such a steep discount, that the only way you're going to get a company public is if you essentially promise to the institutions who are going to buy the IPO, …”
Barry McCarthyDec 20, 2022▶ 11:32Barry McCarthy: From Netflix CFO to Peloton CEO; How Netflix Beat Blockbuster | 20VC #962 · 20VC with Harry Stebbings
AssertionNot checkable as stated
Daniel Ek intentionally delays decisions to allow Swedish culture to build consensus
“The decision-making process in a Swedish culture and at Spotify can at times to an American feel a little bit like watching them paint dry. I mean, the amount of time that Daniel invests in allowing the organization to work its way through the decision-making …”
Barry McCarthyDec 20, 2022▶ 28:36Barry McCarthy: From Netflix CFO to Peloton CEO; How Netflix Beat Blockbuster | 20VC #962 · 20VC with Harry Stebbings
AssertionSupported
Reed Hastings originally intended to only fund Netflix as its chairman
“Well, his original vision was to be retired and to fund the company and be its chairman. And the performance kind of got sideways and he came in off the sidelines. And replace Mark Randolph as a CEO.”
Barry McCarthyDec 20, 2022▶ 2:27Barry McCarthy: From Netflix CFO to Peloton CEO; How Netflix Beat Blockbuster | 20VC #962 · 20VC with Harry Stebbings
Opinion
COVID was the unaffordable marketing campaign that propelled Peloton to unmatched scale
“COVID was the marketing campaign that Peloton never could have afforded. And the growth that happened during COVID propelled the business to scale in a way that no other company in the space to a level that no other company in the space has achieved.”
Barry McCarthyDec 20, 2022▶ 17:29Barry McCarthy: From Netflix CFO to Peloton CEO; How Netflix Beat Blockbuster | 20VC #962 · 20VC with Harry Stebbings
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