From the Reporters

The Caped Crusaderpreneur

 

Last night, I was in attendance at an event where the following entrepreneurial issues were raised:

Who should be in charge when the sole heir to a family business goes AWOL?

And when would be the right amount of time before that company should go public?

And, if said prodigal son returns, is it ethical for him to buy back his family's business by gobbling up shares through a variety of other companies and foundations?

Oh, and what should one do with thousands upon thousands of pointy-eared masks made from the wrong material, one that shatters upon impact?

These questions, and many more involving killer psychotomimetic spray unleashed by a man wearing a frightening burlap sack, were raised in Batman Begins, the terrific new superhero movie from Christopher Nolan of Memento fame. Now, before I started at Inc. in late 2002, I would have glossed over the board meetings and corporate machinations -- even with the reemergence of Rutger Hauer -- and got antsy waiting for the Batman to kick some Gotham City ass. Last night, however, I actually caught myself thinking about the family business situation and how it relates to people I've interviewed or who've been profiled in Inc. and so on. And I thought to myself...wow, that's pathetic...but I guess once you're indoctrinated into the world of the entrepreneur.

My quick Batman Begins review: It's well made -- darker, scarier, and more human, not to say realistic, but not ridiculous either. Best superhero movie I can recall, although that's the cinematic equivalent of serving the best fish tacos in Canada.

All brooding, winged freaks aside, do you ever catch yourself thinking about the state of entrepreneurship at odd, inappropriate or incongruent moments? I'd like to know when, and how often, that happens, especially if it's more than trying to figure out the next day's e-mail agenda. Just think of what would happen to poor Gotham if the Batman let his mind wander to Wayne Enterprises, chaos the likes of which we've never seen. At least not since the 1997 Joel Schumacher/George Clooney/Arnold Schwarzenegger monstrosity.