Edit
Storyline
The recent "new" economy with its unprecedented highs and frantic reversals of fortune is rife with fascinating true stories. e-Dreams turns it's focus to the recently defunct Kozmo.com. Once upon a time, a story like this would have been unbelievable, even among those intimate with the workings of Wall Street. But Kozmo.com is now a case study of how an entire economic sector went awry. Just three years ago, Kozmo.com was just an idea in the minds of two 20-something Korean American investment bankers: an online convenience store that made deliveries of snacks, videotapes and other products within a half hour. Beginning in an unfurnished warehouse, co-founders Joseph Park and Yong Kang and their small group of employees did everything from build the website to making deliveries on bicycle. Over the following year their business grew from 10 employees to 3,000 and extended to 11 cities. Like so many other dot-coms, Kozmo.com's growth was something hitherto unseen: It raised more than ... Written by
Seattle International Film Festival Guide
Plot Summary
|
Add Synopsis
I saw e-Dreams in the Seattle International Film Festival and enjoyed it thoroughly. The filmmakers followed Kozmo.com CEO, Joe Park, over a a couple of years. Filmed in real time, you get to watch history unfold on an amazing story. Now out of business, we watch Kozmo.com grow and become a huge. As the operations become more and more complex, the young CEO spends more and more time worrying about financing and an impending IPO, which ultimately fails. I commend the filmmakers for not editing the footage to make obvious what we now know to be true or casting the events they recorded using 20/20 hindsight. I found it interesting to note where the audience laughed. There seemed to be an assumption that the fall of Kozmo.com was pre-destined and that their business model was never a good idea. I disagree with this premise, and ultimately believe that something very much like it will be successful. Thankfully, the film allows one to draw their own conclusions. Highly recommended.