I was channel-surfing this weekend and ended up catching a good chunk of the film Startup.com. I remember seeing it in the theaters back in 2001. Its release seemed perfectly timed with the bursting of 90′s Internet bubble.
The documentary follows the rise and fall of Govworks.com, a quintessential VC-funded start-up. The film follows the company’s growth from idea (there’s an amazing sequence when the founders ponder for hours about what to name the company…) to getting funded to an eventual flat-lining.
Parts of the movie are cringe-worthy—specifically the scenes of the CEO forecasting how rich he’s going to get, and a number of very dot-com era events like awkward company retreats and team cheers. Ouch…it brings you back.
Startup.com is definitely worth watching if you haven’t seen it. Seven years wasn’t really that long ago, and many of the stumbles and mistakes made by the Govworks.com team can still be learned from.