The Founder: McDonald's Movie Based On The True Story

The Founder is a movie that tells the fascinating story of how McDonalds was created and grew to become a global burger brand. The movie was released in 2016. Chances are you may have already seen it. If you haven't yet, let me tell you why you should consider The Founder for a movie night. The movie is based on the true story, but that doesn't stop it to be as entertaining as the best movie you have recently watched. Even if it was based on made up story, The Founder would still be a great movie to watch. Retelling of stories of the past, add more value to it, and there are lessons to be learned.

It is a story about Ray Kroc, a salesman who hasn't actually created anything himself in his life, but gets obsessed in making McDonald's his thing. It is a story of Dick and Mac McDonald brothers who created something amazing in the food industry - 30 second food ready from kitchen to counter. Now don't think of it in terms of fast food places you go today. Their burgers were nothing like of today. Dick and Mac cared about quality a lot. Combination of quality of burgers and fries with fast delivery is what was revolutionary.

The movie tells the story of McDonald brothers journey in building their first burger restaurant, how through their passion for perfection of the food sold and the customer service they managed to create a efficient kitchen that made fast deliver of food possible. Word won't do justice to what they have accomplished, and true creative and innovative drive for creating something amazing made McDonalds possible in the first place. All credits belong to McDonald brothers. Ray Kroc, on the other hand had nothing to do with this innovation in its early stages, and only became obsessed with McDonald's after seeing the final product. Yet, Ray Kroc ends up becoming "the founder" of McDonalds corporation, and grows it to become one of the worlds' top brands.

The events in the movie take place in 1950s and/or 1960s. The producers did a great job recreating the images of the past. How buildings look, the cars people drive, the clothes people wear, what they eat and how they talk, these all let the viewers time travel to the past and have a historic perspective of how time moves fast and things change a lot over time. They even recreate the original McDonald's restaurant.

The story starts portraying Ray Kroc as a salesman who is driving around various towns to sell multi-mixer equipment to fast food restaurants. It seems he isn't successful to push this product at first, until he receives a phone call with news that there is restaurant in San Bernardino, California who placed an order for a few of these multi-mixers. Ray Kroc was a successful salesman and built a decent life for himself selling various products. This order surprises him, because he wasn't having much luck selling them with in person demonstrations and sales pitches. The curiosity of why a restaurant would be interested in not one or two but 4-8 of these multi-mixers, takes him to a road trip to see this restaurant.

After arriving at the original McDonald's restaurant, he witnesses something he hasn't seen elsewhere. Food was being served really fast, people were enjoying the burgers, and he himself had a great experience. When Mac McDonald's sees him outside the restaurant and figures out who Ray is, he offers a tour of the McDonald's. Ray grows even more fascinated and more curious about how the brothers were able to build such a successful restaurant. In return to their kindness, but also with intentions of learning more about McDonald's and their story, Ray invites the brothers to a dinner.

Proud of what they have accomplished, the brothers share their entire journey into this business and how they created their restaurant. This only made Ray more obsessed with McDonald's as business. His brain gears were moving nonstop shuffling various ideas and how to become a part of the endeavor. He returns to the restaurant and offers brothers to franchise their brand and system. To which brothers tell another story of how they already tried franchise and had a better design of future McDonald's restaurants with Golden Arches.

Determined that McDonald's can become a great franchise, Ray continues pitching brothers the franchise idea and ready to accept any terms to be part of this business. Main concern McDonald brothers had with franchise idea is the quality of their product. As responsible business owners they wanted to make sure franchise owners maintain the quality levels in their restaurants. We usually see such behavior by the true founders. They care about their creation a lot. Ray finally convinces them that it is possible to grow the brand and keep the quality in all locations. Part of the deal was the brothers would have final say for any changes or adjustments to their system.

Ray starts with the first restaurant, and slowly starts convincing more people to buy into the franchise and continues opening new restaurants. As brothers warned maintaining the quality in these restaurants wouldn't be easy, as the franchise owners wouldn't have the same passion for the original system as they did. As expected some restaurants start making changes. Ray figures out a way to keep these restaurants in check. He starts selling the franchise to couples who would work as a team and deliver higher quality product and service. That seemed to work.

As the franchise kept growing, Ray kept facing obstacles in decision making, because brothers wouldn't approve any changes. Even good ideas would be shut down. That started the somewhat of an animosity between Ray and brothers. After exploring different legal and strategic options, Ray finds a loophole where he no longer have to receive approval from brothers in making business changes. Ray manages to become the CEO of the McDonalds corporation and pushes brothers out. McDonalds brothers were offered a million dollars each to sell their brand and share. Out of legal options to fight back, brother agree to the deal with royalty in perpetuity and keeping their original restaurant. However, the royalty deal never makes in to the contracts and was agreed with a handshake.

Brothers never receive a royalty. There is a confusion about who owns the original store. Brothers are not willing to give up their restaurant. Ray instead prohibits them from using McDonald's brand as they have sold the right to the brand. Then another McDonald's is built near the first restaurant and the brothers go out of business shortly after.

Brother did receive a million dollars each. It seems to be a lot of money at that time. However, it also looks like the true founders were robbed out of their business, brand and innovation. I do not like Ray Kroc as a business person. I do not like what he has done to the brothers. Not giving them their royalties and not including it in a legal contracts wasn't nice. It also wasn't nice that they weren't allowed to operate their first restaurant. Ray Kroc goes on growing the brand and the franchise. Making McDonald's global brand, and making himself super wealthy along the way. His obsession with the idea did pay out. But his betrayal of brothers and working against their interest, demonstrated how not so nice of person or business partner he was.

The movie made me realize what McDonald's could have become if brothers were still involved. The franchise has lost its quality standards long time ago. Perhaps when it lost its true founders. Similarly, Apple as a company lost its core mission and quality standards when Steve Jobs was pushed out of the company. Apple reclaimed its quality standards only after Jobs returned to the company. There is something about founders that make the products work as originally intended.

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