What is the basic qualification required for an entrepreneur? Surely, it is the sportsman spirit. The biggest challenge entrepreneurs face in the initial years is definitely delivering the best output within the limited budget. The Hollywood film Moneyball beautifully handles the theme.
The film begins with Oakland Athletics Baseball team failing in the elimination round after consecutive victories. Team manager Billy Beane is disappointed with the team’s performance. Meanwhile, a few talented players decide to leave the team which leaves Billy in dilemma. Rest of the movie shows the challenges Billy confronts in an effort to build a competitive team within a restrained budget.
The much-awaited twist comes when Billy meets Peter Brand, an economics graduate who is skilled in assessing players. With his help, Billy recruits the best players for Oakland Baseball team.
The players are selected calculating On-base percentage, a tool to measure performance in the baseball game. At this point, ignoring the objection of team management, Billy forms a group comprising undervalued players.
As the story progresses, viewers get to see the team absorbing sportsman spirit and surviving despite limitations. Although Billy receives a better offer from mlb, he rejects it as his decisions just for money had always proved lethal.
Moneyball provides a lot of lessons to entrepreneurs. It goes on to say that instead of intuition, the focus should be on the skill while selecting a candidate.
The movie is written based on Michael Lewis’ book Moneyball: the art of an unfair game. Brad Pitt appears as Billy Beane in the movie directed by Bennett Miller. Jonah Hill’s performance as Peter Brand also has received praises. The film that screened at the Toronto International Film Festival in 2011 received 110.2 million dollars in the box office.
