Startup.com

    Startup.com was a fairly interesting movie. At the time of the Dot-com boom and bust, I was about 10 years old and did not have a huge interest in the economy. So being able to see first hand how money was being thrown around and spent on "ideas" instead of actual concrete plans, was both interesting and horrifying. The concept behind govworks.com is solid, infact I wish it was more common, as I avoid the local county city building like the plague, so being able to handle tickets online would be convenient. However, Tom and Kaliel seems to focus more on gaining capital, than building value, which is their downfall.

    I found the relationship between Kaleil and Tom to be a bit strange. While Kaliel is brought in for his experience from Goldman-Sachs, it seems he dose not have enough technology knowledge to fully grasp what work needs to be done and what the competition may hold. Similarly, Tom does not have the business savvy to find venture capital and talk with potential investors. This is shown by the early conversations with VCs in which Kaliel cuts off Tom a few times in the middle of a meeting. While I'm sure this is a common occurrence in a startup, I think Tom and Kaliel's friendship actually hurts them, as they did not find business partners that would compliment their skills, they just went with their friends.

    Through all this Tom and Kaliel seemed to make the best of a bad situation. They used their knowledge of being part of a rise and fall to help other struggling startups. That might be the best example of making lemons into lemonade in the business world. I read an article in Business Insider in which Tom and Kaliel reflect on their lives before and after the documentary. They are still friends and have taken part in a few business ventures that have been fairly successful.

    If I start a business, this is all valuable knowledge. The main lesson I will take with me is that a "failing" business can be the first step to being successful.