The sudden shift in Dunn's expression didn't escape Jack Welch's sharp eyes. He chuckled, "Scared?"
"Dunn Films has a lot of business segments, but its foundation's shaky. If a giant decides to push us down, I'm afraid…"
Dunn shook his head, his face darkening.
Jack Welch nodded. "Exactly. That's why your business strategy and growth philosophy have some serious flaws."
"What?"
Dunn's jaw dropped, totally caught off guard.
He knew he wasn't a pro at this stuff, so he left company management to the experts. Meanwhile, he leaned on his knack for seeing the future to steer the big-picture strategy.
But Jack Welch hitting him with this critique right out of the gate? It was like a bucket of cold water to the face.
Flawed philosophy!
That's a hefty accusation.
"No way, really?" Dunn said, skepticism written all over him.
Sure, Jack Welch was a legendary manager—maybe even the best in the world. But his expertise was in manufacturing. This was Hollywood, the entertainment biz—totally different territory!
Jack Welch seemed to read his mind and shook his head. "I don't know much about Hollywood, that's true. But business is business. There are universal principles of management and strategy. Dunn, you're a great director, but you don't get commerce."
Dunn's brows knitted tight.
Jack Welch didn't pull punches. "In an oligopoly market, there are only two ways to break the balance: buy out one of the big players, or build a new giant before the old ones even notice."
Dunn mulled it over, nodding thoughtfully—then shook his head. "That's impossible. Hollywood's different. Even if I had the cash, without the right connections, status, and influence, buying out a titan like Universal Pictures? No chance."
Jack Welch shook his head. "That's just surface-level stuff. What matters is raw strength. But fine, that's not the point. If buying's off the table, there's still the second option."
Dunn cracked a smile. "Mr. Welch, you're not saying Dunn Films is growing too slow, are you?"
Jack Welch's face stayed dead serious—no hint of a joke. "Isn't it?"
Dunn hadn't expected this kind of pushback. He kept his tone even. "Dunn Films started in 1997. It's been less than four years, and our assets are already valued over $2.5 billion. That's slow?"
Even DreamWorks, founded by three industry giants with Microsoft bigwig Paul Allen's cash, had taken seven years to get where it was—nothing crazy.
Dunn Films was a legit success story worth bragging about!
Jack Welch let out a dry laugh, shaking his head. "For your ambitions, yeah, it's slow!"
Dunn respected Jack Welch, but now he was getting a little ticked off. "Okay, Mr. Welch, what's not slow then? Look at all of Hollywood—any movie company out there growing as fast as Dunn Films?"
Jack Welch locked eyes with him, squinting. "Is Hollywood your only ambition?"
"Well…"
Dunn clammed up.
Hollywood, at its core, was the entertainment circle. But gaming, publishing, news, interactive media—even a big chunk of the TV industry—fell under the broader media umbrella, not Hollywood itself.
Jack Welch spoke earnestly. "Kid, times change fast—you know that. Every industry's consolidating resources, and the rich-get-richer effect is only getting stronger. You've got talent and plenty of money. If I were in your shoes, I'd make the empire way bigger!"
"Oh? Got an example?" Dunn softened, genuinely curious now.
Jack Welch smiled. "I don't know Hollywood's ins and outs. You say buying Universal takes connections and clout—fine, scratch that for now. Look elsewhere. Take General Electric's NBC network, for instance."
"NBC?"
Dunn's eyebrow shot up. As one of America's big three public TV networks, NBC was a TV titan, holding nearly 30% of the market!
Jack Welch nodded. "Back in the day, I pushed hard to buy NBC—mainly to advertise GE's products and boost TV sales. But times changed. Media's consolidating. Giants like Disney, Time Warner, and Viacom popped up, and NBC under GE? It's turning into dead weight."
Dunn nodded.
NBC's market share had been slipping lately. Besides its top rivals, ABC and CBS, there was the rising Fox network too.
In the TV game, GE couldn't match the media giants' resources to prop up NBC.
