Saw the news first thing this morning—Netflix is really about to acquire Warner Bros. Although there were rumors before, it’s still quite surprising now that it’s actually happening.

Thinking back over twenty years ago, Netflix was just a small workshop surviving on mailing DVDs, with no money or influence—Blockbuster couldn’t even be bothered to take a serious look at them. And yet? They didn’t give up. Instead, they made a comeback with two risky moves:

First, they went all in on streaming. Back then, the DVD rental business was booming, and most people were still lounging on their sofas waiting for discs to be delivered. Netflix, however, directly cut off its cash cow business and bet on a future where everyone would watch online. At the time, this move seemed crazy—giving up a profitable business to venture down a path no one had taken before.

But it was exactly this kind of “playing against convention” strategy that turned them from a DVD peddler into today’s streaming giant capable of swallowing up Warner Bros. Sometimes the business world really is that magical—two decades can turn everything upside down. Who would have thought that the company everyone once looked down on is now acquiring a time-honored film and TV empire?