Cillian Murphy is back as Tommy Shelby, and this time the stakes go far beyond Birmingham. Peaky Blinders: The Immortal Man hit theaters on March 6 and arrives on Netflix on March 20, bringing one of television’s most compelling fictional entrepreneurs into a wartime setting that tests every leadership instinct he has ever relied on.
The film has earned a 92% score on Rotten Tomatoes and delivered exactly what six seasons of the series promised: a final reckoning for a man who built an empire from nothing, lost nearly everything that mattered, and refused to stop fighting. For founders building companies in 2026, Tommy Shelby’s playbook is more relevant than most business books on your shelf.
Why Tommy Shelby Is the Founder Archetype Nobody Talks About
Tommy Shelby is not a tech CEO or a Silicon Valley darling. He is a World War I veteran who returned to Birmingham’s Small Heath neighborhood in 1919 with nothing but trauma, family loyalty, and an obsessive drive to build something bigger than himself. Over six seasons, he transformed a street gang into Shelby Company Limited, a legitimate business empire spanning horse racing, distilleries, automobile manufacturing, and political influence.
The parallels to startup life are striking. Tommy started with no capital, no connections outside his neighborhood, and competitors who wanted him dead. He built his operation by identifying underserved markets, moving faster than incumbents, and surrounding himself with people whose skills complemented his own. His brother Arthur handled enforcement. Polly managed finances. Each family member had a defined role that played to their strengths.
As Tommy himself puts it: “I’m a man with a mind for business and a head for strategy.” That combination, vision paired with execution discipline, is exactly what separates founders who survive from those who flame out.
Five Leadership Lessons From Peaky Blinders That Apply to Every Startup
Always Have a Plan, Even When the Room Is on Fire
Tommy Shelby’s most famous trait is that he always has a plan. Enemies, allies, and his own family are constantly surprised to discover that the crisis they thought would destroy him was actually a move he anticipated three steps ago. “When you plan something well, there’s no need to rush,” he tells his brother in Season 2.
For founders, this translates directly. The best operators build contingency plans before the crisis hits. They scenario-plan their cash runway, their competitive response, and their hiring timeline. When the market shifts, they are not reacting from panic. They are executing a plan they already thought through.
Build a Team Based on Strengths, Not Credentials
Tommy never hired based on resumes. He hired based on what people could actually do under pressure. Arthur was volatile but fearless. Polly was politically shrewd and financially sharp. Alfie Solomons was unreliable but controlled an entire market. Tommy built alliances based on complementary capabilities, not personal comfort.
Brian Chesky, CEO of Airbnb, has spoken about a similar approach. When Airbnb was three people with an air mattress and an idea, Chesky did not hire for pedigree. He hired for mission alignment and raw capability. The best founders understand that early-stage teams need builders, not managers.
Negotiate From a Position You Create, Not One You Inherit
One of Tommy’s defining moves is entering negotiations with leverage he manufactured himself. He does not wait for a strong hand. He creates one by gathering information, positioning assets, and timing his approach to maximize pressure on the other side.
Sara Blakely did this when she launched Spanx with $5,000 in savings. She did not wait for investor interest. She cold-called Neiman Marcus, got a meeting, demonstrated the product in the bathroom, and walked out with a purchase order. She manufactured her own leverage by making the product undeniable in person.
Stay Hungry by Wanting What You Cannot Have
Tommy tells his family: “I want what I can’t have. That’s the only way to stay hungry.” It is a line that could come from any founder who has watched their ambition outpace their resources. The gap between where you are and where you want to be is not a problem. It is fuel.
Jensen Huang, NVIDIA’s CEO, has echoed this sentiment. He has said publicly that he would not start NVIDIA again if he knew how hard it would be, but that the company’s trillion-dollar trajectory only happened because the team kept reaching for goals that seemed impossible at the time.
Loyalty Is Earned, Not Demanded
Tommy leads from the front. He does not ask his team to take risks he would not take himself. When things go wrong, he absorbs the blame. When things go right, he shares the credit. “For me, family is my strength,” he says, and he means it literally and organizationally.
For founders, this is the difference between a team that stays through hard times and one that leaves at the first recruiter call. The companies that survive downturns are led by founders who have built real loyalty through shared sacrifice, not just equity incentives.
What the New Movie Adds to the Conversation
The Immortal Man is set in 1940, seven years after the series finale. Tommy has been in self-imposed exile, but his estranged son Duke, played by Barry Keoghan, has taken over the Peaky Blinders and become entangled with a Nazi counterfeiting operation. Tommy is forced back into the fight, this time not for business but for his family and his country.
Variety called it “an enjoyable film farewell” that works as both a conclusion to the series and a standalone wartime thriller. For founders, the film adds one more critical lesson: the work you build outlives you, and what happens after you step away depends entirely on the culture and values you embedded in the organization while you were running it.
Peaky Blinders: The Immortal Man streams on Netflix starting March 20. Whether you are raising your first round or running a company at scale, Tommy Shelby’s final chapter is worth the two hours. Not because he is a role model in every way, but because his approach to strategy, team-building, and resilience is a masterclass in what it takes to build something that lasts.
