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Lessons from "The Social Network"
A 120-minute movie with lifelong lessons.
The Social Network, tells the story of the founding of Facebook. One of the most influential companies in recent history.
When it was released, it provided the world with insight into the startup landscape and the new generation of entrepreneurs emerging from the internet era. Over time, it became increasingly relevant in the startup culture.
One of the movie’s posters.
It was largely inspired by the 2009 book The Accidental Billionaires by Ben Mezrich, but you could write a book on the movie's impact on culture alone.
However, we’ll focus on four key lessons you should learn from this movie, especially as an entrepreneur.
Business Ideas Aren’t Protected
It’s funny—whenever we post about Mark on our page, most of the comments are bashing him for "stealing the idea" of Facebook. Those comments get thousands of likes, but let's be honest—is the idea more important, or is execution?
Facebook was built at a time when almost everything was coming online, and social media did exist before Facebook, but which one still exists today?
Mark Zuckerberg to Divya Narendra & Winklevoss Brothers (In movie)
After the Winklevoss brothers shared their idea for a social networking platform called HarvardConnection in December 2003, Mark Zuckerberg took advantage of the situation by quickly developing Facebook within just two weeks. It felt like the last piece of the puzzle of what Mark had been destined to build based on his past projects.
He then launched "thefacebook" on February 4, 2004 & The rest is history.
So, how do you protect your ideas? Simple—start executing. Build something and iterate over time. That’s your moat in startup culture.
Have the Right People Around You
Most of the people involved in the early development of Facebook were literally Mark’s dorm roommates. Some helped him financially, while others assisted with coding and marketing.
Eduardo Saverin, Dustin Moskovitz, Mark Zuckerberg, and Chris Hughes, all co-founders of Facebook (left to right).
Is that luck? It could be, but you’ll likely have to find your own little circle of 'friends.'
Think Long-Term
We’re all familiar with the famous “A million dollars isn’t cool, a billion dollars is” quote from Sean Parker in the movie. But to truly understand it, you need to revisit the club scene. It resonates even more if you believe your idea is something special.
“A Stanford MBA named Roy Raymond wants to buy his wife some lingerie but he’s too embarrassed to shop for it in a department store. He comes up with an idea for a high-end place that doesn’t make you feel like a pervert. He gets a $40,000 bank loan and borrows another forty-thousand from his in-laws, opens a store, and calls it Victoria’s Secret. He makes a half-million dollars his first year. He starts a catalog, opens three more stores, and after five years, he sells the company to Leslie Wexner and The Limited for four million dollars. Happy ending, right? Except two years later, the company’s worth 500 million dollars, and Roy Raymond jumps off the Golden Gate Bridge.”
“…This is a once-in-a-generation ‘holy sh*t’ idea. And the water under the Golden Gate is freezing cold.”
These last two statements, side by side, are the most powerful and help put things into perspective for Mark.
In reality, you sometimes have to recognize when your ideas have peaked. Be wise about it.
Have Signed Agreements
The film largely revolves around the dispute between Zuckerberg, the Winklevoss brothers, and Eduardo Saverin. Saverin is portrayed as Zuckerberg’s only friend, yet he’s unappreciated and mistreated.
The scene where Saverin discovers that everyone else’s shares remained unaffected while his dropped from 34.4% to just 0.03% (a heavily exaggerated figure) is particularly heartbreaking. Ultimately, they settled the case for an undisclosed amount, and Saverin was recognized as a co-founder again.
Without formal agreements or clear records, it became challenging for the Winklevoss brothers to prove ownership or infringement, which ultimately worked in Zuckerberg's favor as he moved forward with his own vision.
The lack of legal representation was at the root of many issues, highlighting the importance of having legal support—especially in case relationships turn sour.
So no matter if it's your family or best friends, in business, keep things strictly professional.
The movie is now 14 years old but remains relevant to this day. This may even serve as a friendly reminder to rewatch it whenever possible.
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