We’ve all done it. We’ve all fantasized about stumbling on that one million dollar idea that would open up a whole new world to us. We’re all searching for the keys to the mint.
But it takes a whole lot of work to get to the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. And if you’re looking for a bit of inspiration to get you started on your journey to the American Dream, chances are, Hollywood’s got you covered. Below we’ll point you to some of the best films to get your entrepreneurial juices flowing.
‘The Social Network’ (2010)
If you’re looking for a business film that’s at once a fairy tale and a moral fable, you pretty much can’t go wrong with “The Social Network.” On the one hand, it’s the ultimate revenge fantasy. A brainy, socially-awkward geek mends his broken heart by inventing a tool to get back at his ex, only to have it bring him fame and fortune beyond his wildest dreams.
But it’s also much more than that. “The Social Network” shows how quickly even the most unlikely business venture (and you can’t get much less promising than a dorm-room invention made mainly for a handful of college students) can spiral out of control.
From an entrepreneurial standpoint, Zuckerberg’s story is truly a cautionary tale, showing fledgling businessmen and women the necessity for deep planning in the formative stages of business development. Young Zuckerberg took no such precautions, entering into an informal partnership with his college roommate to develop the site while failing to secure intellectual property rights to the technology. And that carelessness would embroil Zuckerberg in years of lawsuits and cost him an untold fortune in claims brought not only by his former friend and partner but by a trio of Zuckerberg’s acquaintances claiming Facebook was their brainchild.
The moral of the story? If you don’t get the details worked out precisely early on, especially where legalities are concerned, you could find yourself in a real mess—and an expensive one—later on.
‘Joy’ (2015)
It probably seems pretty incongruous to place a protagonist like Mark Zuckerberg alongside a “heroine” like Joy Mangano, the salt-of-the-earth titular character in “Joy,” but the truth is these real-world business titans have some important things in common.
For both Zuckerberg and Mangano, their unlikely success was rooted in one characteristic they both share: a fierce single-mindedness, the unshakable belief in and commitment to their vision. The world of business is far from easy. And that’s why so few make it.
But if “Joy” teaches anything, it’s perseverance in the face of adversity. Mangano’s first appearance on QVC was the springboard that lifted her from poverty to the kind of wealth that even British royalty would have to give props to.
And it wasn’t exactly the uniqueness of the product (though that certainly helped). But innovative cleaning products are a dime a dozen these days. No, what rocketed Mangano to next-level riches and fame was her obvious passion. Mangano is a master at creating her own personal brand and making it irresistible. With a single appearance on QVC, Mangano’s fledgling business took flight. Her capacity to communicate the grandeur of her product, truly seeming to believe that common household items were the greatest inventions ever made, and to make her audience believe it too, led to more and more QVC appearances. And soon, she, and her wares, were a household name.
Because we know her and her, pardon the pun, joy, we also know her company, her products. And we can’t get enough of any of them.
‘The Devil Wears Prada’ (2006)
If “Joy” allows us to bask in the bright hope of the American Dream, good old fashioned hard work, and the enduring nature of hope, the darkly comic “The Devil Wears Prada” does just the opposite. Not only is the film a crash course in how to be a bad—and we mean a really bad—boss, but it’s also a study in the all-consuming nature of work.
It’s a morality tale of how easy it is to begin to define ourselves by what we do. And it shows how quickly, how subtly, that can change us. So you better be careful, the story suggests, that what you invest your time, energy, heart, and mind into is truly worth it.
‘FYRE: The Greatest Party That Never Happened (2019)’
Okay, a film like “FYRE: The Greatest Party That Never Happened“ isn’t exactly the best primer for aspiring entrepreneurs. But this documentary film about the fiasco that was the notorious and, ultimately, fictitious FYRE music and arts festival actually has some important lessons to teach.
And if you’re launching a new business, perhaps the best object lesson to take from “Frye” is the immense power of social media. While the documentary might be a catalog of what not to do when it comes to harnessing the new media, the film also suggests that, in the right hands and used for the right purposes, today’s tech can be a truly extraordinary marketing tool. After all, it was through the power of social media that the excitement for the festival was incited, and inflamed, blazing across the globe with the speed of the internet. All this for an event that, in reality, was a complete fiction, a fraud designed to part would-be party-goers from their money.
And while the story of the festival might be an important object lesson on how easily a business scheme can degrade into a swindle, there are also some hopeful insights to be gleaned from the film. Today’s entrepreneurs have perhaps never had better, faster, or more prolific access to their target audience, never have they had such power to reach a worldwide market with simply the touch of a button, or a post on a social media page.
The Takeaway
Starting a business can be one of the most frightening and most difficult endeavors you could ever undertake. But it can also be the most exciting, the most rewarding. And if you’re in search of a bit of guidance and a dash of inspiration, all you need to do is start streaming!
– by Frankie Wallace
