the audience applauded

Really Surprised!

I don't have all the words right now but this film is a work of art.

From my favorite movies..

If you like movies like Boiler Room, your going to love this movie!!! This movie has it all..it takes you through a personal journey of the founders of govworks to the ultimate demise during the Internet roller coaster of the 90's.What makes this movie standout and better than other similar internet documentaries (i.e. e-Dreams) is that this actually includes some interesting drama and feels like you are watching reality TV at times. But what makes this better is that you have a quick business lesson going on in the background (i.e. venture capital, designing/testing the web site) The only negative is that I would of liked to see more of the techy stuff behind the scenes and if the scenes were a little better explained of what was going on (after watching it 2x, you will get most of it)..but I would of liked to know what really caused their demise or how much better and why was their competitor sites better?

I've just had the pleasure of watching Startup.com on DVD. It's a fascinating story, but afterwards a lot of things puzzle me. In the rear mirror we all know that the dot-com bubble burst, but in 1999 when the filming of GovWorks.com began everything in that end of business looked grand. Therefore: in order to make a catchy documentary with a good story (in this case the classical rise-and-fall scenario), how did the people behind the documentary know that following this particular company wouldn't just end with piles of uninteresting tape no worth editing? What if the company never folded - would the filming had continued to this day then? The leaders of GovWorks.com wound up on the cover of Time, rubbed shoulders with Clinton and appeared on T.V. - the source material shown is beyond doubt. But what if the people behind the film contacted GovWorks.com at exactly THIS point and had Herman, Tuzman and some extras "re-play" the initial struggles and the company build-up and thereafter followed their business adventure come rain or come shine? In short: Things don't add up! If a filmmaker contacts a rising company and follow them through ups and downs chances that these endeavous will prove worthwhile is 1 to a million!

What I found most compelling about this wasn't the the business story, but the story of the friendships and personalities involved.POSSIBLE SPOILERS...If you watch the movie several times, as I have, you notice some glaring personality flaws even in the most "genuine" of the partners, Tom. For instance, In one scene, after the meeting with the investors, he is very confident talking about share dilution and their reduction of his personal stake...then after a fallout with another partner claims to not even know how many shares he owns (seeming as a tech guy, not "in it for the money"). Kaleel (sp?) on the other hand removes every other contendor for power in the company like someone who's read Sun Tzu far too many times.The success the company began with was intertwined with the success of their personal lives and friendships...I found it interesting to watch the personal relationships crumble, and the business follow right behind.

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