Movies have more than just being fun and entertainment for entrepreneurs. They can learn the lessons that were discovered along the road and how the high and lows contributed to the success in the entrepreneurial world. An entrepreneur seeking inspiration or even an idea that can get you moving has these six films for the soul that brings you deep into the heart of what preserves, leads, and innovates.
1. The Social Network (2010)
Stream on: Netflix, Amazon Prime
Director: David Fincher
This is a Hollywood movie which won Academy Awards and intensely explains how Mark Zuckerberg’s idea evolved from a simple suggestion into a tech empire in the film The Social Network. Ambition and rivalries as well as successful partnerships make success often be tied to sacrifice.
Important Learning Points:
Be Incurably Bold: Ideas which can be game-changing.
Value Partnerships; Good partnership demands trust that can prove to be quite fragile.
Plan for Litigations: Protect your IP right for the future.
Ambition Pays for Its Sin: Too much of a success story can be dangerous for the relationships
Change Is the New Competition: Agility is a virtue when the environment changes rapidly
2. The Pursuit of Happyness 2006
Watch online on: Amazon Prime, Netflix
Director: Gabriele Muccino
This is a poignant true story of a man who becomes a stockbroker from the ground up. The character interpretation by Will Smith brings to the fore how resilience and determination often make one succeed despite all odds, sometimes even with unwavering faith in oneself.
Top Takeaways:
Resilience: Success calls for repeated failure at some point.
Believe in Yourself: Self-confidence plays an important role when the doubt comes.
Hard Work Works: Perseverance opens doors during tough times.
Focus Your Goals: Keep focused at all cost.
Family Acts as Motivation: Even the family can provide the needed purpose.
3. Steve Jobs (2015)
Available on: Prime Video, Apple TV
Directed by: Danny Boyle
It reveals the private life of Steve Jobs, primarily in the unveiling of highly iconic products, in order to project him tenaciously striving for perfection with leadership that would define no other chief executive.
It brings out some raw and revealing images about the power of vision and tenacity in innovating.
Recommended Best Takeaway:
Perfection is to be sought and achieved
Clear vision inspires action.Embracing Leadership: Great leaders bring out the best in their teams.
Turn Weakness into Strength: Challenges are your strength.
Hold Unyielding: Passion and perseverance pave the road to big dreams.
4. Moneyball (2011)
Stream on: Amazon Prime, Netflix
Director: Bennett Miller
True story of Oakland A’s general manager Billy Beane, Moneyball is a real-life guerilla warfare against convention, and he generates a winning team out of minimal resources. This movie about not being like everyone else also shows how data-driven decision making can rattle the whole industry.
Top Learnings
Think Unconventionally: Innovations often redefine what it means to win.
Leverage Data: Making decisions based on data creates strategic advantage.
Work with Less: Creativity often flourishes in constraints.
Belief in New Ideas: Belief in innovation beats skepticism.
Stay Persistent: Breaking rules requires resilience and faith.
5. The Founder (2016)
Available on: Amazon Prime, Netflix
Director: John Lee Hancock
We would hear how Ray Kroc transforms McDonald’s from a small burger stand into a fast-food giant across the world. It will illustrate for us power of vision, scaling, and ethics in rapid expansion of business with all the highs and lows involved in business expansion.
Top Takeaways:
Think big to make a long-lasting impression.
Scaling Matters: Scaling efficiently is the way to ultimate success.
Innovate: New things will change the industry.
Business Ethics: If the business is based on unethical practice, the success will be hollow.
Stay Determined: Determination is what can overcome challenges in the expansion of business.
6. Startup.com (2001)
Available on Amazon Prime
Directed by Chris Hegedus, Jehane Noujaim
The documentary Startup.com elucidates the story of GovWorks, a dot-com baby born out of that bubble. It is the saga of personal and professional ups and downs founders go through, which makes for an emotional ride building a high-tech company from scratch.
Top Takeaways:
Flexibility is the Key to Survival: There are some things that overpower the challenges in a startup.
Raising Money is Tough: Capital can be hard to raise with endurance.
Balance Between Personal and Professional Life: Relationships become business, a factor in losing friends.
Manage Team Dynamics: Awesome team culture.
Expect Uncertainty: Not a smooth ride, full of ups and downs
These are the movies through which one undergoes the rollercoaster of being an entrepreneur. Whether it is Zuckerberg’s zeal in The Social Network, Gardner’s perseverance in The Pursuit of Happiness, or Ray Kroc’s great vision in The Founder, every film speaks for itself about how hard it is to work out something worthwhile. Grab popcorn and watch the movies over an entertaining evening, but remember they work also as a crash course in leadership, resilience, and creativity that one needed to become an entrepreneur.
