What filmmakers can learn from entrepeneurs

Differentiation

The more I think about it, the more I’m convinced that making a “good” film isn’t enough anymore.

The competition is brutal. The technology and techniques of filmmaking are so accessible now, that more movies than ever are made everyday… Moreover, you’re not just up against other movies.

You’re battling incredible TV on countless streamers, millions of creators on YouTube, and a never-ending stream of vertical clips engineered by algorithms to hold your attention for as long as possible.

So how do you stand out and find your footing? Differentiation.

James Dyson built his company around that principle. While other vacuums blended together, his did not. In fact, Dyson believed in being “different for the sake of it.” In a bland world of sheep mimicking each other, his markedly different approaches to form and function caught attention and led people to value his products more than the others.

Critically, he backed the eye-catching designs and innovations with actual quality. Without that, any short-term interest would quickly disappear and be considered nothing but a novelty.

And the cherry on top for his ultimate success? A story.

James Dyson attached a card to all of his vacuums that told his personal story of founding & running the company, differentiating him from his faceless corporate competition. The card also told why he was obsessed with improving the technology and beauty of this household item. And that combination of differentiation, quality, and a powerful story eventually made Dyson a multi-billion dollar company.

Filmmakers need the same mindset. A well-crafted but familiar short film is now all-too forgettable. In many ways, all stories have been told before, so while the story is absolutely fundamental to any success – I think today you need a little something extra to set your work apart. What differentiates your work? The merging of genres? The visuals? The edit? The performances?

I’m starting to believe it really is worth focusing on how to be “different for the sake of it” with my next film to earn attention in our crowded media landscape.

Discipline of Vision

James Dyson still owns 100% of his company, which is remarkable considering it’s now worth billions.

Early on, he’d mortgaged his home and nearly lost everything just to keep the company alive. It was incredibly risky, but once success eventually arrived, everyone told him to cash out and sell the company for millions… but Dyson refused.

He was being hounded by other larger companies who wanted him to manufacture Dyson motors for their own products, an easy way to generate guaranteed revenue for the company. Again, he refused.

Why? Money wasn’t his core motivator, and retro-fitting his motors for other companies sounded like a distraction. His drive was the pursuit of innovation and excellence, working side by side with the best engineers and designers he could find. So once he built that company and life, the idea of style, leaving it behind for easy money didn’t make sense.

That kind of focus – putting on blinders, committing to one vision, and sticking with it – is rare in any field. Temptation comes to businesses and filmmakers in many forms: more comfortable schedules, resting on past laurels, short-term money that undermines long-term progress. But Dyson always protected his vision for the company, and that’s what ultimately made them a household name.

Filmmakers face the same challenge. A director’s job is to guard the vision of a project against the endless pressures that threaten to compromise it: budget, time, outside voices, etc.

The thing is, with any film, at any level of your career, you just can’t guarantee success. Even finishing a mediocre film is a miracle; a great one borders on impossible. But even if you do… the outcome is fleeting. One day premiering the film at a festival doesn’t compare to a year working on it every day. The process is everything.

That’s why for any success the joy has to come from the work itself. Long days of problem-solving, sweat, frustration, and discovery. As they say in CrossFit: “It doesn’t have to be fun to be fun.”

Filmmaking is rarely easy, but even at its most maddening, there’s something addictively fun that keeps me coming back to the well for more.

That’s why I think it’s useful to study people outside our bubble. Dyson’s obsession with differentiation and relentless pursuit of excellence has me rethinking my own work—both films and YouTube videos. If I wouldn’t click on one of my own videos, why make it?

The challenge, and the opportunity, is to create something nobody else could. That’s the true superpower of any filmmaker. Find it, protect it, and the rest will follow.

Application

Director interviews aren’t our only place to learn from masters. Entrepreneurs, athletes, and artists in other mediums also rise through powerful principles we can apply to our own work.

Lately, these ideas have made me question my own films and even my YouTube videos. Frankly, sometimes I end up making videos I’m not really proud of, and I think it’s due to a lack of differentiation and vision. One thing I don’t want to be is just more noise in an ocean of filmmaking content.

That’s pushed me to think about not just ways I can stand out, but also find deeper joy in each project by making it unmistakably mine.

Every filmmaker’s true superpower is creating something no one else could. The hard part is discovering where that uniqueness lives. But once you uncover it and lean into it, that differentiation becomes the most valuable thing you have to offer. It makes the grind worthwhile and the work consistently rewarding.

And then it’s up to you to protect it and stick to it.

💬 Quote

We’re taught to do things the right way. But if you want to discover something that other people haven’t, you need to do things the wrong way. — James Dyson

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Let’s make some movies.

-Kent