Netflix CEO reflects on recent stumbles

— -- Netflix CEO Reed Hastings says entrepreneurs can't be afraid to move fast on enormous opportunities, even when mistakes are made.

At the founders conference in Dublin, Hastings openly discussed the controversies that have erupted at Netflix since its decision to raise prices. He explained that like him, many people will make mistakes and have to apologize if the goal is to move fast and seize opportunities.

"You have to keep trying," Hastings told a small audience of prominent startup founders. "You can't be afraid to make mistakes. Every entrepreneur is about creating change."

Hastings explained the world is moving toward faster Internet connections and mobile devices — pointing out 5 billion people are active mobile phone users — and that Netflix has to be positioned to seize the opportunities these changes represent. That means moving fast, making mistakes and focusing on the digital side of the business, rather than the still-lucrative DVD arm of the company.

Hastings hopes that as more people gain smartphones and broadband connections they will become Netflix subscribers. It's important to note Hastings isn't thinking about Netflix's growth in terms of months or years, but "the next two decades."

"We have to go country by country and build a subscriber base," Hastings told the audience. The next step toward Netflix's international expansion starts early next year with the launch of Netflix in the UK and Ireland.

Hastings also told the audience of entrepreneurs that honesty, simplicity and culture are fundamental to building a great business, even at scale. He thinks of his marriage counselor as a CEO mentor because his counselor taught him to "confront dishonesty and superficiality." This helped him get his marriage and his life back on track and make Netflix a more honest company.

Those values were put on public display in 2009, when Netflix released an internal presentation that discussed its philosophy on management and culture. The unusually honest presentation explains that Netflix is a team, not a family, and that the company doesn't care how many hours its employees are at the office — as long long as they perform.

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