We are living in a world full of ambitions and desires and almost every one of us is an entrepreneur in some way or the other. Each one of us is dreaming larger than humans have ever done in the course of mankind’s history. And rightly so – for the world today we live in is abundant with opportunities like never before! And for those with enough entrepreneurial spirit and perseverance, the world is their oyster.
But there come times in every entrepreneur’s life when you face road blocks and rough patches and you feel like quitting and giving it up! But all you need in those needs is a change of perspective, a slightly new outlook and lots of motivation. That’s what we have tried to do by compiling this list of motivational entrepreneurial movies that would give you that inspirational push in those tough moments, for movies and real life stories have always inspired people around the world. So go on, scroll down and check out which entrepreneurial movie resembles your life’s story!
The movies compiled here are not ranked in any particular order for its difficult to do justice to such insanely inspirational cinema by rating them against one another. It’s just a compilation of the best movies for entrepreneurs – every movie is equally good as the other 17 on the list.
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The Social Network (2010)
Based on the meteoric rise of the world’s youngest billionaire – Mark Zuckerberg and his Harvard dorm-room startup – Facebook. The Social Network is a great story about taking an idea and turning it into one of the most profitable businesses. Moreover, it is one movie that every kid who has grown up in the era of the internet and can connect to. The icing on the cake being its deft storytelling and a brilliant background score.
IMDB Link: The Social Network
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The Pursuit of Happyness (2006)
This is a real life story of a man who ends up losing his house, his wife and his money, being left with just himself and his son. But it’s the steps that he takes from here that really shape him into who he becomes. The movie shows how a struggling salesman overcomes obstacles and works smarter and harder than the competition. Based on the best-seller by the same name, it gives goosebumps every single time I watch this powerful story.
IMDB Link: The Pursuit Of Happyness
- Pirates of Silicon Valley (1999)
Capturing the rivalry of the two stalwarts of the information age- Steve Jobs and Bill Gates, the movie is a biographical look at the early days of these two companies and the very different ways their founders operated. This was a made-for-television movie depicting both Jobs and Gates as “pirates”, which indeed they were! The movie shows their struggles, successes and how they became the founding fathers of the tech world.
IMDB Link: Pirates of Silicon Valley
- Flash Of Genius (2008)
A College Professor, Robert Kearns (Greg Kinnear), battles with the US automakers over his invention- the windshield wiper. All the auto giants of the 1960s embrace his device and it becomes a standard on all cars. However, they do not give Kearns the credit he is due and this movie shows how he fights the most powerful corporations for his credit. Every entrepreneur must see it to learn why its important to protect your ideas from being stolen.
IMDB Link: Flash of Genius
- Moneyball (2011)
Oakland A’s general manager Billy Beane (Brad Pitt) has the lowest salary to offer his Baseball players. His team is an underdog and moreover all his top notch players are being picked up by bigger teams, Now he’s left to look at how to create a winning team without the class that money can buy. This movie shows how taking an innovative approach to an existing way of doing business when you have little to no cash can beat the competition.
IMDB Link: Moneyball
- Rocky (1976)
A true story of an underdog who went from nothing to something, and something very big at that. Rocky Balboa (Sylvester Stallone) is given a chance to fight the heavyweight champ. He has an opportunity to make a better life for himself by going ahead and trying to win the prize. This movie kindles the competitive spirit and the amount of perseverance Rocky puts into it inspires one to get up and meet the competition and succeed in today’s marketplace.
IMDB Link: Rocky
- Jerry Maguire (1996)
The movie revolves around a man who has all that one can desire for: a beautiful partner, biggest clients and lots of respect. But then he decides to step back and question it all and proposes his new thoughts to the rest of the company, which ultimately ends in him losing it all. Everyone turns their back on him, except for one very volatile client, Rod Tidwell. Here on you see Jerry examine what it is that is really important to his business and life and work towards bringing it all back together again, only this time, the way it should be.
IMDB Link: Jerry Maguire
- The Aviator (2004)
A biopic of aviation pioneer, director and womanizer Howard Hughes, this is the story of how a young Howard transformed a small fortune into a massive one. It goes about his career from the late 1920s to the mid 1940s. The movie focuses on Hughes’ attention to detail and perfection that he set him apart from his competition. He overcomes obstacles along the way from rival companies and malicious rumors,and goes on to become exactly who he wanted to be.
