Behind-the-scenes look at how bold decisions, creative risks, and relentless innovation have shaped the Netflix story.
FinTech BizNews Service
Mumbai, June 9, 2025: In a rare and riveting conversation, Netflix Co-CEO Ted Sarandos joins entrepreneur and investor Nikhil Kamath on the latest episode of People by WTF, delving into a wide-ranging dialogue that covers everything from Ted’s early passion for journalism and storytelling to the evolution of Netflix—from DVD rentals to a global streaming powerhouse.
This candid and insightful episode is a goldmine for entrepreneurs, media professionals, creators, and curious minds, offering a behind-the-scenes look at how bold decisions, creative risks, and relentless innovation have shaped the Netflix story. Ted reflects on the power of local storytelling, why Indian content is resonating globally, and how culture travels better than ever before. Ted and Nikhil share insider stories, career advice, and reflections on global content trends, including Ted’s personal dinner experiences with Shah Rukh Khan. Other discussion areas include:
Entrepreneur and investor Nikhil Kamath
1. Getting to Know Ted - From Phoenix to Powerhouse: Nikhil Kamath invites Ted Sarandos to reflect on his journey from aspiring journalist in Phoenix to discovering his storytelling instincts while working at a local video store, which laid the groundwork for Netflix’s user-first philosophy. Sarandos also shares how meeting his wife, Nicole Avant, during the Obama campaign brought a deep sense of shared purpose to both his personal life and leadership journey. Ted reflects. “People are perpetually way out of balance. I think maybe it’s just aspirational, that idea of life-work balance, but there’s really no such thing. It’s an exercise in futility to try to chase it. In fact, you’re probably shortchanging one or the other all the time if you’re trying to get that.” Adding to the conversation, Nikhil Kamath offered a candid parallel: “All my validation comes from work. I don't have much else where I m getting the very tangible societal validation coming my way. A lot of people talk about balance and say life is fulfilled when you have things in equal measure. That’s a fantasy.”
2. Ted & Bollywood: While reflecting on Netflix’s journey in India, Ted shares, “From Japanese anime to unexpected global stories, Indian audiences are incredibly adventurous. They love Bollywood and South Indian action, but they’re also hungry for diverse storytelling from around the world”. For Sarandos, it was a clear sign that India isn’t just embracing local cinema, it’s actively shaping global viewing patterns. Ted also recalls first meeting Shah Rukh Khan over an intimate dinner that sparked an enduring friendship. “Having dinner with Shah Rukh Khan in India is much different than having dinner with him in Los Angeles,” he says. He also praises the upcoming Netflix show The Ba***ds of Bollywood, saying, “It is very fun... a really fun world,” and calls Aryan Khan “a very good director.”
When Nikhil asks, “Can you name one individual, just one person who has left a lasting impression on you in the entertainment industry in India?” Ted highlights that working with visionary creator Sanjay Leela Bhansali on the show Heeramandi: The Diamond Bazaar was one of the most creatively interesting projects he has worked on in India.
Netflix Co-CEO Ted Sarandos
3. Leading with Creative Daring: When asked about his leadership style, Ted says it’s shaped by decades of experience, from his early days in video rentals to building Netflix around availability, choice, and personalization. “I think its about being able to have a little more daring, about not being afraid to fail.” he says, crediting Netflix’s culture for encouraging bold, creative risks shaped by Reed Hastings. On content, he believes that “good” storytelling transcends format and geography, and adds that it is important to have “general curiosity and good judgement about the people who are pitching, whether or not they can actually do this thing that they are talking about”
4. The Netflix Story: Nikhil, recalling talks with Reed Hastings at a Gates Pledge off-site, expresses fascination with Netflix’s bold evolution and invites Ted to share the company’s journey and key milestones. Reflecting on Netflix’s evolution, Ted Sarandos recalls joining in 1999, says, “Reed laid out his vision for Netflix - completely digital. Soon, the internet would make distribution 'almost free,' and everything would move fast. Streaming didn’t exist yet, so we talked about downloading. He said it would be global, enabled by the internet, not physical media. In 1999, it sounded crazy.” From killing late fees, to personalized recommendations, to pioneering original content like Stranger Things and Squid Game, Netflix redefined storytelling by marrying technology with culture.
Now as co-CEO, Sarandos sees Netflix as a fast-moving, innovation-led entertainment company built to scale both seamless user experience and creative ambition worldwide.
