Dallas Buyers Club is a film starring Matthew McConaughey which showcases Texas sized business aspects. To establish a foundation, in case you haven't seen the movie, it's about the entrepreneurial journey of Ron Woodruff. Ron Woodruff was an electrician and avid rodeo fan who contracted HIV and was given 30 days to live due to his reckless lifestyle. The setting, of course, is Dallas, Texas in the 1980's. Like I said, the movie highlights very key aspects of entrepreneurship. Also, the relationship between entrepreneurs and society. Even though the movie is a great entrepreneurial story, it includes positive and negative demonstrations.
First of all, it's important to point out that HIV was a fairly new virus in the 80's. Because of this, science hadn't figured out a way to treat it. Hence, why he was only given 30 days to live. However Woodruff wasn't going to accept this reality. This brings us to the first aspect I would like to point out, identifying a market. Woodruff noticed many others like him, hopeless and left to die. After many hours studying the disease, he found stories of some forms of treatment that have worked for people with HIV. Sadly, these methods weren't FDA approved so it was very hard for Ron to get his hands on the drugs. This is where we get in to some of the negatives. Woodruff began acquiring the drugs illegally. Forget that though, we'll just say he wouldn't take no for an answer. After all, these were new ways to treat the virus and as we know, medicine is very strictly regulated. Or, we can blame it on "big pharma" and say he was doing the right thing, which many would say he was.
Now, Woodruff has the drugs, the market, and the ambition to succeed through helping others. There is still one big issue, he doesn't know how to sell his product to the customers. You see, Woodruff was a middle-aged white male who didn't think too fondly of the people that shared the virus with him (for reasons I won't get into). This brings up another aspect of entrepreneurship. Because he couldn't make any sales, Woodruff made the hard, but necessary, decisions to hire a partner. Woodruff had to put his ego aside and realize he needed help. This can be very hard for entrepreneurs given all the profit/losses at stake. Ron's partner, Rayon, became the most vital part of the process. Rayon was someone the community knew and trusted. In no time at all, the two founded the Dallas Buyers Club and began selling treatment to loads of individuals. This also shows us as an entrepreneur that you're only as good as the people you work with.
This is a great example of how society is affected by entrepreneurship. Before the Dallas Buyers Club, there was no way for HIV patients to find effective treatment, unless they wanted to participate in medicine trials. Which was unlikely given the side effects of the medicine used in the trial. Also, the selection size couldn't cover the Dallas metropolitan area. Once Woodruff was able to supply somewhat proven medicine, society responded positively. Woodruff became somewhat of a hero to his customers, as they saw him as their only way to survive. Because of this reaction, even though what was happening was illegal, society was able to support Woodruff.
Not all of society will respond this way though. Sadly, society includes more than just desperate customers. For example, the doctors in the area were not happy with the Dallas Buyers Club. Not only did they worry about the safety of the operation, but Woodruff was taking their patients. This was a hard reaction for Woodruff to deal with. Another part of society is the government. Unfortunately, when people start making loads of money without the right approval, the IRS begins to get involved. Also, the Doctors get the FDA involved. These societal reactions prove to be very challenging for Woodruff. This is another example of an entrepreneurship aspect. Being, how the rules and regulations in business can make it hard for entrepreneurs to get up and running.