Kenneth Kaszak

There is a unique—but strong—correlation to being a writer and being an entrepreneur. I’ve had experiences on both sides of the aisle so I will draw the correlation for you.  The tie that binds is the concept of “Objectivity.”

            When I wrote the first draft of my first screenplay I put it in the desk drawer.  I then wrote my next project before rewriting that script.  That project?  The acceptance speech for my Academy Award for Screenwriting.  I was so sure that I had just put greatness on paper that Iwould soon be walking up on the stage to get my statue.

            But I didn’t get that statue.  That screenplay went largely unread.  I did have the moxy to send it to an agent at William Morris (with casting suggestions included).  When I called him as a follow-up, instead of receiving accolades and a contract, he informed me of everything thatwas wrong with my script, including the fact that I didn’t write it in the screenplay format.  He did give me some positive feedback on the character development, the way the subplots were written and completed, and the fact I had a strong climax.  That agent did me a great favor and sent me a screenplay that was about to become a movie.  I read that script multiple times,dissected the format, the spacing and the tightness of the scene descriptions and dialogue.  I learned screenwriting from that script, numerous other scripts I read and the countless movies I watched. 

            One of the best ways to learn screenwriting is to watch bad movies.  Pinpointing where the story goes off track, where the poorly written characters lose their believability, determining where the writer was stuck and threw in a piece of action that was not continuous to the story or character behavior that was already presented to us is a great learning tool.

            For the record, none of my screenplays ever sold.  I did have an agent represent my last two scripts but we didn’t receive any offers.  I did receive two grants from the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts.  However, I  received something of incredible value from the time writing screenplays:  the gift of Objectivity.  In fact, I couldn’t consider myself a writer until I received this gift.  Objectivity has made me a writer.  It’s also made me a better decision maker, better listener, better researcher, better speaker and better business person.  It enhanced my creativity and gave me a strong memory.  It gave me the tools to be able to learn complex, detailed subjects that are far above my level of intelligence.  All correspondence, emails, and articles I write are better for me having written screenplays.

            How does my unsuccessful career as a screenwriter connect to entrepreneurship?  Through Objectivity.  I’ve been in front of investors trying to raise money for business ideas. I had total and complete enthusiasm for my projects.  I wanted to create something of great value.  I wanted to be a job creator.  I wanted to “scale and sell” my idea around the world.  But the passion for my business didn’t overcome my lack of Objectivity.  The Money People asked me questions about items I hadn’t even thought about.  The fact I wanted to create jobs was nice but not of interest (and it shouldn’t have been) to the investors.  It’s great to have an idea for a business and a desire to create something of importance.  However, if you don’t run that idea through what I call the “Objectivity Mill,” the weak spots will be exposed quickly.

            Have you ever seen the program Shark Tank?  This show features entrepreneurs appearing in front of a panel of successful investors attempting to sell part of their business or to raise money for their business idea by delivering a pitch.  I share the enthusiasm and passion with the people walking out to stand in front of the Sharks.  But I also can identify with them when they hit the point in their story where they weren’t Objective about their ability to sell the product or the inability to prevent other money people from impeding on their unprotected idea or concept.  The Sharks see the weak points; the Unobjective Entrepreneur only sees the points that make him or her passionate about their idea.

            You want to know a great business idea?  If we can find a way to bottle and market Objectivity (after throwing up some barriers to entry, of course) we’ll make so much money that we’ll be sitting with the Sharks.

(For those of you wondering about the screenplay that the William Morris agent sent me: It was True Confessions.  Written by John Gregory Dunne and Joan Didion.  The movie starred Robert DeNiro and Robert Duvall.  I can still quote dialogue from the script).