5 best business movies to inspire you

Are you launching a startup or, maybe, you are in charge of a large company? Like any entrepreneur or executive, sometimes you might run into questions that are difficult to answer right away. You don’t have to be fully armed, but you need to know where to find knowledge. Nowadays, opportunities for self-education are limitless: mentors, internet platforms, books, movies…That’s right, even movies can help you in solving critical situations, as well as suggesting how to act and anticipate the run of events.

Storist experts have picked out five inspiring stories about entrepreneurs. Each picture is based on a true story. They focus on controversial characters and their actions, different causes and consequences. Obviously, these movies about business success can help you solve problems, inspire and call you to action.

All five films received high ratings from critics. They are recommended by Amazon to its partners. Four pictures were nominated for an Oscar and The Social Network has won the Academy Award. Three movies were nominated for Golden Globe Awards. Steve Jobs and The Social Network have won the Award.

Inspiring stories about entrepreneurs

1. Founder, directed by John Lee Hancock.

Overview: The movie on how to elevate your business from good to great.

Key Idea: “Push forward: nothing in the world beats persistence.”

Ray Kroc, a traveling salesman, once came to the right place at the right time – the restaurant of McDonald brothers. Ray was inspired by their original approach and saw tremendous potential. However, the owners didn’t share his enthusiasm. Then Ray decided he should act on his own – first come first served.

McDonald’s Empire founder is an example of determination and persistence. Using these qualities, successful people can move mountains. Kroc`s way demonstrates that education, talent and even genius might not be enough for success. Life dictates that you won’t go far without audacity and perseverance. The key is to define your goal and to move forward.

2. The Social Network, directed by David Fincher

Overview: the movie about successful startup

Key Idea: “Creating a job is much better than looking for it”

A blessing in disguise has ignited Mark Zuckerberg`s success. Right after his girlfriend broke up with him he came up with a brilliant idea – to create a website, where visitors can rate female students’ photos based on their attractiveness. The guy managed to do it all by himself while being drunk. Later Facebook became extremely popular while Zuckerberg emerged as the youngest billionaire in the world.

If you think about it, everyone has probably had some crazy idea. How many people had the audacity to put it into life though? Only a few. One of them was the founder of Facebook.

Why Zuckerberg’s social network turned out to be so viable? His product met his target audience`s demands – natural needs for socializing and emotional support. The broader audience was captured by simple and practical interface. Mark sticks to minimalism in his lifestyle as well.

3. Steve Jobs, directed by Danny Boyle.

Overview: The movie about the creator of the future

Key Idea: “Creators create, while mediocrities vote”

The plot is based on three significant presentations of Macintosh, NeXTcube and iMac computers. The film opens up the “kitchen” of Apple – the forerunner of the future digital revolution. Steve was the central figure and its main driving force.

Jobs’ name is associated with success. The products of his Apple Company are quality benchmarks. It was not a coincidence. Jobs was thinking globally – this is the quality of a truly great person. He said, “Let’s invent tomorrow instead of worrying about what happened yesterday” and became the first to create a compact computer, a digital player, a sensor smartphone, a tablet computer.

He had a unique approach to marketing, which is still viable. The inventor should create products, which he would like to use himself. The features of his products are usability, catchy design, and calculating everything down to the smallest details.

Movies about Wall Street

4. The Pursuit of Happyness, directed by Gabriele Muccino

Overview: The movie about a stout-hearted man

Key Idea: “Don’t ever let someone tell you, you can’t do something. You got a dream, you’ve got to protect it.”

It is the story of a black entrepreneur, who came all the way from under achieving salesman to successful broker, from homeless man to multi-millionaire.

Chris Gardner turned out to be on the street with his child and without any means of subsistence. He had to harness his willpower. After six months of unpaid internship, he was hired full-time on the coveted position. The only one out of 20 candidates. Today Chris Gardner is a successful investor, entrepreneur and philanthropist.

“Don’t give up hope, strive to your dream, be persistent and you will succeed – this is Chris Gardner`s motto both in the movie and in real life. His willpower and belief in himself led him to the place in the sun. His story inspires you to re-imagine life and to get better every day.

5. Margin Call, directed by J.C. Chandor.

Overview: The movie on how to choose the lesser of two evils

Key Idea: “There are three ways to survive in this business – be first, be smarter or cheat”

The film is about the last 24 hours of a large company during the subprime mortgage crisis in 2007-2008. The employees of an investment bank struggle to find the way out of the collapse and avoid bankruptcy. They found the solution – traders quickly get rid of their shares, which already worth nothing, for a solid compensation.

In Margin Call the leadership of the manager is perfectly portrayed. In tough situations, it is crucial to avoid panicking, accept the facts and find a solution within a short time. Want to know how to gain support of your team? By all means! You have to describe the situation honestly, point out all the risks and remind everyone of your company’s good cause.

The episode with employment layoffs serves as a great example. The boss brilliantly calms down and motivates the employees, who avoided being fired: “…three of every seven guys, who were standing between you and your boss’s job, are gone. That is your opportunity… so keep your heads high, get back to work”.

The movie can be a useful manual for managers on how to act in times of crisis.

Conclusion

Cinema allows you to go through the lives of the characters on the screen and walk in their shoes. What if you could transform into one of those characters? In Storist services you can be the central figure in different business scenarios – as a startupper, marketer, manager or a boss…Get the task, make decisions and see detailed analyses of the consequences. This kind of a simulator will help you to avoid mistakes in real life, prepare for different situations and make right decisions.The stories in our platform help you learn ideas and skills from business books. Storist will also provide you with summaries and key ideas. You can solidify your knowledge with tests. Study a business book in just 60 minutes!