IMDB Link: The Aviator
- Forrest Gump (1994)
Forrest Gump is a humble man with noble intentions, who accidentally becomes phenomenally successful from living his life the best way he knows how! He wins prizes, becomes a professional ping-pong player, takes up running and starts a million dollar shrimp company. The simple nature of Forrest makes him very likeable as he proves that you don’t have to be a genius to be ‘successful’, you just have to try. And most people who see this movie may not even realize that Forrest was an entrepreneur!
IMDB Link: Forrest Gump
- Wall Street (1987)
Greed for the lack of a better word is Good! This is one of the best entrepreneurial movies of all time! An ambitious young stockbroker, Bud Fox (Charlie Sheen) will do just about anything it takes to succeed, and for him, that includes a little bit of insider trading. The movie shows what happens when the desire to succeed takes over your life and the motto of ‘Greed is good’ directs how you do business. The 1987 flick also stars Michael Douglas as Gordon Gekko – the Corporate Raider and Bud’s hero.
IMDB Link: The Wall Street
- Boiler Room (2000)
For any young entrepreneur starting out in business, it’s a very real possibility that you’re going to face moral dilemmas and the way they should be dealt with. This movie about a 19 year old college drop out has it all. Seth Davis gets involved with a Boiler Room Stock firm, becomes one of their top brokers while trying to figure out what is going on at the firm since it seems suspicious (he doesn’t know it’s a boiler room). It’s here when he’s forced to face the dilemma of money and greed versus morals and legality.
IMDB Link: Boiler Room
- Startup.com (2001)
This is one of the best documentaries that chronicles the rise and fall of the early 2000’s dot-com bubble. This film follows the lifespan of govWorks.com, a startup website during that time, from when the founders gave their notice at Goldman Sachs to when the company filed for bankruptcy. The film educates you that launching a business based solely on an idea can be a disaster; one must do thorough research to see if it’s viable and can last.
IMDB Link: Startup.com
- The Wolf Of Wall Street (2013)
This is a story of the American dream to corporate greed. New York stockbroker, Jordan Belfort (Leonardo DiCaprio) goes from penny stocks and integrity to IPOs and a life of graft in the late 80s. Excessive success and fortune as founder of the brokerage firm Stratton Oakmont justified Belfort’s title – The Wolf of Wall Street. Money. Power. Women. Drugs. Temptations were for the taking and the respect for law was immaterial.
IMDB Link: The Wolf Of Wall Street
- Office Space (1999)
Everyone who hates their job, please raise your hands! This movie was definitely made for you. When your hypnotist dies just after they’ve put you in a state of complete bliss, you can’t help but take a refreshing outlook on life. If there’s ever a film to make you want to get out of a desk job in the corporate world, then this is it! This story of Peter Gibbons is a must watch motivational movies for those who hate their 9-to-5 office jobs.
IMDB Link: Office Space
- The Shawshank Redemption (1994)
This is one of the greatest films of all time, and certainly one that the majority of our readers have seen before, purely because of its undeniable greatness. I don’t think I have anything to say here. Those of you who haven’t seen it yet, you have certainly missed on a gem of a movie. But better late than never. Go watch it. NOW!
IMDB Link: The Shawshank Redemption
- Blow (2001)
Another great movie based on a real life story, this time only slightly more illegal. It depicts the story of George Jung (Johnny Depp) and his journey as a cocaine dealer and his fascinating rags-to-riches story. What started off as a small time operation with pot circulation, ended up with George handling about 85% of all of the supply of cocaine in the 1970s, making him an incredibly powerful and rich man, and this film is all about exactly how he did it.
IMDB Link: Blow
- Glengary Glen Ross (1992)
In the fast paced world of Chicago’s cut-throat real estate business, its only competition and incentive that decides who’s the best. That’s why they have organized a little sales competition – First prize is a Cadillac El Dorado, second prize is a set of steak knives and the third prize is “You’re fired”. With stakes that high, and the incredible high pressure environment, the salesmen display their willingness to do anything it takes to succeed in this business.
IMDB Link: Glengary Glen Ross
- The Godfather (1972)
One of the greatest piece of cinema in the world based on the book by the same name. The Godfather is the story about the growth of a small family business which eventually becomes the largest organised crime family in New York. The Godfather and his son Michael Corleone are the brains behind their operations and the movie shows what it takes to get to the top and more importantly to stay there. One of the must watch motivational movies for learning to master the art of staying on the top once you reach there. Though we wouldn’t recommend you taking the illegal route!
IMDB Link: The Godfather
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