What if the kid behind the counter at the video store became the man who rewrote Hollywood?

Ted Sarandos, Netflix co-CEO, is getting real about what it takes to climb from nowhere to the top of the entertainment industry.

How do you know when to double down and when to walk away?

How do you trust your gut when the data says otherwise?

And how do you keep innovating when you're already on top?

Ted Sarandos, thank you so much for being here today on The Espy Podcast.

Thank you for having me.

I'm really, really happy to have you.

I mean, I have to say, when I read everything about you, I mean, I'm already unbelievably impressed by you.

But I think the reason why listeners of this show will die when they hear your story is because, first of all,

you don't have a typical story. You don't have a typical resume. And in my most English girl way, I'm going to say it like this and hope it's not offensive. But you started your career in a video rental situation type of career.

And now you run one of the most important companies in entertainment.

And it's just so unbelievably mesmerizing to me how you've made that journey.

And I think so inspiring to people

that perhaps come from, you know, it's like you're a college dropout, your father was an

electrician, you're nothing that, you know, I expected. And so, I'm like, there's never, and I was

like, this is so inspiring. This is so incredible. But I think it is really inspiring to people.

Because, again, a lot of us aspire to a career in entertainment and you have one of the most impressive

ones. So I guess my question, really, to you is I want you to take me back to you being a kid.

What do you think ultimately in your childhood would tell me that you were going to have the type of career

that you have today? I don't know if there was like an actual flashpoint that was, oh,

that's what I'm going to do because growing up, I always wanted to be a journalist. Like,

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