The Call of the Entrepreneur

Synopsis

The main subjects of the documentary are Brad Morgan, Frank Hanna, and Jimmy Lai. Morgan, a dairy farmer from Evart, Michigan discusses his journey from a struggling dairy farmer to the owner and operator of a million-dollar composting operation. Hanna, a merchant banker in New York City who originally hails from Georgia, explains how financial engineering not only makes credit more widely available to entrepreneurs today but also played a crucial role in the discovery of America. Lai talks about his childhood in Communist China and his move at twelve years old to Hong Kong. There, he founded Giordano, a retail outlet, and later Next Media. Lai explains that entrepreneurs, when taking risks, are "dashing into hope."

The documentary also contains information from experts in the field of economics, including Rev. Robert Sirico, founder and President of the Acton Institute, Dr. Samuel Gregg, Dr. Jay Richards, George Gilder, and Michael Novak.

Critical reception

The reception of the film was mixed in limited reviews. Entrepreneur called it "a non-stop barrage of uplifting tales" and wrote that Morgan's story was "inspiring" and "enough to remind you that our society thrives on entrepreneurial ideas." Fortune Small Business was more negative, writing, "With no critical analysis, few sources cited outside of the Acton Institute, and no concrete counter-examples examined, it's difficult to see the documentary as anything more than an infomercial for Acton's libertarian religious doctrine aimed at those already inclined to agree with it."