Essentially, everyone has the ever-growing desire to be successful. Those, in particular, share this goal and do something about it by pursuing entrepreneurship. Entrepreneurship isn’t a walk in the park, and there is no one-size-fits-all method to getting things done right. For some, you’ll have to take a risk and put yourself out there. For others, you’re better off playing it safe and making money in safe ways.
Movies about Entrepreneurs
1. The Social Network
In the early 2000s, Harvard undergrad and computer programming genius Mark Zuckerberg sat down in his dorm room, dazed after a night of partying and coding, where he created Facemash, a website that compares women’s photos from around Harvard – sparking jealousy, intrigue and competition between male students. After being booted off Campus for creating the site, he’s left to work on it alone until some savvy female friends come to his aid.
2. The Devil Wears Prada
In this film, spun from Lauren Weisberger’s best-selling book of the same name, 27-year-old magazine assistant Andy Sachs lands a job at the publishing firm of “Look’s hot editor,” Miranda Priestly. All Andy wants is to be promoted to an assistant position. But his naive ways make him seem uninterested in the fashion world, and he is stonewalled. While working as a “runner” herding women to Ms. Priestly, Andy is given a chance to work at a fraternity party – and starts a wildfire that can’t be contained.
3. Office Space (1999)
Peter Gibbons is a programmer at a major software company called Initech. He has been working at the company for nine years, leaving him disappointed, stressed, and frustrated with his job. Andy and Michael Bolton attempt to introduce him to the ways of slacking off: “going on strike.” This soon becomes an elaborate scheme in which they quit their jobs, set up an offshore corporation in Mexico, buy a boat, and spend their days fishing and drinking beer on the water.
4. Erin Brockovich (2000)
This film stars Julia Roberts as the titular Erin Brockovich, a single mother who makes her living as a legal secretary in Hinkley, California. She works for the law firm of Ed Masry. Their clients include Pacific Gas & Electric Company, the largest utility company in Southern California and one of several companies believed to have caused Erin’s thyroid cancer.
5. The Founder
The incredible story of how Ray Kroc, a salesman from Illinois, met Mac and Dick McDonald, who were running a burger operation in 1950s Southern California. Kroc was impressed by the brothers’ speedy system of making the food and saw franchise potential. He maneuvered himself into a position to pull the company from the brothers and create a billion-dollar empire.
6. Tommy Boy
Tommy Callahan, Jr. is a wealthy first-year student at the fictional Shepsport University near Chicago. He drives around in his new car, listens to loud music on his boom box, and has a beautiful girlfriend who waits for him in his dorm when he is not attending class. With his best friend Richard Hayden and girlfriend Jaqueline, Tommy is part of the Delta Tau Chi Fraternity.
7. The Intern
Vince Vaughan plays a management consultant who loses a big client, leading to unemployment and the lack of a job. Things get worse when he cannot find anything else and has to resort to working as an intern at local pharmaceutical company Halston Garments to keep his head above water financially for the time being.
8. The Pursuit of Happyness
This film is about a man who has a family and works for stock brokerages but does not make enough money to support his kids. He tries to trade stocks to succeed in the market. One day, he encountered financial issues that he could not solve. At this time, the company got him out of trouble by offering him an opportunity to work at their stock trading firm as long as he passed the interview.
9. Moneyball
This film is about Billy Beane, the general manager of the fictional Oakland A’s baseball team. Beane tries to build a winning baseball team based on statistics and principles that can be applied to other sports. He first encounters San Diego Padres general manager Jerry Dipoto with whom he tries to trade when they do not think they should be traded based on their age and experience. They also try to negotiate with a younger player.
10. Steve Jobs (2015)
This 2015 biographical drama is based on Walter Isaacson’s best-selling biography of the same name. It tells the story of Steve Jobs, a co-founder and former CEO of Apple, who revolutionized the computer industry with Apple Inc. and then led it to become one of the most valuable companies in the world, with an estimated value of $334.4 billion as of January 1, 2018.
Conclusion
Whether or not you’re planning on starting a business of your own, it’s best to know what you’re getting yourself into. These films are quite eye-opening and informative in that regard. However, if you want to learn about being an entrepreneur, try doing some research. Take every bit of information that makes sense and apply it as you start your new business venture. If all else fails, no doubt watching one of these movies will help you get through the day.