Startup.com (2001)

Wonderful character development!

Worth seeing just to witness how winsome it is.

True to its essence, the characters remain on the same line and manage to entertain the viewer, each highlighting their own distinctive qualities or touches.

The movie really just wants to entertain people.

Main problem I had what this documentary was that it didn't really ever focus truly on anything. It doesn't go into depth with anything. It could had easily put some more focus on its subject, starting a dot com company, or more on the 2 main founders of it.The documentary really doesn't explain thoroughly what the entire idea and functionality behind govWorks.com was. So the viewers are being pretty much clueless at what the creators of this website are actually trying to achieve and how they think that they can rule the market with their one idea and concept. It's therefore hard to truly distinctive for the viewers what they were doing right and what they did wrong with their concept.It also doesn't help much that none of the key persons in this documentary very rarely recapitulate or explain anything into the camera. We don't get to see why they made certain choices or even how the website got developed or marketed. or why certain people had to leave the company because they weren't considered suitable enough for the job. Apparently this got shot over the course of about 2 years but the movie is being told and cut in such a way that it actually feels like a couple of weeks. Seems to me that the camera only showed up once for a day every two weeks, or only when a special event or important day got planned. So to me the documentary just doesn't feel like a natural and well flowing whole because too much stuff and time got omitted and it was lacking in focus or detail.Perhaps this all could had been saved and more interesting if the two main founders were presented as some more interesting individuals as well. They now instead more come across as two inexperienced young guys who have plenty of ambition but are pretty much clueless at what they are getting themselves involved with and the movie really doesn't focus enough on their characters at who they are and what is driving them. Because of this you are not really feeling at all involved with any of them, or their dreams and goals.It probably sounds as if I hated this documentary but this is far from the truth really. It still remains a good watch because it still has a good subject and it's always fun and interesting to see other people working hard and dealing with all kinds of ups and downs. And there is plenty happening in this documentary, I only wish it all got presented a bit better.A good enough watch all but it still remains a real missed opportunity, that had far more potential in it.7/10http://bobafett1138.blogspot.com/

If you've ever wondered what it's like to be in a startup company, this movie is a must-see. Although you don't quite see everything or understand everything - you do get a glimpse of the amazing real-life drama that occurred during the startup phase of this company. It's probably pretty representative of a lot of "dot-com" era companies.This is a documentary that follows the two young entrepreneurs that founded "govworks.com" in 1999. It follows them from 8 employees to over 200 and loosely chronicles the personal drama that unfolds.You won't see the business plan or much in the way of strategic meetings, but you will get some semblance of what life was like from the founders' perspective.It's more like reality TV than a documentary because there is no commentary. It's just footage of the ongoing lives of the founders as they struggle through the startup phase of what looks to be a huge future company. Like much of reality TV, it's simply fascinating to watch. Highly recommended viewing - especially for anyone who's thinking of starting a company.

This film is a good first step in chronicling the rise and fall of a hot dot.com business. Left unrevealed, as many other viewers have commented, is a more insightful look at what the business was all about, what the challenges were in marketing it, how the business expected to make money, and exactly how it rose and fell. Nothing is mentioned about the problems of recruiting talent, pitching prospects, or confronting competition which, apparently, was the cause of the govworks downfall. We also would like to know more about the backgrounds of the founders--where did they grow up? What did their parents do? And what's the story behind the daughter of Tom? (Other comments allude to his "gayness" but I didn't feel that was clearly implied...Is it relevant?)

I myself worked in one of the ubiquitous .com's in the late 90's and this movie is frightening realistic, from the long hours and technical glitches right down to the embarrassingly lame cheers.I read on the web the filmmakers set out to document their friends impending wealth and business fortune with this documentary, but what they got was the complete opposite. I think that speaks volumes for expectations during this era.I feel like some of the other IMDb reviews are off the mark. Yes, the movie is sometimes hard to follow. But it was shot in the Cinéma-vérité genre and that is to be expected. It is an uncompromising real life look, and it is up to the viewer to decipher; sometimes this works sometimes not. Some previous reviews wondered how the company folded. Honestly its a movie about an internet company, why do you think it failed? Having said this, I think more could have been shown of why Tom got the axe and the love relationships of Kaliel could have been better developed.According to the DVD the producers cut some realistic (and boringly technical) scenes to focus more on the relationship between Tom and Kaleil. This is where they succeeded. They are trying to tell the story of the company downfall through the interplay of these two characters. It is fascinating because it is real. The most compelling part is the coorelation between their relationship eroding as does the company. Viewed from that point of view this movie is really not a documentary. Nevertheless it is entertaining and gripping. What amazed me was the unfettered greed and their enormous hubris which prevented them from acknowledge their role in this sinking ship.