If I Knew Then: Col Needham

Col Needham is the founder and CEO of the International Movie Database, which celebrated its 25th anniversary in October last year. The site is a wholly owned subsidiary of Amazon and has 200 million monthly visitors, earning revenue through advertising, licensing and partnerships.

The lifelong film fan grew up in Manchester, before moving to Bristol in the early 80s to take a job with Hewlett Packard, growing IMDb from his spare room as a hobby. One Guardian journalist described him (accurately) as the most powerful Brit in Hollywood with “the face of a beaming baby” and an infectious giggle. His favourite film is Alfred Hitchcock’s Vertigo, which he’s seen more than 50 times.

How did you start IMDb? 

I had a passion for film and a passion for technology. In the early 1980s, I did the classic film geek thing; get a paper diary and write in what I’d seen. I guess I did that for two weeks and then thought ‘why am I bothering when I could create a database?’

I got online super early so I’ve had an email address since 1985. I found likeminded film and TV fans online in the late 1980s and on 17 October 1990 the very first version of the IMDb software was posted online by me from a house in North Bristol. It was just a hobby run by about 20 volunteers. We incorporated in January 1996 as a UK-based company. The very first time the four directors of the company were ever in the same room was in London in our lawyer’s office to sign the paperwork.

If you knew then what you know now, what mistakes might you have avoided? 

You’re a sum of all your previous experiences, good or bad. Every time we made a mistake, it informed a piece of learning; ‘we’re not going to do that again’. I’m not someone who lives in regret. I always view, it may be a little corny, a mistake as an opportunity to learn how to do something better.

However, I worked way too hard between ’96 and ’98. I would go back and change that. For a few months I was the only employee and it was 18+ hour days. Even when you’re in start-up mode I think it’s important to balance that work vs rest time.

What advice would you have given yourself when starting out? 

Be true to your passion. Make sure your business is something you’re passionate about. Because when things are hard and you have to do those long days, it’s that passion that can see you through.

What do you know now that you didn’t know then? 

It’s all about teamwork. Back in those early days when we were all working remotely but connected by the internet, it was very easy to think that it was all down to you. But really it’s about the team that you have and how that team works together to solve problems.

What’s the best piece of advice you’ve received so far? 

Focus on the customer first. Amazon’s aim is to be the world’s most customer-centric company. You not only have to anticipate what your customers are going to need next, you have to innovate on behalf of those customers and realise what they’re going to need before they realise it themselves.

What is your business highlight?

It seems there’s a monthly highlight, but I would say that celebrating our 25th anniversary with 250 million customers is the highlight so far.

What is your business low point? 

1996 being a work infused 18+ hour day fuzzy memory is kind of the low point, but it didn’t feel that way at the time.

What keeps you awake?

Nothing. I’m a really good sleeper. My wife and I, we like to watch a movie pretty much every night and have a glass of wine.

What’s changed from when you started out? 

You would never have been able to envision the internet of today compared to 1990. We had text-based information; no pictures, no trailers. Today you can browse on your mobile and stream from Amazon. Who knows where we’ll go next!

What’s still on your to-do list? 

Get to my 10,000th film. The vision for IMDb is to be with our customers wherever they engage with entertainment content. That means looking for new devices, be they new phones or devices that haven’t been invented yet – the IMDb glasses app! As new technologies for viewing film come online, we want to be there inventing ways to bring IMDb in.

What’s next for IMDb?

My secret maniacal plan is to convert everyone into as big a film and TV lover as I am. Giving them information to appreciate what they’ve seen and to give them ideas about what they should see next.

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