Watching television has often been viewed as a guilty pleasure, but it can also be a rewarding experience. The medium has played a significant role in shaping society, from raising the Baby Boomers in the 1960s to the academic attention it garnered in the 1970s and 80s with the rise of Cultural Studies, and fueling the momentum of Globalisation in the 2000s. In recent times, television has also been instrumental in helping people cope with unprecedented periods of home confinement.
Television has been a window to the world, providing coverage of global events such as wars, national elections, and the Oscars. This is no different for the unfolding story of startups. A number of movies and documentaries have been created, depicting the rise of certain startups that eventually became successful companies. Take The Social Network (2010) for example – it documents Facebook’s journey from its humble beginnings in Mark Zuckerberg’s college dorm, to becoming an international icon. In the 1999 movie ‘Pirates of Silicon Valley’, we see how the competition between Steve Jobs and Bill Gates led to the advancement of personal computers. This film chronicles their rivalry and how it revolutionized technology as we know it today. Upstarts (2019) is a Hindi-language Netflix original feature film which revolves around three university students who make an app enabling home medicine delivery and how it affects their camaraderie.
E-Dreams (2001) shows the story of Kosmo.com, a dot-com startup that attempted to provide free 1 hour deliveries. Something Ventured (2011) looks at how venture capital played an important role in helping tech companies such as Apple, Cisco and Intel to achieve Fortune 500 status. These movies and documentaries provide valuable lessons for budding entrepreneurs.
Startups are hugely exciting, as they provide unique products which are often the brainchild of their creative and innovative founders. This fresh approach is one of the major factors that sets them apart from more established businesses. Many biopics and fictional works portray the lives of Zuckerberg, Jobs, Gates, and others in a similar manner. These stories depict that these young entrepreneurs were brave enough to abandon their college degrees and corporate jobs to pursue their own business dreams.
When it comes to founding a business, friendships can be difficult to maintain. Unfortunately, stories of former friends parting ways are quite common. But Upstarts may provide an answer for entrepreneurs trying to salvage their relationships and save their businesses. Despite their differing perspectives, the protagonists – Kapil, Vinay and Yash, who are also friends and co-founders of a business – eventually reconcile.
Also Read: Transform Your Startup Dreams into Reality: Get Inspired by Union Budget 2023’s Boosting Measures
Profitability is crucial in times of economic downturns. e-Dreams explores this subject well, as Kozmo.com raises $280 million in capital and receives the attention of investors such as Amazon and Starbucks. Unfortunately, when the dot-com bubble burst, the company’s unwise business model resulted in its inability to access additional capital. This eventually led to its collapse in 2001.The Indian startup landscape has seen massive change due to the funding winter, but this situation can serve as a reminder to reduce expenses, ensure that all financial models are functioning properly and stick to the plan of becoming profitable. These steps will help companies survive in tough times.
