The Intern – great film, strong business messages

[READ and WATCH time 5 mins]

There have been several films about the tech scene plus the sitcom series, Silicon Valley.  But many of these are simply lampooning the Silicon Valley excesses. They are funny, but ultimately empty.

The Intern has a different and interesting take. Plus the chemistry between Anne Hathaway (young start-upCEO) and Robert DeNiro (her 70 year old intern) is beautiful. However behind this entertaining film there are some very important messages for all start-up CEOs:

• Being the CEO or founder of a successful company is the ultimate high. It doesn’t get better. And most people never get to experience it in their working life. But there are sacrifices and compromises that have to be made.
• Doing it alone, at the top, is really really hard. You need a mentor/best friend or a business partner you trust. But these are hard to find, and can come from the most unlikely places.
• You don’t need to be under 30 to succeed in this new, new world. There are too many self-important sub-30 year olds running around Silicon Valley massively funded by VCs who are “building companies” rather than “building businesses”. The basics of building a great business haven’t changed. But some seem to have been lost sight of them in the rush for growth, sky-high valuations and an exit

Finally, you realise a growing start-up with 200+ employees desperately needs “process”. The CEO cannot hope to micro manage every aspect of the business without a melt-down. Which is where Elements comes in.

Below is the trailer… which I think underplays the film.

Here is the link to the trailer if you cannot see it below