Being an entrepreneur can be challenging, and numerous individuals have failed in the attempt.  There are many obstacles to face, and the demanding schedule can be demotivating.

However, movies for entrepreneurs can be a source of motivation. An incredible film can invigorate your psyche, improve creativity, inspire innovation, and give renewed energy to your work.

Motion pictures are an amazing source of encouragement for many. Movies for entrepreneurs have the ability to challenge cutoff points, push understandings, and promote positive feelings.

The best business people occasionally need inspiration and motivation.

Learn below more about this topic in this article created by our team at TMS who loves working with entrepreneurs to take their business to the next level.

Must watch movies for entrepreneurs

The Founder (2016)

The first in this movies for entrepreneurs list is the story of the popular fast-food restaurant. McDonald’s is one of the most famous fast-food chains in the world, and this film depicts the true story of Ray Krok (played by Michael Keaton), a struggling salesman who stumbles upon a family-run fast-food hamburger business. He realizes the potential and convinces the owners, the McDonalds brothers, to spread their business wings nationally. The film’s themes cover opportunism, work ethics, winner-takes-all mentality, greed, and betrayal. The story of McDonald’s would have obvious interest for entrepreneurs.

Steve Jobs

Michael Fassbender portrays the life of Apple’s co-founder Steve Jobs. This film is directed by Danny Boyle and screenplay by Aaron Sorkin. The biographical film is constructed around three of Apple’s product launches and offers insight into Job’s personal and professional problems as these launches take place. It is a fascinating glimpse inside the life of one of the world’s most famous entrepreneurs.

The Pursuit of Happyness (2006)

Many organizations like their employees to watch this film for inspiration. This film is based on a true story of Chris Gardener (Will Smith) a single parent of Christopher (Jaden Christopher Syre Smith). Gardener will do anything to bring his family back from a state of destitution no matter what circumstances come his way.

Joy

A quote from the movie that sums up its purpose and inspiration is: “We got here from hard work, patience, and humility. Don’t think the world owes you anything because the world owes you nothing.”

This film covers the life of Joy Mangano, designer of the Miracle Mop and Huggable Hangers, who overcomes many obstacles to achieve business success.

The Social Network (2010)

Directed by David Fincher, The Social Network portrays how Mark Zuckerberg and Eduardo Saverin created Facebook while studying at Harvard and how they were later sued by two fellow students who claimed they stole their idea. The film explores Zuckerberg’s single-minded determination to succeed at all costs, including friendship and loyalty, and would likely appeal to would-be entrepreneurs to give them insight into how Zuckerberg has achieved his vast empire from a simple idea.

Moneyball

Moneyball is a 2011 American biographical sports drama film directed by Bennett Miller and written by Steven Zaillian and Aaron Sorkin. The film is based on Michael Lewis’s 2003 nonfiction book of the same name, an account of the Oakland Athletics baseball team’s 2002 season and their general manager Billy Beane’s attempts to assemble a competitive team.

In the film, Beane (Brad Pitt) and assistant GM Peter Brand (Jonah Hill), faced with the franchise’s limited budget for players, optimized a player lineup of undervalued talent by taking a sophisticated sabermetric approach to scouting and analyzing players. Columbia Pictures bought the rights to Lewis’s book in 2004.

Becoming Warren Buffett

With a net worth of over $70 bln, Warren Buffett is truly a one-of-a-kind billionaire. The legendary investor still lives in his modest home in Omaha.

At 86 years old, he drives to the office every morning to manage Berkshire Hathaway, the fifth-largest public company in the world. But more surprising than his humble lifestyle is his moral core. The same principles of decency and integrity that helped him pile up a fortune led him to give it all away in the largest philanthropic donation in history.

Becoming Warren Buffett chronicles the evolution of a boy from Nebraska who became one of the most respected men in the world, and the heroes who helped guide him along the way. By allowing access to his life and never-before-released home videos, Buffett offers a glimpse into his unique mind to help us understand what is truly important when money no longer has meaning.

Something Ventured

Apple. Intel. Genentech. Atari. Google. Cisco. Stratospheric successes with high stakes all around. Behind some of the world’s most revolutionary companies are a handful of men who (through timing, foresight, a keen ability to size up other people, and a lot of luck) saw opportunity where others did not: these are the original venture capitalists.

All were backing and building companies before the term ‘venture capital’ had been coined: companies that led to the birth of biotechnology and the spectacular growth in microprocessors, personal computers, and the web. SOMETHING VENTURED uncovers the ups and downs of the building of some of the greatest companies of the twentieth century and the hidden dramas behind some of the most famous names in the business.

