What Can Startups Learn From What Movies Got Wrong in 2017?

Oh yes, should probably start by saying that what you are about to read contains spoilers. Heavily biased spoilers, but still.

Let me then add that I’m no film critique and the point of this is not to provoke producers and movie lovers. Okay maybe a little bit, but it’s not the main point.

If you are in doubt then allow me to conclude it, 2017 was a sloppy year at best for Hollywood. I know, slightly harsh and not really well argued to merge an entire industry year to one negative verdict, but based on extractions from the larger productions I’m finding it very difficult to be impressed by the trend this past year.

But I didn’t take time out of my schedule to simply bash movies. I however believe there are 3 key learnings from 3 mediocre movies that startups can benefit from.

1. Tell your story with authenticity

It seems the only thing technology can’t help us with anymore is storytelling. While The Last Jedi was a visual masterpiece and a complete production for the superficial senses, the story was a mess. Too many plot holes, limited emotional attachment to characters and little imagination in the script that to some extend entertained people but left most fans of the universe lost with was this really the best story we could come up with? Where was the original evil, the logic in human decisions, the depth in main characters and the overall compelling and mythical story that has connected people across gender, age and ethnics for decades.

But what does that have to do with my startup you might wonder? Well, you live in a world with thousands and thousands of startups competing for attention from consumers, investors and press everyday. The importance of an identity and authenticity is therefor more critical than ever if you want to be remembered beyond the next cup of coffee. Regardless whether we are talking about your pitch deck, who you work with or your product itself, you are only as compelling and authentic as the story you tell.

Take influencer marketing as an example which there is a good chance you’ll engage in this year. Any company can find a person to market their product today to an audience. 2017 flooded with influencers not caring about what they advertise for and in 2018 it will be everywhere. If you are not convinced by people yet, then I’m pretty sure they will get smarter and ignore these before the end of the year. Those getting their authenticity right and tell native affectionate stories will develop their brand, the rest will have short term success and might just win a few social media fans.

Disney decided to step away from what fans loved about the deep Star Wars product and instead took the Frost route by throwing in as many characters and locations as possible for commercial reasons. For Disney it will mean the ultimate pay day won’t come from Box Office ($517.2M) but from Christmas and children’s birthdays - and without doubt be a guaranteed succes for the shareholders. But if the saga was to continue for years to come the franchise will have a problem with retention of their rare fanbase.

2. Have a real purpose

Another letdown around theatres in 2017 was War of the Planet of Apes. After an intelligent start with Rise and an entertaining follow up with Dawn from 2014, the trilogy was expected to conclude with the promised War and maybe some references or perspectives to Schaffners original from 1960.

I watched the movie on a flight and was throughout in doubt whether the airline was running an unedited version as something simply had to be missing. And yes something was gone.

Its purpose.

In a time where former Facebook execs including Sean Parker and Chamath Palihapitiya have lined up to admit how their social creation is ripping a part the social fabric of how society works with its dopamine driven feedback loops, it might be a good time to ask yourself what the purpose of your product and company is. And no you cannot say money, neither can everyone save the planet. But are you actually empowering people or ecosystems to improve, be successful, inspired, have a better life or just be happy?

It doesn’t only keep you passionate about your project and make you able to attract passionate talent, it will make your team work with a burning focus because you believe in what you are doing and what you are doing has a greater good.

The writers of War of the Planet of Apes unfortunately never got around to think about why they were creating this movie other than to finish the job. Because of this it will probably be one of those movies you stumble upon on Netflix and think Did I ever see that? What was it about?

If your company doesn’t have a purpose, go home.

3. Stimulate and challenge people

I don’t really want to go too much into the actual movie here as we don’t really expect a lot from disaster movies. So just think of any disaster that climate change could trigger. Add then every predictable character, plot and line you have seen in previous disaster movies and you got Geostorm. As expected the movie itself is predictable but what I believe the producers got wrong and why I have included the example (you probably wonder) is how it mentally undercharge its audience. Something that is not only being done in theatres but also in companies everyday.

Especially in growth and tech companies we are obsessed with making sure our employees are happy. We measure, we survey, we ask and we do all we can to keep everyone smiling.

But in 2018 companies need to understand the difference between a feel good culture and a winning culture. A feel good culture (some would call it family culture) is where leaders are afraid of loosing their best employees so they do all sorts of things to keep them happy, and a winning culture is where leaders and employees challenge each other, have high expectations for each other and are not afraid of setting clear and ambitious demands for each other to become the best together.

If ambitious human beings are not challenged, not intellectually stimulated they will get bored, lose motivation and stop caring. Just like Geostorm the worst thing you can do to your audience (employees, fans, customers) is forget why they came in the first place.

It was not to get the best popcorn in town.

Written by Peter Holm, co-founder of Tonsser.