Jeremy Goodfellow

Married to incredible woman with two awesome sons. Passionate about entrepreneurship and agriculture, otherwise, playing or coaching hockey

[Marc Randolph @marcrandolph]

In 2000, Blockbuster was the movie rental king with 60,000 stores and 9,000 employees. Reed Hastings and I, on the other hand, were just two Silicon Valley geeks with a DVD-rental-by-mail idea.

We’d been struggling since 1998 to find a way to make it work, and by the summer of 2000, we were finally seeing light at the end of the tunnel. Our no-due-dates, no-late-fees subscription model was a hit. Customers were pouring in and the company was growing like crazy.

Running a subscription business takes a lot of cash, since you pay acquisition costs up front while the revenue comes in over time. But it was the height of the internet boom. Cash was plentiful.

Until suddenly it wasn’t. Over a few short months, the internet bubble finally popped. The .com at the end of our name had been a badge of honor; now it was three scarlet letters. And with customers flooding in, cash was flying out. We’d spent more than $50 million getting to this point, and now it looked like our success was going to bankrupt us.

Luckily, there is a Silicon Valley play book for this. It’s called “pursue strategic alternatives”—code for “sell, and sell fast.”

The obvious strategic alternative for us was Blockbuster. Which is why, just a few weeks later, you’d have found me, Reed, and our CFO Barry McCarthy sitting at a giant conference table on the 37th floor of the Blockbuster headquarters in Dallas, getting ready to pitch Blockbuster.

The pitch was simple. We would join forces with Blockbuster. We would run the online business. They would run the stores. We would jointly develop a blended model. And everyone would live happily ever after.

And it was going great. They were leaning in. They asked good questions. Until they asked the most important question of all: “How much?”

Now, we had rehearsed this. We figured we were $50 million in the hole... so let’s go with that! Reed leaned forward confidently and told them: “Fifty Million Dollars.”

There was perfect silence. Their words were “we’ll consider it,” but we could tell they were fighting to suppress laughter. After that, the meeting went downhill fast.

Well, what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger. Or, as my father used to tell me, “sometimes, the only way out is through.” We knew there was no easy way out. We struggled for years. But we eventually did make it through. We had our IPO. We passed Blockbuster in revenue.

And today, the company that Blockbuster could have purchased in 2000 for $50 million, has a market cap exceeding $150 billion. And that company with 9000 stores? Now it’s got just one.

But what’s the lesson to take from this?

There’s certainly an inspiring one: It’s possible for a handful of people, with no prior experience in the video business, to take down a 6 billion dollar category-leading company.

But I think the more important lesson—one that Blockbuster learned too late—is simply this:

If you are unwilling to disrupt your business, there will always be someone willing to do it for you.

[Blenheim District Public School @Blenheimbobcat]

We have the very BEST librarian! Mrs. Goodfellow does more than take care of the library. She makes our virtual announcements, keeps track and fixes tech, works with classes in fun and innovative ways. Thank you Mrs Goodfellow for all that you do. @TVDSBLiteracy @dwrighttvdsb

[Profercy @Profercy]

Profercy’s World Nitrogen Index has hit its highest ever level since inception in 2009. With global supplies of urea short and India due in the market imminently as it looks to catch up on its purchasing, further price increases look increasingly likely.
https://t.co/P6ouV5N6wi

[Fertilizer Week @FertilizerWeek1]

Our chart of the week shows how steep increases in #fertilizer prices are negatively impacting affordability relative to #crop prices despite the strong performance of those downstream markets

[Fertilizer Week @FertilizerWeek1]

#Urea prices are at 12-year highs and #nitrates also jumped on mind-blowing European gas prices. The fallout of Hurricane Ida is still being felt in the US and #phosphates prices climbed again globally following the threat of China export cuts. #Potash prices continue to astound

[Frank O'Connell @CF_OConnell]

https://t.co/FMfdXoasRx

[Fertilizer Week @FertilizerWeek1]

Breath-taking, triple-digit gains were recorded this week for #urea as record natural-gas prices in Europe and Asia, plant closures, an impending import tender in India and looming export constraints in China all conspired to push #nitrogen prices higher #fertilizers

[Jeremy Goodfellow @J_Goodfellow77]

https://t.co/9aCXCRerRU

[Jeremy Goodfellow @J_Goodfellow77]

Another great webinar - kids really enjoyed it! Thank you @MikeMcKenzie11 @djpoulin20

[Mike McKenzie @MikeMcKenzie11]

Dave has experience in every part of the sport from playing to coaching to management to media and will provide some great insight and firsthand experience on our topic this week. All ages and levels welcome.

[Jeremy Goodfellow @J_Goodfellow77]

A great webinar with relevant and valuable lessons for kids! Looking forward to future topics. Thank you @MikeMcKenzie11 and @HeroicMinds_

[Mike McKenzie @MikeMcKenzie11]

Thank you to everyone who tuned in to webinar #1 and thank you to @HeroicMinds_ for coming on as a guest speaker. More great and specialized topics coming in the next few weeks. Stay tuned for details.

[Jeremy Goodfellow @J_Goodfellow77]

Removed these like-new, heat-traced, insulated poly storage tanks last week. 2 tanks available in Southern Ontario, 15,000L each, 8'6" dia and 12'6" high. Please DM for more details.

[Jeremy Goodfellow @J_Goodfellow77]

Congratulations Mike. It was a pleasure working with you and wish you all the best for a happy retirement!

[Aaron Stevanus @aaron_stevanus]

Today our good friend & colleague @MikeSevey retires from a robust career of 44 years in the fertilizer industry. Mike we wish you all the best! Your legacy will live on in all the careers you have helped foster over the years. Please join us in congratulating mike for his legacy

[Jeremy Goodfellow @J_Goodfellow77]

For many years, I enjoyed one particular aspect of the Southwest Fertilizer Conference in San Antonio in July... steak!!! with COVID and a new career, had to get the #tomahawk at home this year!!!

[** W. Brett Wilson ** @WBrettWilson]

Not good.

[Jeremy Goodfellow @J_Goodfellow77]

Thank you @dlamond2!

[dlamond @dlamond2]

@J_Goodfellow77 @sittler_demo Good luck on your new venture Jeremy.

[Jeremy Goodfellow @J_Goodfellow77]

Excited to launch into the next stage of my career/life @sittler_demo! A special thank you to many colleagues and leaders that have supported and challenged me along the journey! Now onto the goal of cleaning up southwestern Ontario!!

[Jeremy Goodfellow @J_Goodfellow77]

Congratulations @benfauske! Excited to read your book!

[Ben Fauske @benfauske]

I am excited to launch my book, Authentic Confidence today! You can purchase a signed copy of at https://t.co/tMMMLaGLT3
With each book purchase until May 1st, I am going to donate a book to local school districts. Our educators are heroes!
Thanks for your support!

[Jeremy Goodfellow @J_Goodfellow77]

Happy School Librarian Day to dedicated teacher/school librarian @MrsGoodybdps! Sorry, no gift - I didn't know this was a day... 😧

[Thames Valley DSB @TVDSB]

Today is School Librarian Day! Thank-you to all #TVDSB teacher librarians for inspiring students to achieve their dreams, every day! 📚

[Ben Fauske @benfauske]

#100daystoauthenticconfidence #authenticconfidence

[Seinfeld @SeinfeldTV]

The tradition of Festivus begins with the airing of grievances.

If you got a problem with someone, tag them and let them hear about it! #HappyFestivus