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Comment by kjhughes | Hacker News Reader

Watch The Founder,

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt4276820/

for an entertaining and educational dramatization of the McDonald's story, including the franchising and real estate leasing aspects.

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Really glad you brought this up. It was indeed an interesting movie but I didn't really have the time to compare it with the facts. How much of what we saw was actually accurate?

Most of the overarching premise is correct along with most of the general details of how it unfolded. Some of the darker stuff is he-said / he-said that is still debated to this day (specifically in the relationship between Kroc and the McDonald brothers).

I happened to have read the book a month or two before watching the movie. They were very different. In Ray's biography, he passes himself off as a "My word is as good as a contract" and "When I say I'll do this, I'll stick to it." The movie interpretation has him much more ruthless.

"If any of my competitors were drowning, I'd stick a hose in their mouth and turn on the water. It is ridiculous to call this an industry. This is not. This is rat eat rat, dog eat dog. I'll kill 'em, and I'm going to kill 'em before they kill me. You're talking about the American way - of survival of the fittest." - Ray Kroc

The language is obviously graphic, but what he's describing is what every company would do. Why would they help a competitor? They have a responsibility to the shareholder to grow the business.

Well, entrepreneurs are humans, not robots, and humans have this instinct to help each other. At least here in Germany I hear from time to time about (SME) businesses helping their competitors.

I came here to suggest this. It's a must-watch if you are an entrepreneur or want to build an empire.

I Second that. The Founder was a very intriguing movie.

I just bought this movie yesterday. One of the things in the trailer was exactly this point of owning the real estate.

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