Startup.com (2001)

Traces the birth and failure of new media company govWorks.com.

Directors:

Chris Hegedus, Jehane Noujaim

Stars:

Kaleil Isaza Tuzman, Tom Herman, Kenneth Austin

10 wins & 6 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Kaleil Isaza Tuzman	...	Himself
Tom Herman	...	Himself
Kenneth Austin	...	Himself
Tricia Burke	...	Herself
Roy Burston	...	Himself
David Camp	...	Himself
Dora Glottman	...	Herself
Julian Herbstein	...	Himself
Christina Ortez	...	Herself
Jonathan Agus	...	Himself (as Jonathan Agus)
Chieh Cheung	...	Himself
Sean Coar	...	Himself
Ambika Conroy	...	Herself
Patrick Cromer	...	Himself
Jerry Greenberg	...	Himself

Storyline

Kaleil Isaza Tuzman and Tom Herman have had a dream since they became friends at age fifteen: get rich by developing their own dot com company, in some aspect of computer technology interface. Now in their late twenties, they have now come up with the idea they believe will make their riches, namely as Tom refers to it, "parking tickets": the company will be the on-line revenue collection interface for municipal governments. GovWorks.com came into existence in May 1999 with only an idea. The process of building the business focuses on obtaining venture capital based solely on the idea, with the actual mechanics of the website seemingly almost an afterthought, or at least one left primarily to the hired help. Regardless of the strength of the idea itself in raising this capital, another initial problem they face is what they see as non-commitment by a third partner, Kaleil's friend Chieh Cheung. In early 2000, they do manage to go live with their product to what seems to be a promising...

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Plot Keywords:

business | venture capital | friendship | dotcom | industrial espionage | 

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Taglines:

The rise and fall of the American dream.

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Genres:

Documentary

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for language

Details

Official Sites:

Official Site [Spain]

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

1 June 2001 (USA)

Also Known As:

Business sto diadyktio

Filming Locations:

Highland Capital Partners - Two International Place, Boston, Massachusetts, USA

Box Office

Opening Weekend USA:

$16,118, 13 May 2001, Limited Release

Gross USA:

$1,280,975, 2 September 2001

Company Credits

Production Co:

Noujaim Films, Pennebaker Hegedus Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

107 min 105 min (Buenos Aires Festival Internacional de Cine Independiente)

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Edited down from over 400 hours of footage.

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Connections

Spoofed in Dot (2002)

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Soundtracks

Princess Nicotine
Written by Stephen Ulrich
Performed by Big Lazy

User Reviews

On the whole, a solid, respectable fairly fulfilling though uninsightful piece of journalism.

Actually, to correct the plot outline above this movie does NOT "trace the birth and success...of new media company govWorks.com." Rather, it douments the rise and fall of a company whose fortunes seem to accurately reflect the demise of 1000s of similar dotcom start-ups. I saw the video on tape and not in a theater and thought the lack of art and panache in the news-like cinema verite photography was disappointing, but the story does deliver. The relationship between the protagonists--then antagonists--who founded and ran govWorks.com makes for compelling viewing and substantial response even weeks after the story-telling. The docu relies on the screen-filling charisma and intelligence of Kaleil Tuzman, CEO of the start-up company guarantees to drive the narrative. His former roommate Jehane Noujaim produced, directed and shot the feature doc with veteran Chris Hegedus, but it would not have been possible w/out Noujaim's access to the primary subject, Tuzman.

Interestingly, feature stories and reviews in the NY media describe Tuzmnan as both Hindu and as a "Latino Jew." It's exactly the type of detail missing in a doc that does not rely on narration to fill in the blanks.

On the whole, a solid, respectable fairly fulfilling though uninsightful piece of journalism.