You won’t find a more relevant discussion about the current state of startups in the United States than in Clt-Alt-Compete. The documentary, which is screening privately at the moment, follows the lives of 5 startup founders and their teams. While shot in the US, I think many of the issues raised, mindsets showcased, also reflect the attitudes of startups here in Singapore – minus the flamboyance and with a little less ego.
I refuse to spoil the movie for you, because I’m insisting that everyone interested in the startup scene should watch it. The show is peppered with tonnes of great quotes from superstar entrepreneurs like Tony Hsieh of Zappos, Micah Baldwin of Graphic.ly, Ben Huh of Cheezburger and venture capitalist Mark Suster of GRP Partners (who is somewhat a demi-god VC author at Both Sides of the Table).
Some of these scenes from Clt-Alt-Compete left a lasting impression on me, particularly:
- the adrenaline and euphoria you experience as a founder – especially after a successful pitch,
- the rise of wannabentrepreneurs who set out to sell instead of building a great company,
- whether we are in a tech bubble with the recent skyrocketing valuations of Groupon and LinkedIn,
- the story of a team of second time entrepreneurs (who were the only founders over 40 years old)
Here’s the all-important trailer.
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fjI8WrJ4A64[/youtube]
A tad hinging on dramatic but still insightful, I’m saying ‘go for it’. You know you need to watch this. Although it’s not for public distribution yet, you can still request for a private screening from us. The BizSpark team (which is me) screened it @Blk71 last Friday with a great audience from the Founders’ Institute and startups based in Blk71.
If you’re interested, just leave a comment here, or leave us a message on Facebook (facebook.com/gospiffy) or on Twitter (@gospiffy). We’ll also let you know if there is an update coming soon.
Till next time, I’m leaving you with a quote from Kiip CEO Brian Wong (who is not even of legal drinking age) :
“I work my ass off everyday, 20 hours a day. You know why? (Because) I don’t deserve this. I’m not supposed to be here. But I made my way and I’m not going to take it for granted.”
Anyoneup to doing a SEAsian version?
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One Response to “Preview Screening of Ctrl-Alt-Compete @Blk71 And Why Startups Need To Watch It”
Mary
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