How Soul Plane; a Kevin Hart movie from 2004 teaches 4 Keys to Successful Entrepreneurship
Soul Plane was a 2004 comedy hit where Nashawn Wade (Kevin Hart) wins a massive pay off from a lawsuit and promptly proceeds to start his own airline. The heavily farcical comedy sees the NWA (Nashawn Wade Airlines) cater specifically to African Americans and Hip-Hop culture. The movie goes through several mishaps and these hide serious key considerations for Entrepreneurs
Key 1:
Turn misfortune into opportunity
Behind every cloud there’s a silver lining
Kevin Hart’s character suffers a horrible experience with his travel as his pet dog get’s checked in as luggage and by some freak accident flies into an engine turbine when a door is opened accidentally, he gets his buttocks stuck in a toilet and he has the proverbial disgusting flight meal. A series of misfortunes.
Now we see his character turn this deep emotional loss and hurt into a tearful delivery in court to win over the life changing settlement.
0–100 real quick
Away from theatrical fiction, we find this principle of ‘phoenix’ action holds true. Misfortunes will come in life and very often, the accompanying deep loss, hurt or pain creates a necessary jolt to break a certain cycle of life and thought to give rise to new horizons.
“What would you not have accomplished if you had been free?”
“Possibly nothing at all; the overflow of my brain would probably, in a state of freedom, have evaporated in a thousand follies; misfortune is needed to bring to light the treasures of the human intellect.”
Alexandre Dumas -The Count of Monte Cristo
Key 2:
Find inspiration from your own problems
What exactly is your occupation, Nashawn?
- I’m an entrepreneur.
- I see.
So I guess it’s fair to say you don’t have a job.
No, I do —
Tell us about some of your businesses.
Any of ’em ever make any money?
- No.
- Exactly.
So it would be correct to say that you’re nothin’ more
than a deadbeat lookin’ for a quick dollar. Right?”
What do you with a payoff from a bad airline experience ?
- You start your own airline!
Nashawn (Kevin Hart’s Character) found inspiration to innovate by drawing on his own problem;
A Bad Flight Experience
The drive to innovate and create value as an Entrepreneur can start from your own identified problem.
No matter how ingenious, appealing and brilliant an idea appears, an Entrepreneur who proceeds to build a solution without properly validating the problem the idea seeks to solves is making a potentially deadly (and costly) mistake.
Validate the problem you seek to solve. Dig deep, do research, interview your target market, find out what makes them tick!
More often than not, the problems we face in our daily spheres of life contain opportunities for innovation and solution creation.
Key 3:
Know your market !
An airline catering to specifically to African-American people with a heavy play on Hip-Hop culture.
As ridiculous and exaggerated as the movie is portrayed, an element of logic lies beneath this plot.
A key understanding of the target market!
In solution creation, an in-depth consideration of your target market is necessary. Consider elements such as:
i. Why will your defined target require the solutions you are offering ?
ii. What functional features do your target market value ?
iii. How best can you make your products/service offering conveniently available to your target market ?
Answering questions like this is achieved by creating a customer persona.
This customer persona is informed by research, observation and conscious feedback soliciting.
KEY 4:
Resumes are not enough. Talk to your potential team members. Dig deep.
We’ve flown computer simulators.
You told me you got your wings when you got out the Air Force.
No, I didn’t. I told you I got my wings when I got out.
When I got out of Pelican Bay State Corrections Facility.
It was either get a GED or take a pilot class.
You learned how to fly in the prison?
The Captain of the Soul Plane was hired off a base description of having qualified flight status. This was apparently enough to get him hired.
What the CEO, Nashawn Wade didn’t know was that his Captain had a bad case of acrophobia — The deep fear of heights and that the only flight qualifications he has were from flight simulator games he passed whilst incarcerated.
Resumes are well crafted initial presentations of an individual’s achievements and prowess. Beyond the resume lies a secondary responsibility for the hiring manager or Entrepreneur to scrutinize and assess critically; the individual’s practical skills and ability to work in the organisational culture and space your venture demands.
Exit Scene
