The film then shows how these early start-up days are fiscally tenuous but that by successfully completing high-profile projects, positive media coverage can be gained and awareness spread. More staff are hired to deal with the greater workload and the climax even shows how clear communication with government regulatory bodies is essential. Somehow a film that ends with a giant monster marshmallow man is a roaring endorsement of the start-up spirit.

Read more: How to find the right VC for your startup

Jerry Maguire

Sometimes a new business isn’t based on providing a new service but revolutionising an existing sector with a fresh methodology. In the 1996 film Jerry Maguire, the eponymous character played by Tom Cruise works at a large and profitable sports talent agency but finds the company approach to be cold and revenue-focused.

Maguire feverishly writes a mission statement extolling the virtues of closer, more honest relationships with a smaller pool of clients. Baulking at this, Maguire’s employers fire him, leading him to start his own boutique-style agency beginning with just one client.

While the film is largely remembered for Cruise’s iconic yelling of “Show me the money!” and its tearful “You had me at hello” romantic conclusion, the film’s core ethos is about how having a code of ethics and high standards for honest client service will pay out.

At the end of the film, Maguire has not only forged a close relationship with his star athlete but his brutal honesty as to his client’s behaviour has improved their performance. We are left being shown other athletes being tempted away from the large agencies and signing up with Maguire.

The Intern

The Intern is the 2015 film centred on an elderly retired Robert De Niro rejoining the workforce as an intern with an e-commerce fashion retail start-up run by Anne Hathaway. In line with its tagline ‘Experience never gets old’, De Niro’s character imparts his aged wisdom, and the message of learning from your elders is laid on.

While that could be deemed the main thematic focus, there are other issues about startup life brought into focus. Through Hathaway’s overworked and micromanaging-prone boss, The Intern questions how start-ups can take a strain on personal relationships and specifically the pressures imposed on women to balance family and success.

It also makes clear the importance of work-life balance and the need for rest and relaxation. But its most interesting questions are about founderitis and the difficulty some founders have with delegating duties and responsibilities to others as their company grows.

De Niro may not have bagged the Critics Choice Award for the movie, but it’s worth a watch for these start-up musings. There’s one sequence in particular involving emails that would make your HR rep scream in horror.

Read more: Founderitis: The syndrome that can kill a startup

Chef

Sometimes the motivation to embrace startup life can stem from the desire to have creative freedom. The 2014 film Chef—an unashamedly meta picture—was based on Jon Favreau’s wishes to take a break from his big studio pictures at Marvel and go back to his indie roots.

The storyline follows Favreau as Chef Carl Casper who has grown bored cooking the same standards ad infinitum and wants to try out new recipes. Leaving his job after an outburst at the restaurant, Favreau’s character begins a food truck business, taking a cross-country road trip where he can try out new recipes.

It’s an extremely simple allegory but effective; creativity is nourishing and momentum feels good. If you have a talent and want to be challenged, it might be worth taking a leap to make that happen rather than stagnate in place. At the end of the film, Favreau has his own restaurant, he’s established again but it’s on his own terms. Being your own boss is one of the great benefits and aspirations for any entrepreneur.

Read more: These are the people behind Asia’s most popular restaurants and bars

Citizen Kane

The greatest movie of all time, according to many film historians, happens to be about starting a successful business. The 1941 film Citizen Kane is a cheeky inclusion for the fictional entrepreneurial list, as its Charles Foster Kane protagonist was loosely based on several industry titans including real-life media mogul William Randolph Hearst. But Kane, played by the film’s iconic director Orson Welles, is extremely distinct from his inspirations.

The key lesson one can take from Citizen Kane is to be wary of unchecked ego and ambition. Kane starts his empire with an assortment of close friends by his side and a collection of ideals so fervent that he writes them into a declaration of principles for his newspaper publication. But after years of betraying his values to serve his ego, Kane is left alone, his newspaper sold and his declaration in literal tatters. His entire perceived worth as a businessman and a public figure is nil.

For entrepreneurs specifically, Citizen Kane shows how trust is difficult to retain once lost and that a brand which strays from its core values will drastically lose its value to consumers and partners alike.

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