TCs are similar , around 420k, 8 yoe. Which one has more uptrend? Personally I feel roku has more room to grow its business and company culture is better. Thoughts?
I would avoid Roku because of stiff competition from Google (see the new announced product). I would go to Netflix because culture is far better. Roku's Glassdoor reviews are very scary. Netflix puts amazing brand on your resume. It will open up more doors for you in future. Roku is shit tier.
I would go for Netflix. The bar at Netflix is much higher, and you will learn more. However, if you are an average performer, Roku is good since you can coast.
Does roku also provide all cash tc like netflix ? Is that 420k all cash ?
Roku gives cash and stock
Is this for a software engineer position? How were the interview difficulties?
The interview difficulties were pretty good actually.
Roku’s stock has a lot of growth potential. Competition is tight but we’ve been able to stay ahead of Amazon and Google so far.
Simple philosophy. Join a company which is offering something customers can't live without. I have never come across a streaming user who says I cannot live without Roku because there is always FireTV and the brand new Google TV Chromecast and other are always available. What's in Roku that Amazon and Chromecast cannot provide ? I think the answer is NOTHING. Roku doesn't offer anything new. It's a platform you use to stream Netflix and other nice apps. On the other hand, Netflix is unique. People can't cancel Netflix - they will just stay on it as long as they get to see unique content. I would avoid Roku at all costs.
Same argument for Netflix. I can go to Disney, HBO, Peacock and many other streaming services. If content sucks I leave Netflix and to be able to constantly crank out good content is very very costly. Roku is in a great position to stay the lead connected TV provider. Our revenue is ad money baby 💰 And there is plenty of it coming from linear tv to platforms like Roku.
Streaming subscriptions are not exclusive. You can have both Netflix and Disney subscriptions and many do. Hardware is. You don't need a Roku if you have fire TV, or any smart TV.
Netflix has more room for growth. Huge potentials overseas and it's adding 30M users every year. Roku is a late comer in international markets and there's no advantage over competitions there, especially against Google TV.
That's my argument too. It's unlikely that Roku will be successful in the long run in international markets
Rokus success in international market will come from smart TV OS licensing (not first-party hardware). Roku OS is purpose-built for TVs and offers lower BOM cost as compared to AndroidTV. Android TV has been there for a while and still RokuOS is the top-selling smart TV OS in US. More than 1 out of 3 smart TVs sold in US are Roku TVs.
Clearly the folks from Google have so much confidence in their products that they feel the need to show up and insult other companies who... have... more... market share... I guess.
I am only interested in where growth will come from. Roku has a good hardware market share in US and it's also benefiting from cord cutting and I can see the ads business growing for a few years. But it's hard to compete internationally and the domestic hardware market is increasingly more fragmented, with the top 3 TV manufacturer either use proprietary OS or Android. So the transition to smart TV isn't exactly a plus for Roku either.
@netflix, I would be interested in knowing what are the top 3 TV manufacturers? As per my knowledge more than 1 in 3 smart TVs sold in US, use Roku TV. As per IHS study TCL Roku TV is #1 smart TV brand sold in US (June 2019). And There are more than 10 brands selling Roku TVs in US. https://hdguru.com/ihs-tcl-holds-no-1-tv-market-share-for-north-american-unit-shipments/
Ultimate decision is yours, but I will give few points to consider 1) Roku has much more growth potential as compared to Netflix. 2) Roku culture is much better than Netflix (I have not worked for Netflix, but I heard this from many colleagues who came from Netflix. Search for "Netflix keeper test" 3) In terms of brand, Netflix is more respected, well known, and looks good on your resume. 4) In terms of competition, both Roku and Netflix face fierce competition. Having said that both are market leaders and streaming is in their core, it is not a side-project for them. Also do not pay much attention to Glassdoor reviews. I was also worried about those when joining, turned out to be just OK. You can DM me if you need further data points.
This^
Can I dm you about your netflix interviews?
I would say it is a medium level interview. Not too hard. A hiring manager pinged me on Libkedin