Movies are often art imitating life. Growing up nothing excited me more than a character I could relate to. As an entrepreneur now, the excitement of seeing a character that I could learn from still has me glued to the tv. Here are some movies you should definitely watch:

1. The Banker

This movie tells the true story of two black entrepreneurs who are trying to succeed in a racist system. The allure of this movie was reminding me of how intersectional entrepreneurs are. There are so many generic steps to success for entrepreneurs that don’t take into account the hoops we might need to jump through. I will not spoil the movie for you but I will let you know that the movie me feel elated at the end. I wanted to jump on my laptop and keep working on my venture that way one day they can tell my story with all the hoops I had to jump. I hope you feel the same way.

2. Self-Made: Inspired by the Life of Madam C.J. Walker

This is a limited series about the first female self-made millionaire in America. I had already been idolizing Madam C.J. Walker before this series came out. This series had me (as a seasoned entrepreneur) heavily judging Madam Walker until I realized she is in the Guinness Book of Record and I am just chilling and heavily procrastinating on my business. There are a lot of takeaways from the story so it should be a must-watch.

3. The wolf of wall street

At face value, this movie doesn’t look like an entrepreneurship movie. So when this movie was part of my homework in entrepreneurial leadership class, I was excited because watching a movie for homework is amazing but also confused. How could a movie that seemed like a cautionary tale be good? In the name of not spoiling the movie for you, the trick is focusing on the tactics to rise and learn from the downfall.

4. The Social Network

What is a movie list about Entrepreneurship without adding the story about Mark Zuckerberg? This movie explores the story of how Facebook was founded and all the shareholder controversy that came after. This movie left me thinking about the importance of always protecting yourself and what you bring to any table, especially at the start of a startup. I, however, often have a conundrum. If legally you cannot patent an unexecuted idea, how do you protect your ideas? In an equal partnership, if the idea was mine, how much weight would that carry as we divide our shares? Perhaps, you can share your thoughts after watching.

What other movie would you recommend? Have you watched any of the movies above?