"So years ago, I was already thinking of unloading NBC," Welch continued. "Antitrust rules mean Disney with ABC, News Corp with Fox, Time Warner with CNN, and Viacom with CBS can't touch it."
He gave Dunn a deep look. "This is the era's call—and your shot!"
Dunn's eyes widened. "Mr. Welch, you're not messing with me, right? NBC might be struggling, but it's got tons of assets and strength—worth at least $15 billion! You think I can swallow that?"
Jack Welch laughed, half-exasperated. "Dunn, do you even get capital mergers?"
Dunn frowned. "Even if I hadn't sunk my money into stocks and used Dunn Films as collateral, I'd scrape together maybe $5 billion tops. Merge with NBC? I'd get 25% of the shares? That's a pipe dream!"
"Holding company, man! Pull in Wall Street cash! Set up a parent company over Dunn Films with your $5 billion—you take 51%, Wall Street gets 49%. Boom, you've got $10 billion to play with. Not happy with that split? Add another holding layer or tweak the voting rights. There's a million ways to keep control!"
Jack Welch's pitch had Dunn rolling his eyes.
This was basic company control stuff—Dunn knew it. But it meant giving Wall Street a cut!
Handing out money? Dunn hated that!
He'd busted his butt making movies and building his company, just to let a bunch of Wall Street leeches cash in? Maybe it was a principle thing, but he couldn't stomach it.
Dunn shook his head. "I don't like that approach. Dunn Films has unlimited potential—I'm not leveraging its current value for funding."
Jack Welch, pure businessman through and through, didn't get it. His brows furrowed. "This is the fastest way to win! Merge Dunn Films with NBC, and with that platform, you wouldn't have to sweat Viacom or Disney."
Dunn kept it cool. "Conservatively, with the industries Dunn Films is in now, if it grows right, it's worth $50 billion down the line! But if I give up big chunks of equity now, even if we go public later, how much would I really own? You're right, Mr. Welch—my ambitions are huge!"
Jack Welch went quiet for a long stretch, then sighed. "Kid, founders caring about equity is good—and bad. Building a business is a race against time. The more resources and cash you've got early, the faster you go."
Dunn shook his head, firm. "I'm not short on money, and in Hollywood, I've got plenty of resources. I'm confident I can grow from here!"
Jack Welch sighed helplessly. "I told you—if you don't rise up as a new giant before the oligarchs catch on, you'll just get carved up. Your plan's solid, but it's slow torture. The longer it drags, the worse it hurts. Better to cut the mess quick."
Dunn grinned. "Mr. Welch, I agree with everything you're saying. Honestly, with my limited grasp of business, it all lines up with your take. But I'm Dunn Walker, right? Dunn Films isn't a Hollywood oligarch, and the big dogs have been onto me for a while—yet I'm still thriving, aren't I?"
Jack Welch, an outsider, didn't know Hollywood's inner workings—like the "package deal" investments.
Even DreamWorks was getting squeezed to near bankruptcy, but Dunn Films, with even more momentum, kept climbing. This year's The Unsinking was set to dominate the summer box office, no question.
"Movies are your turf—I won't argue there," Jack Welch said, pausing to think. "But TV's different. Especially cable networks—that's not Hollywood's game!"
True enough, cable TV was a world apart from Hollywood. ABC's HQ was in New York, CBS's in Denver, CNN's in New York too.
Beyond supplying some content, Hollywood's operations and networks didn't overlap much with that scene.
Welch's words hit Dunn right where it counted. Sumner Redstone, lurking in the background, was always a major wildcard!
"With the TV networks, I trust Mr. Redstone's generosity and vision."
Dunn said it, but even he didn't buy it.
Jack Welch cracked a wry smile. "Dunn, I ran GE for 20 years and learned one key lesson: keep the reins in your own hands! You know Sumner Redstone? At 58, he survived a fire that nearly killed him. After that, his career took off—15 years later, he'd built Viacom into a world-class media empire. A guy like that—you think you can read him? I sure can't."
Dunn squinted, gritting his teeth. "Everyone's got a weakness. Age and slowness? That's his biggest! Hmph—I can handle him!"