A biographical drama based on the founding of Facebook in 2004; as well as being entertaining, The Social Network film also provides some valuable lessons in the importance of teamwork, introducing the concept of collaborative creativity and showing how bouncing ideas off a team can refine an initial concept into something ground-breaking – such as Facebook, the largest social media platform in the world.
The film highlighted the initial challenges Mark Zuckerberg faced and how he overcame them to create a social networking site which now has more than three billion active users.
History of Facebook
The film relates the story of how Zuckerberg began his venture into social media as a 19-year-old student of Harvard University in the US. Initially, his new website got off to a rocky start, even though it attracted plenty of visitors.
Developed during 2003 as Facemash with his roommates Andrew McCollum, Eduardo Saverin, Dustin Moskovitz and Chris Hughes, it was available only to Harvard students initially. The site published photos from the university yearbooks to ask users which person was the “hottest”.
During its first four hours, the site attracted 22,000 photo views and appeared in several campus servers. However, this didn’t go down well with university administrators, who closed down Facemash and accused Zuckerberg of violating individual privacy and copyrights and breaching security. He faced expulsion, but the charges were later dropped and instead, he created a new “social study tool” based on the Facemash project.
He coded his new website, called The Facebook, in January 2004 and shared it with fellow students. After it was launched on 4th February 2004, the site grew rapidly, attracting more than 50% of Harvard students in less than a month.
By March 2004, access had been extended to other universities and the site gradually spread to most universities across the US and Canada. This was the start of the world’s biggest social media platform, with CEO Zuckerberg leading the growth in business as a result of his team leadership skills.
The Social Network teamwork lessons
Since The Social Network was released in 2010, it has been hailed as a valuable lesson in teamwork and collaboration for businesses. Having a team or network of like-minded individuals, who can challenge ideas and bring new perspectives, is invaluable.
Zuckerberg’s informal advisor when launching Facebook was entrepreneur Sean Parker, co-founder of music-sharing site Napster, who became Facebook’s president. They were joined by PayPal co-founder Peter Thiel, who won Facebook its first investment.
The message from The Social Network was that the best business partners are individuals whose strengths differ from your own, or those who have a lot of money to invest. For example, Mark Zuckerberg was portrayed as being socially awkward, but his manner was countered by the social smoothness of Saverin.
Business partnerships that work effectively are often based on one creative person collaborating with a business-minded colleague. This way, one partner can concentrate on being creative at work, while the other makes deals happen and handles the financial side of the business. The suggestion is one wears the suit 24/7, while the other enjoys “casual Friday” every day.
Choose team players wisely
When forming your team, choose members wisely – another lesson learned in the film. Parker is portrayed as a “bad boy”, but Zuckerberg disregarded his image and signed him up for the Facebook team, where he became president. However, in 2005, Parker was arrested under suspicion of possession of cocaine. While no formal charges were filed, Facebook “let him go” as president due to the scandal, although he still owned a minority stake in the company.
When it comes to appointing team members and mentors for your business, choose a person who’s familiar with your field and can bring experience to the table. While Parker was an asset to Facebook, helping the less experienced team members navigate the site’s growth and the financial aspects, sadly this wasn’t enough for him to keep his position.
Company growth
One of the most important aspects of Facebook’s success was the appointment of individuals to boost the company’s growth. The team was credited as being rigorously focused on success, deeply analytical and filled with natural motivators, with Zuckerberg at the helm.
Questions were asked of new members, such as what type of Facebook users they were focusing on, were there particular demographics in different regions and did this really matter? The answer was, “Let’s get the entire planet on Facebook!” and this kind of attitude prevailed.
Successful UK businesses
A number of UK entrepreneurs started a successful new business with a simple idea, in the same way that Zuckerberg launched Facebook, relying on collaborative strategies for success. For example, Monzo was launched as an online bank in 2015 and was the earliest of a number of new app-based banks. Originally operating via a mobile app with a prepaid debit card, it went from strength to strength, with its banking restrictions being lifted in 2017 so it could provide a full current account.
Launched by a team comprising Jason Bates, Tom Blomfield, Paul Rippon, Jonas Huckestein and Gary Dolman, who had met while working for another banking company; they set the record for the fastest crowdfunding campaign in history in 2016 by raising £1 million in 96 seconds! Now Monzo employs 3,700 people, with a net income of £8.7 million this year.
Gymshark is another British success story based on teamwork, as it was launched by a group of school friends, led by company CEO Ben Francis, who came up with the idea of a sportswear clothing firm while working out in a Birmingham gym. Co-founding the company in 2012, with little more than an empty website, a sewing machine and a screen printer, together they took Gymshark to the heights of success that it experiences today, with revenue of £556.2 million.
Brewdog, the Scottish brewery and pub chain, was launched in 2007 in Fraserburgh by friends James Watt and Martin Dickie, who had previous experience working at a brewery. After launching their flagship Jaipur beer, the company continued to expand, opening its first pub in Aberdeen in 2009. By 2018, they had opened 78 bars all over the world through a franchise system. Today, the company’s estimated value is a staggering £1.5 billion.
All these businesses, like Facebook, have expanded from humble beginnings, thanks to the teamwork and collaboration of the founder members.
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