Lina Rodríguez Palacios

The Founder

The story of many successful businesses are not always what we might imagine, companies
and entrepreneurs that came from nothing and now are everything. For example Mcdonalds,
that in 2020 have a net worth of $170 Billions, and literally came from a man idea of
franchises, facts that the movie The founder shows.

It all started in 1954, with Ray Kroc that is a door-to-door salesman offering shake machines.
From the beginning we can infer that this is not his vocation, but a temporary job that he
endures while listening to motivational records. He is characterized for being ambitious and
persistent, but not so lucky with business.

During one of his road trips offering the shake machines, Krock met brothers Maurice and
Richard McDonald, owners of a hamburger place that bears no resemblance to the food
businesses of the time. Amazed by the speed and efficiency of the brothers' production
model, Kroc proposed to them, to partner and expand McDonald’s with franchises, which at
first they refused, but then after hard work of conviction, the McDonald's accept Kroc on
board.

Its first requirement for the franchises was the place itself because they needed to be
recognized everywhere, so they decided to place a big yellow “M” in the roof so that in this
way people could see it from long distances. The thing that Mr Krock didn't think so well, was
the way he was going to standardize all the franchises, because every place were doing
what they wanted, attempting to Mcdonalds principles. Moreover, opening franchises across
the United States, having sponsors advertising their logo on menus, or malted vendors made
with powder were practices that the owners flatly opposed.

So in order to control this caos, Kroc with the help of his assistant developed the true
entrepreneurship, that was so against mcdonald's principles, having as the only solution,
that Maurice and Richard went out of the picture. The thing was that this separation involved,
first, that mcdonald's business evolved from a fast food restaurant to a real estate business.
In this way, Kroc could control the food that was on the franchise menu and how people
were treated.

Sadly at the end, the mcdonalds brothers, didn't have any profit from the business that was
built from their main idea because of the inconsistencies of the contract. That is why, we can
conclude, that sometimes, successful businesses are made by people who have a global
view from the world and are ambitious enough to reach that goal for the company.

In conclusion, is evident that even though Mcdonalds history isn't as lovely as we might
think, the business strategies that were made since moment 0, were the ones that led the
company, be what it is today. And have a impact on millions of lifes changing not only their
way of living, but also their perception of fast food relating it with family. The founder is a
great movie with so many implicit learnings that every entrepreneur spirit should watch.