The Intern

A retired 70-year-old widower, Ben (played by Robert De Niro), is bored with retired life. He applies to be a senior intern at an online fashion retailer and gets the position. The founder of the company is Jules Ostin (Anne Hathaway), a tireless, driven, demanding, dynamic workaholic.

Ben is made her intern, but this is a nominal role – she doesn’t intend to give him work and it is just window dressing. However, Ben proves to be quite useful and, more than that, a source of support and wisdom.

Risky Business

A suburban Chicago teenager’s parents leave on vacation, and he cuts loose. An unauthorized trip in his father’s Porsche means a sudden need for lots of money, which he raises in a creative way.

The Call of the Entrepreneur

Tells the stories of three entrepreneurs: A failing dairy farmer in rural Evart, Michigan A merchant banker in New York City A refugee from Communist China Reverend Robert Sirico, author of The Entrepreneurial Vocation, joins Michael Novak, George Gilder and other experts in exploring how entrepreneurs shape our world.

Beer Wars

A contemporary David and Goliath story that takes you inside the cutthroat world of the big business of American beer.

Jerry Maguire

While this is principally reviewed as a lighthearted comedy, Maguire’s purpose promotes the significance of having your own dream and staying true to that vision, regardless of whether anyone else sees it that way.

Pirates of Silicon Valley (1999)

This film focuses on the early years of Steve Jobs and Bill Gates, two extraordinarily famous entrepreneurs, and the creation of their equally famous mega-companies, Apple, and Microsoft. It obviously would have great appeal for all those interested in startups and how they can become mega-companies.

Startup.com

Startup.com is the ideal film to portray the rise and fall of what’s become known as the Dotcom bubble in the late 90’s. The narrative film follows a promising startup, GoWorks, during this period and explores the themes of the power battles, rivalries, friendship, greed, and legal challenges associated with the Dotcom bubble.  I.

Catch Me If You Can

This movie is based on the real-life adventures of an extraordinary con man, Frank Abagnale, played with great skill by Leonardo DiCaprio. Whilst swindling is obviously not recommended for entrepreneurs, the themes that are useful are creative and critical thinking, and having the confidence and self-belief that ultimately leads to success.

 

Office Space

This revenge comedy movie explores the corporate culture of the late 90’s and by doing so, promotes an entrepreneurial career path, rather than working for “the man”. The useful themes are workplace connections and culture, leadership, greed and insightful observations on modern corporate life.

The Aviator

Howard Hughes, played by  Leonardo DiCaprio, was a world-famous CEO, movie executive, business visionary, who loved to fly and set flight records. This film features his early career from the late 1920s to the 1940s.

He struggled with many personal and legal issues, however, the themes that will interest entrepreneurs are his determination, ambition, goal setting and vision.

Glengarry Glenn Ross

Starring Al Pacino, Kevin Spacey, Jack Lemmon, and Alec Baldwin. Glengarry Glen Ross depicts the high-pressure situation of real estate sales reps during a difficult season. Themes that may inspire entrepreneurial spirit are competition, manipulation, persuasion, ambition, and dissatisfaction as a motivation for success.

Rogue Trader

The film is a true story depicting the life of Nick Leeson (played by Ewan McGregor) and his role in the 90’s downfall of Barings Bank, a merchant bank that became reliant on stock market speculation. The film’s themes explore how real money became abstract, and rank opportunism became the motivation for banks and stock markets during this period.

The Big Short

This is a story about two finance experts who were able to predict the instability and collapse of the US mortgage market in the mid-2000’s and profit from it, against all odds. It was directed by Adam McKay, and it features Oscar-worthy performances by Christian Bale and Steve Carrell. The audience becomes familiarized with the intricate, corrupt, and flawed world of subprime mortgages and credit in a way that the layman can appreciate and understand.

Thank You For Smoking

“Thank You For Smoking” is not the most obvious choice in this list of movies for entrepreneurs, but we assure you that it’s worth its runtime. This film is a great satire that explores the ideas of media spin in the tobacco war. As a comedy, it is designed primarily to entertain, but doesn’t miss out on making some pointed observations, and could be seen to have a few lessons in crisis management and corporate communication.

Ending thoughts on these movies for entrepreneurs

Movies based on entrepreneurial concepts can give you an idea of how to set goals and be determined to see them through as well as offering an entertaining couple of hours.

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