What is the main message of To Pixar and Beyond?

The main message of To Pixar and Beyond is about the journey of taking Pixar from a struggling startup to a successful animation studio.

How long does it take to read To Pixar and Beyond?

The reading time for To Pixar and Beyond varies from reader to reader. However, the Blinkist summary can be read in just 15 minutes.

Is To Pixar and Beyond a good book? Is it worth reading?

To Pixar and Beyond is a captivating book that provides insights into the behind-the-scenes story of Pixar. It's definitely worth a read.

Who is the author of To Pixar and Beyond?

The author of To Pixar and Beyond is Lawrence Levy.

To Pixar and Beyond Summary of Key Ideas and Review

Name: To Pixar and Beyond
Rating: 4.6 (56 reviews)
Author: Lawrence Levy

Introduction

What’s in it for me? Learn how Pixar succeeded against overwhelming odds.

Way back in 1995, Pixar released a little film called Toy Story. It was an immediate hit with audiences and critics alike, and, since then, the studio has built and maintained a reputation for producing magical and inspiring entertainment. Pixar continues to release hit after hit – to the tune of $14 billion in box office sales worldwide.

But let’s rewind. When Lawrence Levy joined Pixar in 1994, its current success was unimaginable. The company had already lost Steve Jobs $50 million, and it was surviving on monthly checks from his personal account. These blinks tell the story of how, in the face of numerous challenges, Levy and Jobs developed and implemented the strategy that would turn Pixar around.

In these blinks, you’ll discover

why Lawrence Levy had doubts about joining Pixar;
what Mozart and blockbusters have in common; and
the link between Pixar and Buddhism.

Key idea 1 of 8

The prospect of working in an inspirational environment lured Lawrence Levy to Pixar.

In November 1994, Lawrence Levy received a life-changing phone call. At the time, Levy was CFO at a desktop publishing start-up called Electronics for Imaging. One day, he was told that none other than Steve Jobs, the cofounder of Apple, was on the line. Although Jobs had left Apple ten years prior, he was still a notable figure in Silicon Valley – a call from him was a big deal.

Jobs wanted to talk about Pixar, a small imaging computer and software company he owned. He wanted Levy to help run it, develop its strategy, and eventually take it to the stock market. After all, Levy had done the same for other Silicon Valley start-ups.

The catch? Pixar wasn’t doing well. But despite that, it still looked like an incredible opportunity to Levy.

The key message here is: The prospect of working in an inspirational environment lured Lawrence Levy to Pixar.

To get a better sense of what lay ahead of him, Levy did some research on Pixar. No one he asked knew how the company was staying afloat. As it turned out, Jobs was writing monthly checks to keep it running. At that point, he’d already poured $50 million into the company.

Pixar’s future definitely looked bleak, and Levy worried he’d be risking his career by jumping on board. But a tour of the company’s facilities made him reconsider.

Levy met Pixar’s cofounder, Ed Catmull, who showed him a scene from a new film project: Toy Story. Levy was blown away. Toy Story would go on to become the world’s first feature-length computer-animated film, but it wasn’t just technically impressive. The storytelling transported Levy, to the point where he found himself empathizing with the toys on the screen!

Afterward, Levy got a glimpse into how the film was created. He met John Lasseter, Pixar’s creative lead, and saw some of the company’s tools. There was a hand-built machine that transferred computer images onto film, thousands of highly detailed storyboards, and computers that produced each frame of the movie. Everything Levy saw convinced him that Catmull and Lasseter were destined to succeed and that it would be an honor to work with them.

Nonetheless, he still had doubts about joining Pixar. He wasn’t sure how the company could become viable. And while he’d easily connected with Jobs, Levy was wary of the man’s reputation for being difficult. Ultimately, the opportunity was simply too intriguing to pass up. Levy accepted the role of executive vice president and chief financial officer at Pixar.

Key idea 2 of 8

When Levy joined Pixar, none of the company's projects looked like winners.

When Levy joined Pixar in February 1995, everyone was polite but something seemed off. People were keeping him at a distance, and he soon discovered why.

Pixar employees weren’t exactly fond of Steve Jobs. They felt he wasn’t one of them and feared he would ruin the company culture. Plus, he hadn’t delivered on a promise to give them stock options. Levy had been hired by Jobs, so he inherited employees’ distrust.

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Key idea 3 of 8

The entertainment industry was Pixar’s best hope of becoming profitable – but it was risky.

Ever heard the saying, “Where there’s a will, there’s a way?” Well, Levy’s quest to make Pixar profitable is a great example of just how true that is. Though the financial situation seemed hopeless, Levy continued to research options. Eventually, he stumbled onto something that seemed to lead the way to a solution: home video.

According to Levy’s research, most of Disney’s profits from films such as The Lion King and Aladdin came from home video sales. The lesson was clear – families around the world wanted to watch great animated films at home. That made home entertainment big business, and Pixar could get a piece of it by becoming a dedicated animated film studio.

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Key idea 4 of 8

Pixar’s success rested on a four-pillar business plan.

Anything you build, whether it’s a house, a relationship, or a business, has to have a solid foundation in order to stand the test of time.

By the summer of 1995, Lawrence Levy, Steve Jobs, and Ed Catmull had concluded that making animated feature films wasn’t going to be easy – but it was Pixar’s only real shot at success. To maximize its chance of succeeding, they developed a business plan consisting of four strong pillars.

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Key idea 5 of 8

Backed by a stellar team of investment banks, Pixar’s IPO journey ended with a billion-dollar valuation.

In the middle of 1995, Lawrence Levy and the rest of the team turned to the most critical of Pixar’s four pillars – raising money through an IPO. To get into the IPO game, Pixar needed investment banks to connect it with investors who’d be interested in buying stock in the company. Although Steve Jobs wanted to work with industry leaders Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley, both banks declined. They didn’t like the unpredictability of the film business, or the idea of potentially waiting years for a better deal with Disney.

Fortunately, this wasn’t the end of the story.

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Key idea 6 of 8

Producing more great films meant investing in, and trusting, Pixar’s story team.

After Pixar’s billion-dollar IPO, and Toy Story’s triumph at the box office, the team still had work to do. The IPO had given them $140 million to pump into the business; in order to make the most of it, they had to create more hit movies.

But making another blockbuster was, as Levy put it, like attempting to clone Mozart. And Pixar didn’t just need more great movies. Based on one of the business pillars, it needed them more often. This was the next challenge, and the story team was front and center.

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Key idea 7 of 8

Success allowed Pixar to dictate better terms in its new deal with Disney.

By the end of 1996, Pixar had raised more money than anyone had anticipated. And it was on its way to making more great animated films.

This left two pillars of the business strategy to tackle – namely, increasing Pixar’s share of film profits and establishing the brand. The company’s three-film agreement with Disney covered both these pillars. Pixar had two options: try to negotiate new terms immediately, or wait years for a better deal.

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Key idea 8 of 8

Levy and Jobs learned a lot about life on their journey with Pixar.

Pixar signed its new deal with Disney in February 1997. It was a big month for the company, one that would kick off years of incredible success. Pixar went on to release five award-winning blockbusters plus a hugely popular Toy Story sequel. On average, each of these films made more than $250 million at the box office. By 2005, Pixar’s winning streak had pushed its stock market value to a whopping $6 billion! But Levy and Jobs feared the value would plummet if Pixar’s growth slowed down even slightly. To reduce the risk, they sold Pixar to Disney in a massive $7.4 billion deal.

February 1997 was also a big month for Steve Jobs personally. That month, Apple bought NeXT Computer from him; months later, he returned to Apple himself.

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