Everyone loves a good movie, especially when it inspires and motivates through tales of innovation and entrepreneurship. During this year’s GEW, grab some friends and host an entrepreneurial movie marathon screening.
To get you started, the GEW team has suggested a few of their film favorites.
Ocean’s Eleven (1960)
Suggested by Jonathan Ortmans – President
Startups are created by teams. You need a fresh thinker with a disruptive idea, someone with experience and unique knowledge of the industry and of course someone with the relevant skill sets for the service or product. Danny Ocean’s team is a perfect example of this sort of job division based on skillset. Just like Ocean's team, a flat team where everyone does their part with precision and confidence that can adapt to unexpected curve balls calmly and efficiently is the ideal for any startup.
Ghost Busters (1984)
Suggested by Alana Ramo – Director for Strategic Partnerships
Fired from their jobs, Peter, Ray, and Egon identified a great opportunity in a huge challenge that needed to be solved: saving NYC from untold evil. With their foresight, they even managed to form the business just ahead of market demand. They pulled together an awesome team where each individual contributed a unique skill set to the group. (Although, I do think Janine should have officially been a part of the field team.) They had no money, a ton of naysayers, and were even accused of fraud and thrown in jail but they held the team together and remained passionate to their cause. They also did a great job marketing their services. I'm also certain Rick Moranis added to the success of Ghostbusters but, I haven't figured out how exactly.
Good Will Hunting (1997)
Suggested by Jeremy Simah – Project Associate Intern
This movie teaches us that education can come from anywhere and learning can happen beyond textbooks and classrooms. Will Hunting was born smart, and quenched his thirst for knowledge by reading everything he came across. There is a lesson here for potential entrepreneurs that they should not let following a less traditional path stand in the way of their success
Office Space (1999)
Suggested by Charlotte Lamontagne – Communications Associate
In addition to being able to work on something they are truly passionate about, entrepreneurs have the ability to set their own hours and avoid the 9 – 5 grind. Office Space is the dramatic interpretation of what can go horribly wrong when people who are truly unhappy with their life, their boss and their job decide to take drastic action. While the average unhappy employee will likely not try to embezzle from their workplace, the film remains a warning to people who settle in life and in work.
Catch Me If You Can (2002)
Suggested by Matyas Tamasi – Project Associate Intern
While the FBI chased down Frank Abignale Jr., Abignale stayed one step ahead by reinventing himself and utilizing his skillset. Based on a true story, the exciting chase paints the criminal as the protagonist and reflects business from an interesting point of view. Moral of the story? Be innovative with your personal branding if you want Leonardo DiCaprio to star in the movie adaptation of your life.
Slumdog Millionaire (2008)
Suggested by Buke Cuhadar – Vice President
Slumdog Millionaire is an inspiring film about a young boy from the slums in Mumbai, India pursuing his dreams whilst remaining optimistic against all the odds. The Dharavi slum in Mumbai, where the movie was shot, is a buzzing entrepreneurial hub in real-life in which half a million people make a living as entrepreneurs despite the lack of infrastructure and access to education. The slum’s self-created economic success has attracted much attention worldwide, including the Harvard Business School.
The Startup Kids (2012)
Suggested by Mark Marich – Executive Vice President
The Startup Kids is a film created a few years ago by a couple of young entrepreneurs from Iceland. It isn't a Hollywood blockbuster, but it features direct insights and stories from the founders behind web startups like Dropbox, Soundcloud and Vimeo. Our GEW host from Iceland at the time introduced me to the filmmakers and we ended up coordinating screenings during Global Entrepreneurship Week 2012 in London, Berlin, San Francisco and Washington, DC.
Jobs
Suggested by Cristina Fernandez – Director for Policy and Research
(2013)
Steve Jobs is perhaps one of the more successful and well-known entrepreneurs of our time. The film is relevant to entrepreneurs because it covers much of the business idea life cycle that they are likely to face, including shifting team dynamics, the impact that starting a business can have on one’s personal life and above all, passion.
The Lego Movie
Suggested by Hope Grauel – Strategic Projects Associate
(2014)
At its core, The Lego Movie is about innovators who aren’t afraid to fail. Whether you are building a double decker couch or starting a business, failure is not always what it seems. Sometimes a new perspective is all it takes to turn a failure into a success.
Still got some popcorn left? Here are a few more films to delight the entrepreneur in each of us:
Mr. K: A Common Man with Uncommon Vision (2005)
The film is a feature length documentary profiling one of America's greatest philanthropists and entrepreneurs, Ewing Marion Kauffman.
The Social Network (2010)
Now the most widely used social networking site, Facebook started out as a simple startup formed in a dorm room. The film follows Facebook creator Mark Zuckerberg's journey from his initial idea to the product launch and through the subsequent lawsuits that plagued its early years.
Something Ventured (2011)
Something Ventured tells the story of the creation of an industry that went on to become the single greatest engine of innovation and economic growth in the 20th century.
Ctrl+Alt+Compete (2011)
Ctrl+Alt+Compete takes a behind the scenes look at what it takes the make it as a startup. Produced by Microsoft, the documentary follows five entrepreneurs as they compete at DEMO, Game Developers Conference and SXSW Accelerator in the hopes of finding success.
Burt’s Bees (2014)
A documentary about Burt Shavitz of Burt’s Bees, the film takes a deeper look the man on the face of a billion dollar company he helped found and then was bought out of, years before its big payday.