My Thoughts on Startup.com

Technology Readiness

One of the most obvious parts of the film Startup.com is the fact that the company was not ready to go live when they did. They lacked the necessary knowledge to run their site effectively. Tom was simply not capable of running this portion of the business. It would have been better off in the hands of someone else. Countless problems, including even the simplest tasks, should have been a clear message that they were not ready. Instead, they pursued the live date. To run a company such as GovWorks.com which runs on technology, the software, servers, etc should all work. This should be and is a priority for similar technologies. For GovWorks to ignore that and continue towards releasing their product that is far from working properly is careless.


Project Management and Business Strategy

The concept behind GovWorks.com was new and useful at the time. Unfortunately, Kaleil and Tom's inability to effectively manage the company helped lead to it's demise. As stated above, had they been able to better manage the technology aspect of their business, they may have been more succesful. If your business is based on technology and your only real presence is on the internet, it seems logical that more focus would be spent in that area. However, that was not the case with GovWorks.com.

I agree with several people who said they focused too much on making money. Sure, everyone wants to make money. But if you can't get your product to function properly, there is no way you are going to succeed. There was heavy focus on venture capitalists. You need to have a good business plan to make money and you if your investors do not feel your plan is strong enough, they will not be as willing to contribute.


Leadership

Leadership was one of the most positive elements of the company. To me, the film effectively showed that as well. The passion and drive that Kaleil showed proves he has what it takes to be a leader. If someone does not exude confidence and charisma, people will not be as willing to follow. So while Kaleil may not have made the best business decisions, his natural ability to lead allowed GovWorks.com to grow to what it was. At the same time, I feel his leadership also aided in the downfall of the company.


Professional vs. Personal Relationships

As much fun as it may seem to go into business with friends, I sometimes wonder if it's really worth it. It's nice to share in great experiences with friends but experiencing trouble can often strain and test even the strongest friendships. Kaleil and Tom were best friends but their friendship was certainly put to the test during their time in business together. The eventual firing of Tom must have been hard on Kaleil. Had they not been best friends, I'm sure such a move would have been much easier. Even if things work out in the end between friends after a situation like Kaleil and Tom were faced with, things would never be the same.