The founder film is the hardest film to make. Here's why.
Founder films should be the most compelling brand content you can produce. Instead, they're usually the most self-indulgent.
A founder's story is, in theory, the most powerful brand content you can create. The origin, the struggle, the vision — it's inherently compelling. So why do most founder films feel like extended LinkedIn posts?
The first challenge is ego — and it's not what you think. Most founders don't want to appear arrogant. So they overcorrect and become generic. They talk about "passion" and "vision" and "making a difference" — the same words every founder uses. The result is a film that could be about anyone.
The best founder films don't talk about passion. They show the specific, unglamorous details that reveal character. The 2am phone call that almost ended the company. The decision to turn down the safe client. The belief that everyone else thought was crazy.
A founder film lives or dies on the director's ability to make the founder comfortable enough to be honest. This means longer interviews, harder questions and a willingness to cut the polished answers in favour of the raw ones.
The technical production is the easy part. Any competent crew can make a person look good on camera. The hard part is making them look real.