The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind is is a 2019 British drama film written, directed by, and starring Chiwetel Ejiofor in his feature directorial debut.
Based on the heartwarming true story of William Kamkwamba who gained fame in his country when he built a wind turbine to save his family from a severe drought that devastated his village killing many.
His wit, ingenuity, perseverance is something we as startup founders can learn from.
Learn how when not to take no for an answer
The film is an inspirational true-story film based on a memoir by the Malawian engineer William Kamkwamba. As a teenager, he built a wind turbine for his famine-stricken town in Malawi, helping to power small appliances and eventually irrigate crops.
William needed parts from his father’s bicycle to build a full-sized windmill!
In rural South Eastern Africa and many parts of the world, where basic transport infrastructure is lacking, a bicycle makes a big difference between spending a full day walking into town and back –or riding for a few hours ride.
His father thought William was up to one of his crazy ideas again and refused to give up the bicycle as parts for the windmill. He scolded William very harshly, tears streamed down his eyes but he didn’t give up and he tried again soon after.
Also Read: Why successful startups often have a pair of founders
As founders, we are not invulnerable to rejections. It hurts. I have been many a time as a result of getting rejected. At such time I did not want to spend time with my family, instead chose to brood in my room replaying over and over in my mind what I could have done better, how could I have answered a question better.
It’s understandable, we are only humans. William is but a kid and many didn’t want to take him seriously, just like we are – a small startup.
But we must all be like William and wipe away the tears and stand up to try again.
MVP
He believed he could build a windmill to drive a water pump and water the village land. He first tested the idea by making a small one to power a radio. After this, many in his village were encouraged and decided to assist him in building a full-size windmill.
Many times, startup founders hit an epiphany and start thinking they found something that might make them the next Google or Facebook. However, it is important to perform tests to prove that the concept works and building an MVP is one of the many ways we can use to gauge if something is viable before we start to enroll the entire village and sink valuable time and money into something that may not work.
Educate yourself
When his parents could no longer afford to pay his school fees, he was disappointed but did not let that stop him from getting the knowledge he needed to build the windmill. He found a way to get into the library –despite not being a student at the school– and poured over books on magnets and how to build a dynamo.
There’s a saying, “leaders are readers.” We as founders do not always have to be from prestigious universities, but we must be resourceful enough to know where and how to get the knowledge we need to successfully build what we are building and the hunger to always explore.
Support from family
We often say it takes a village to raise a child.
The importance of having multiple support roles enable a startup to flourish. That said, it doesn’t necessarily have to come from a co-founder.
Also Read: Finding the right co-founder is worth the trek
Your family’s understanding is equally important for you during this journey as starting up could mean time and financial resources being allocated to building this new business. Their understanding could elevate a lot of stress off you.
When William’s father refused to give up his bike for the windmill, it was his mother’s conviction in him that persuaded his father to. When the father knows they have to start to ration their food, he got the family to vote, which meal of the day they should be eating and which to skip.
I too might not be able to continue in this journey without the support of my family and my wonderful girlfriend who have been understanding of the fact that its no overseas holidays for us for the next couple of years, not being able to help out financially at home that much, believing in me and that I am fighting hard each day. So learn to share with your loved ones and prep them for what is required of you and how it might affect them.
I hope this article inspired and taught you something, just like the movie did for me. Now founders lets go out and harness the wind.
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