What founder-story movies or shows actually stuck with you, and why?
If we exclude Silicon Valley, the one every entrepreneur has already watched, there is a certain kind of comfort I derive from movies and shows about people who actually built something. These days the struggle and the passion pull me in more than almost any other genre.
The last one to get me was Made in India: A Titan Story (2026) – the story of a small team building India’s first world-class watch. What stayed with me was the number of times they were on the cusp of shutting down before they made the slimmest watch in the world in 1990, not the eventual success.
I don't know if it's inspiration or just a way to feel less alone in the uncertainty of building something myself but I keep coming back to these stories. Some of the best ones I’ve found were never big releases.
My top 5 (not necessarily in order):
BlackBerry (2022) - Lessons of what not to do
Air (2023) - Lessons what to do
Jobs (2013)/ Steve Jobs (2015) - Obvious
Harishchandrachi Factory (2009) - Story about how India's first motion picture got made in 1913
Made in India: A Titan Story (2026) - Team work and Decision Making
What would you put to that? Any hidden gems?
Regional or lesser-known founder stories especially welcome!
Replies
Like you, it's the near-misses that stay with me, not the wins, so mine lean that way.
The one I'd push hardest is General Magic (2018), a documentary about a team of ex-Apple people who tried to build basically the smartphone in the early 90s, a decade too early, and failed completely. What makes it land is that the failure seeded everything, the people in it went on to build the iPhone, Android, eBay. It's the most honest thing I've seen about being right but too early, which is its own kind of heartbreak.
Since you asked for regional, The Billionaire (2011) is a Thai one that deserves far more attention. True story of a broke college dropout who builds a seaweed snack empire, and like Made in India it's built entirely around the moments it nearly collapsed, the debt, the rejections, the family falling apart, not the eventual win.
And for an older gem, Tucker: The Man and His Dream (1988), Coppola on a small team building a revolutionary car the industry quietly buries. The definitive almost-made-it story.
@johnsongill Those are some great additions. Tucker I actually saw years ago and honestly don't remember much of it beyond the ending gutting me a little. Feels like exactly the kind of film that needs a rewatch once you've actually tried building something yourself.
General Magic and The Billionaire, sound perfect are both going on the watchlist now — that "before the win" framing you're describing for both is basically why I got hooked on Made in India in the first place.
@roopesh_donde That's amazing. Anymore to the list?
@johnsongill There are few based on real stories
Joy 2015
Super Pumped: the Battle for Uber
The Social Network is also a good movie, but the lead actor ruined it for me after doing Now You See Me. Now everytime I see if, feels like mark zukerburg will draw a card out of his sleeve.
@sonal_waghchoure The Founder is a really good one and the real estate angle really hits differently. I can think of one thats exactly a mirror image of the founder - Tetris. Alexey Pajitnov created the actual game in the Soviet Union and didn't see a cent for years while Mirrorsoft, Atari, and Nintendo fought over who owned the licensing rights. Same "who built it vs. who owns it" tension.