What Entrepreneurs can learn from Harry Potter
by Adam J. Kovitz
The final episode in the Harry Potter series "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part II" debuted recently for a record-breaking weekend opening at $168.6 million. And while the franchise today is ubiquitous (as a series of widely-read books - available in 67 different languages, critically-acclaimed movies, as well as other merchandising), it wasn't always so. At one time, it was the dream, vision and idea of Joanne "J.K." Rowling.
Rowling, a newly-divorced and jobless single mother from the U.K., and educated in the Classics, never intended to become an entrepreneur until a fateful 4-hour delayed train ride from Manchester to London in 1990. It was on the train that Harry Potter was born.
From an advance from a small British publisher and a grant from the Scottish Arts Council, Rowling fleshed out the world of Harry Potter. The first book, Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone in the U.S.) was published in 1997 and won several awards. In 1998, Warner Brothers bought the movie rights, and by 2000, the franchise was truly becoming the franchise that we know today.
So what can we learn from the success of Harry Potter? Here are just a few:
1.) Appeal to a mass audience - As the saying goes, you can't be everything to everybody, but some do this better than others. I call this the "Bullwinkle Effect", named after the 1960's cartoon, Bullwinkle. Kids loved the show because it was an animated cartoon and featured wonderful voice talent to go along with it, while parents appreciated it for the fact that the humor aimed to a more adult audience, not that there was the innuendo that you might find today, but nonetheless, the jokes would often "fly over the heads" of the younger audience. While other animated movies do this today, the Harry Potter stories take the oft-taboo theme of death and turn it into stories with suspense and dread, but also with humor, fun and adventure, especially the first three books. This approach caused an enormous resurgence in children's reading as well as interest from the adult crowd as well.
2.) A little planning goes a long way - Within one train ride, Rowling decided upon the premise for the books: each book would cover one year at the seven-year school of wizardry that Harry and his friends would attend, and we would follow them as they grew into accomplished wizards. Simple, effective...easy to understand and to follow.
3.) We are what we know and experience - With her background in the Classics, her love of fantasy and her real life experience - tragic and otherwise, Rowling was able to synthesize elements of mythology, mystery, romance as well as her real life bout with depression into a story that keeps readers and audiences' attention.
Rowling, a newly-divorced and jobless single mother from the U.K., and educated in the Classics, never intended to become an entrepreneur until a fateful 4-hour delayed train ride from Manchester to London in 1990. It was on the train that Harry Potter was born.
From an advance from a small British publisher and a grant from the Scottish Arts Council, Rowling fleshed out the world of Harry Potter. The first book, Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone in the U.S.) was published in 1997 and won several awards. In 1998, Warner Brothers bought the movie rights, and by 2000, the franchise was truly becoming the franchise that we know today.
So what can we learn from the success of Harry Potter? Here are just a few:
1.) Appeal to a mass audience - As the saying goes, you can't be everything to everybody, but some do this better than others. I call this the "Bullwinkle Effect", named after the 1960's cartoon, Bullwinkle. Kids loved the show because it was an animated cartoon and featured wonderful voice talent to go along with it, while parents appreciated it for the fact that the humor aimed to a more adult audience, not that there was the innuendo that you might find today, but nonetheless, the jokes would often "fly over the heads" of the younger audience. While other animated movies do this today, the Harry Potter stories take the oft-taboo theme of death and turn it into stories with suspense and dread, but also with humor, fun and adventure, especially the first three books. This approach caused an enormous resurgence in children's reading as well as interest from the adult crowd as well.
2.) A little planning goes a long way - Within one train ride, Rowling decided upon the premise for the books: each book would cover one year at the seven-year school of wizardry that Harry and his friends would attend, and we would follow them as they grew into accomplished wizards. Simple, effective...easy to understand and to follow.
3.) We are what we know and experience - With her background in the Classics, her love of fantasy and her real life experience - tragic and otherwise, Rowling was able to synthesize elements of mythology, mystery, romance as well as her real life bout with depression into a story that keeps readers and audiences' attention.
Rowling's own rags-to-riches story is also appealing to those of us who aspire to change the world and leave our own impact upon it. Here is a person that so many of us can relate to, given her one-time circumstances. Many of us try to rise above such adversity and few make it, but the story of J.K. Rowling and Harry Potter is another shining example and inspiration for all entrepreneurs. It is possible for us to fulfill our dreams and achieve success, no matter our backgrounds.
Here's to your dreams and success.
All my best,
Adam
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1 comment:
Hey Adam, very good points. If it were just as simple for entrepreneurs to wave our magic wands!
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