Top 5 Unlikely Movies for the College Entrepreneur
Be it for satisfaction or leisure, seeing a movie always gives one a brisk lift. Movies are good sources of inspiration, and entrepreneurs can dig ‘em to be stirred.
I recommend these 5 movies for the entrepreneurs’ viewing pleasure.
1. Mary Poppins (1964)
This Walt Disney’s film adaptation of P.L. Travers’ Mary Poppins Series is an inspiring story of a nanny who showed her masters the importance of putting work aside and spending time with family.
Mary, who happens to be the nanny of the Banks children, served as a catalyst to endear the kids to taciturn Mr. Banks, the aloof paterfamilias. In this movie, one will see Mr. Banks’ gradual change from a businessman who doesn’t seem to have a life beyond work to a doting, fun-loving dad.
2. Run Lola Run (1998)
Visually stylized, Run Lola Run is a gripping art film that’s definitely one of the best entrepreneurial movies of all time. It’s about Lola, a German hoodlum’s girlfriend who has to amass a huge amount of money to save his boyfriend from a gang that plots to kill him.
Although desperate, Lola opted to be righteous. She chose to plead for cash and try her luck in the casino – just so his boyfriend won’t rob a supermarket.
The message of the story is this: Even if some things go beyond our reach, we should try everything to be in control.
3. Jerry Maguire (1996)
This film depicts the importance of honesty and integrity in entrepreneurship. Having seen dishonesty in the sports company he’s in, Jerry Maguire disclosed to his co-workers how it can be stopped; but unfortunately, he was fired. He then made a mission statement to “win the battle for what is real and personal about business.”
Jerry started his own sports management company and tried to convince probable clients to join in his venture. He was short. But even though he faced a hundred challenges in the startup saga, he kept his self-defeating statement in effect.
4. The Music Man (1962)
Based on a Broadway musical of the same name, The Music Man tells the story of Harold Hill, a prototypical entrepreneur who comes to town as a hustler. His trick is to convince townsmen that he can teach children to play musical instruments and get them in a band – in exchange for cash. Before he can do so, however, he moves to another town where he can swindle. This went on for quite sometime – until his scheme was unraveled – and he had to choose between staying and fleeing.
Afraid to face charges, he opted to stay. He formed a boy band which the unsuspecting parents gladly appreciated every time they performed. This teaches us to make sure that we make ethical choices along the way and not to take advantage of well-intentioned folks - you don’t want to get caught in a difficult position later on.
5. Ghostbusters (1984)
It meant to be comically spooky, but Ghostbusters has an entrepreneurial plot. This movie is about three parapsychology professors who, despite short funds, started Ghostbusters, an enterprise geared towards ethereal studies and services. The three made a good team, with one being a scientific genius, another being a paranormal enthusiast, and another being a visionary. With all their wits combined, they made everything for their ghoulish business to take off. This happened in the end.
Before the story winded up, they were in the covers of all magazines, and their career was launched in a snap. The lesson? When getting people to join your venture, make sure you complement each other and form “the dream team”.
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That is a genius idea and great list!!!
I would like to add one: Miracle on 34th Street (1947). In my opinion, it gives the greatest insight into entrepreneurial sales ever done in a movie. Far from being about business ownership, this movie is about Santa Claus and a job he gets at Macy’s.
Here’s the scene:
Santa (he goes by Kris Kringle) gets recruited by Macy’s to work for them during the busy Christmas season. Accidentally, a customer approaches Santa to ask where she can find certain items carried by the store. He directs the customer to the COMPETITOR, since they offer the better deal. That’s right, he turns her onto a better deal at a different company. She leaves.
The story is far from over. The customer tells her friends how helpful the Santa at Macy’s was. More shoppers come to the store to ask Santa for help and he directs them to the best deals, sometimes at Macy’s sometimes elsewhere. Soon the store is flooded and the sales for Macy’s are the best ever.
Here’s the lesson:
The greatest entrepreneurs build businesses that help the customer, even at the cost of their own sales. For it’s these businesses that get the (well deserved) reputation of truly caring for the customer. Plus these businesses learn the quickest, and adjust the fastest, to the fickle needs of the consumer. When a company makes the customer win, the company wins.
The winter Holidays are many, many months away. But this strategy can be started today.