5. Future forward content trends: Nikhil, drawing from Ted’s Netflix experience, asks, “If Ted was not part of Netflix, but you knew all that you have learned in the Netflix journey and you had a hundred dollars to invest - is there one particular division where you would put your money behind? To this, Ted shares a couple of interesting points
1. Local is global: Ted says, “Those things that are big local hits, they have the best chance of traveling
because they are very, very good. This idea of authentically local storytelling being the most globally
valuable is unintuitive but totally true.”
2. Aligning talent, storytelling, and AI: Ted says, “The art of the prompt is going to be a human skill. I
think AI will lower the cost of doing things, making it possible to tell bigger and better stories, but it
will still require people because imagination and emotion really have the effect.”
3. Producing content is key for return: He says, “Producing content today delivers strong returns
because delivery and monetization models are evolving rapidly.”
4. Genre Trends: Ted shares, “If you like shows like The Great Indian Kapil Show and CID, that's what
you'll see on Netflix. If you don't, you'll see something else. We're broadening the offering, not narrowing it.”
5. AI and the Next Creative Leap: Ted says, “ I think the next big disruption is less likely to be in
distribution and more about creativity. AI is certainly part of that, as is virtual production. I think AI is
going to make great tools to help tell stories even better and make it possible to make movies they
couldn't before.”
6. Building a Career in Content: Ted offers blunt yet inspiring advice, he says, “If you're going to start a media business and want to be very successful, you need to know how to do everything that everyone else is doing. The best way to do that is to start at the bottom, put in the time, and work for a company. I would say don’t be impatient. Take your time, learn the roles, learn the jobs, learn the people who do those jobs, and see if that’s really what you want to do.” He further shares:
1. Passion often follows excellence, so it’s best to focus on what you’re good at and take pride in mastering it.
2. For a 20-year-old starting in media, Ted suggests joining a talent agency like CAA or UTA in the US.
3. Ted notes that content formats are blurring, so choose the appropriate running time for your story,
whether a two-hour film or an eight-hour series.
4. For entrepreneurs, Ted believes investing in content production offers the highest return, as streaming
platforms can monetize almost any content at scale.
5. Ted advises creators not to “reverse engineer” Netflix’s preferences but to tell the story they believe must
be told, with greenlighting based on strong storytelling, engaging characters, and confidence in the creator’s
vision.
6. Ted emphasizes the importance of a diverse workforce, saying, “We make stories for 700 million people
around the world. We need the people who are picking them, making them, and promoting them to be a lot
like the audience they are serving. So that diversity very much plays into our success.”
7. Tech Integration: Ted shares that Netflix’s second-highest investment after content is tech and says, “The goal is simple: not to get stuck, and to deliver the highest quality experience possible picture, sound, and video. We are a tech company that got into entertainment. We’ve become primarily an entertainment company, yes but our DNA is still very much that of a tech company.”
8. India: Netflix’s Bold Frontier: Ted considers India one of the most exciting markets globally, not just for its scale, but for its evolving digital and creative ecosystem. He says, “For 10 years, I’ve heard that India is two years away.
And I feel like it’s never been more true than right now. It feels like India is on the precipice of something very big,
and this is probably the most exciting time that I've been aware of in India's history”.
9. What Happens to the World of Podcasters: Nikhil raises a key question about the future of podcasting and
whether Netflix will tap into the fast-growing world of independent creators. Ted shares, “I think as podcasts
become more video-forward, there’s a strong possibility that many of them could find a home on Netflix. I believe
there’s a space for some of them, not all, of course, on our platform. We could potentially monetize them more
effectively than if they were available everywhere else.”
10. Gaming on Netflix: When Nikhil asks about Netflix’s push into gaming, Ted explains it as a natural extension to deepen audience engagement by meeting viewers where they are, expanding from mobile titles to TV-optimized and multiplayer experiences. He highlights, “We’ve licensed several large AAA titles that are part of the program now. We have a wide variety of other games. It’s a lot like Netflix itself, where we have documentaries, films, television, foreign-language content…a full spectrum.” highlighting that Netflix offers something for every kind of player and viewer.
Catch the full episode of 'People by WTF' featuring Ted Sarandos on YouTube here: Nikhil Kamath x Netflix Co-CEO, Ted Sarandos | People by WTF | Ep. 10
