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

Jehane Noujaim, the videographer and producer, began the project when she was the roommate of the documentary's principal character, Kaleil Tuzman. She was previously a producer at MTV.

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Connections

Spoofed in ESoda.com (2005)

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Soundtracks

Curb Urchin
Written by Stephen Ulrich
Performed by Big Lazy

User Reviews

You get it even more if you were there

I think the greatest thing about this film is how it really shows the audience the future while the people in the film have no idea what is coming around the corner.

We get a real sense of what is to come early on when Tuzman comes back from a meeting trying to raise capital. He bitches about how he got ripped to shreds by one investor (you have no project experience etc... etc..). It's a very telling sign.

and it is amazing to watch how Tuzman was duplicated over and over again by several people who just threw money at a phenomenon without understanding it. It was an amazing thing to witness and Startup.Com captures it like nothing I have ever seen before.

Add in some dramatic moments, an office break in, a missing lawyer, a ruthless competitor, and a telling firing.. and startup.com is one documentary that will engage you.

Rating 8 out of 10