Twenty-one Inspiring Movies for Entrepreneurs – Part 3

Kaleil Isaza Tuzman and Tom Herman have had a dream since they were fifteen years old: to become wealthy by starting their own dot com company in some aspect of computer technology interface. They are now in their late twenties and have come up with the idea they believe will make them rich, namely “parking tickets,” as Tom refers to it: the company will be the on-line revenue collection interface for municipal governments. GovWorks.com was founded in May 1999 with only an idea. The building of the business focuses on obtaining venture capital based solely on the idea, with the actual mechanics of the website appearing to be almost an afterthought, or at least one left primarily to hired help. Regardless of the idea’s strength in raising this capital, another initial issue they face is what they perceive to be non-commitment by a third partner, Kaleil’s friend Chieh Cheung. They do manage to go live with their product in early 2000, to what appears to be a promising and lucrative future. However, the business’s success is fraught with many obstacles, including competition that may have a better product or one that was introduced to the market earlier, the whims of the economy, particularly in the equity market, and the fact that the business has few assets other than intellectual capital. Furthermore, their personal focus is solely on the business, which strains Tom’s relationship with his young daughter Tia Herman and Kaleil’s relationship with his girlfriend Dora Glottman. Their relationship is also being tested because it has always been inequitable – Kaleil being the self-avowed alpha dog – and may be usurped by business concerns.