Jonathan Manta

An Afternoon with Marc Randolph and Bill Aulet

October 21, 2026

Wednesday, after classes, I was in the dining hall when my friend Cooper texted me. He'd been invited to see Marc Randolph, the co-founder of Netflix. I went with him.

I admire Marc, but not because he built Netflix. I admire him for how much he loves his wife. For years, every Tuesday, he left work at 5 p.m. to spend the evening with her, no matter what. Someone with that much status and money still protected that time. I want that in my own life someday. I don't know when or how. Nature will take its course.

Marc was there with Bill Aulet, who wrote Disciplined Entrepreneurship. They grew up together, played baseball in middle school and high school, and then went different ways. Bill even poked fun at himself for going to Harvard. They were entrepreneurs before it was cool.

At one point they talked about the Elon Musks and Peter Thiels of the world. All that power and status, but do their kids love them? Do their kids call? It seemed like Marc's and Bill's kids do.

Money matters. Having a purpose every day matters too, but it's hard to find day to day. Marc and Bill seemed to have just had fun their whole lives. Their play was building companies and playing with capital. Maybe life is mostly about embracing the uncertainty and having fun. I think there's more alpha in having fun, and love is fun.

It felt like sitting in their backyard with a beer, listening to two old friends talk. That's who I want to be when I'm a grandpa: someone who just loves life.