where did the idea of netflix come from
Netflix Hastings invested $2.5 million in startup cash for Netflix.[18][8] Randolph admired the fledgling e-commerce company Amazon and wanted to find a large category of portable items to sell over the internet using a similar model. He and Hastings considered and rejected VHS tapes as too expensive to stock and too delicate to ship. When they heard about DVDs, which were available in only a few markets in 1997, they tested the concept of selling or renting DVDs by mail by mailing a compact disc to Hastings' house in Santa Cruz. When the disc arrived intact, they decided to take on the $16 billion home video sales and rental industry.[17] Hastings is often quoted saying that he decided to start Netflix after being fined $40 at a Blockbuster store for being late to return a copy of Apollo 13 but this is an apocryphal story that he and Randolph designed to explain the company's business model and motivation.[17]