E-Dreams

Rating:
Summary: Better than startup.com
Review: As another reviewer stated, the DVD is a 90 minute documentary film chronicling the rise and fall of the Internet startup, Kozmo.com. (If you're not familiar with Kozmo, these were the folks who would rent you a movie or sell small commodities and bike them to your home within an hour). The story begins with Kozmo's beginnings in early 1999, through several rounds of venture capital funding, to a strategic partnership with Starbucks coffee (Kozmo return containers would be kept inside Starbucks stores) and their almost IPO which was scheduled to take place about two weeks after the stock market started tanking in early-mid 2000.

As you may remember, the precipitous drop in the stock market, especially in 'Internet' stocks, created a chilly climate for IPOs. Whereas people were willing to buy shares in Internet startups with no profits and dubious business plans during 1998-99, by mid-2000, everyone was selling. Companies like Kozmo, losing money at a precipitous rate with no profitability in sight, had no hope of a successful IPO. Within a year, Kozmo closed for good.

So, is the DVD good? Yes...and no. The show is a documentary, but without a narrator. Much of it is footage of Kozmo's founder, who had dragged a cameraman around with him while he was building the company, and the vast majority of footage is shots of him 'in action.' There's nothing to put what you're seeing in perspective of the larger Internet stock bubble, so you're left to rely on your personal knowledge of the events of 1999-2000. However, the chronology of the DVD is good, and watching the company start at nothing and grow to 4000 employees within a year is interesting.

I also have a little secret: As one of many who lost money during the market drop of 2000-2002, I have to admit I liked watching the Kozmo founders get so close to the 'big money' of an IPO, then fail to cash in when the market tanked. At least SOME people trying to make big bucks off unprofitable business plans were stopped before they could run off with the money of common investors.

Rating:
Summary: Like Watching a 90-Minute Infomercial
Review: As another reviewer stated, the DVD is a 90 minute documentary film chronicling the rise and fall of the Internet startup, Kozmo.com. (If you're not familiar with Kozmo, these were the folks who would rent you a movie or sell small commodities and bike them to your home within an hour). The story begins with Kozmo's beginnings in early 1999, through several rounds of venture capital funding, to a strategic partnership with Starbucks coffee (Kozmo return containers would be kept inside Starbucks stores) and their almost IPO which was scheduled to take place about two weeks after the stock market started tanking in early-mid 2000.

As you may remember, the precipitous drop in the stock market, especially in 'Internet' stocks, created a chilly climate for IPOs. Whereas people were willing to buy shares in Internet startups with no profits and dubious business plans during 1998-99, by mid-2000, everyone was selling. Companies like Kozmo, losing money at a precipitous rate with no profitability in sight, had no hope of a successful IPO. Within a year, Kozmo closed for good.

So, is the DVD good? Yes...and no. The show is a documentary, but without a narrator. Much of it is footage of Kozmo's founder, who had dragged a cameraman around with him while he was building the company, and the vast majority of footage is shots of him 'in action.' There's nothing to put what you're seeing in perspective of the larger Internet stock bubble, so you're left to rely on your personal knowledge of the events of 1999-2000. However, the chronology of the DVD is good, and watching the company start at nothing and grow to 4000 employees within a year is interesting.

I also have a little secret: As one of many who lost money during the market drop of 2000-2002, I have to admit I liked watching the Kozmo founders get so close to the 'big money' of an IPO, then fail to cash in when the market tanked. At least SOME people trying to make big bucks off unprofitable business plans were stopped before they could run off with the money of common investors.

Rating:
Summary: Better than startup.com
Review: I actually liked this one a little more than startup.com since the characters are actually likable. The directing and photography are cool and the music soundtrack - where can I get it? Well done and worth it!

Rating:
Summary: Fascinating, illuminating and hilarious!!
Review: I just saw this documentary on the Sundance Channel. I look forward to the release of the DVD. This is a poignant, insightful, and intelligent portrayal of the rise and the fall of one of the most promising e-companies--kozmo.com.
Founded by a former employee of Goldman-Sachs, this young CEO was no stranger to the world of investments and balance sheets. His idea for an internet company that would deliver snacks and videos 24 hours a day, 7 days a weeks, within an hour of the order placement was an original one that actually drew in gargantuan partners Amazon.com and Starbucks.
The idea became reality, gained momentum, and flamed out during the dotcom flameouts.
Having been involved in two startups myself, I see an interesting similarity in business problems, cultural trends within the business, and the initial winning of optimism over reality. When reality does start to knock at the door, in the form of financial statements which are in the red, the initial startup enthusiasm is impossible to maintain, and the corporate culture shifts from excited entrepreneurial hope to one of corporate rules and accountability. Many of the personalities who were drawn by the entrepreneurial free-wheeling energy are put off by the corporate shift to rules, and organization. It seems to be inevitable that those who start corporations are usually never around to run the businesses they start.
I have searched for information on where Joseph Park is today, and so far have found nothing.
I would like to see the next documentary track the "after the fall" period for these brilliant, innovative CEO's, who were in the right (or the wrong?) place at the right time, and went from millions to bust almost overnight.
It would be interesting to see how many rise from the ashes, as the proverbial phoenix, and how many disappear into oblivion after their 15 minutes of fame.

Rating:
Summary: Excellent dot com documentary
Review: I just saw this documentary on the Sundance Channel. I look forward to the release of the DVD. This is a poignant, insightful, and intelligent portrayal of the rise and the fall of one of the most promising e-companies--kozmo.com.
Founded by a former employee of Goldman-Sachs, this young CEO was no stranger to the world of investments and balance sheets. His idea for an internet company that would deliver snacks and videos 24 hours a day, 7 days a weeks, within an hour of the order placement was an original one that actually drew in gargantuan partners Amazon.com and Starbucks.
The idea became reality, gained momentum, and flamed out during the dotcom flameouts.
Having been involved in two startups myself, I see an interesting similarity in business problems, cultural trends within the business, and the initial winning of optimism over reality. When reality does start to knock at the door, in the form of financial statements which are in the red, the initial startup enthusiasm is impossible to maintain, and the corporate culture shifts from excited entrepreneurial hope to one of corporate rules and accountability. Many of the personalities who were drawn by the entrepreneurial free-wheeling energy are put off by the corporate shift to rules, and organization. It seems to be inevitable that those who start corporations are usually never around to run the businesses they start.
I have searched for information on where Joseph Park is today, and so far have found nothing.
I would like to see the next documentary track the "after the fall" period for these brilliant, innovative CEO's, who were in the right (or the wrong?) place at the right time, and went from millions to bust almost overnight.
It would be interesting to see how many rise from the ashes, as the proverbial phoenix, and how many disappear into oblivion after their 15 minutes of fame.

Rating:
Summary: Fascinating, illuminating and hilarious!!
Review: The filmmakers followed Kozmo.com CEO, Joe Park, over a a couple of years. Filmed in real time, you get to watch history unfold on an amazing story. Now out of business, we watch Kozmo.com grow and become a huge. As the operations become more and more complex, the young CEO spends more and more time worrying about financing and an impending IPO, which ultimately fails. I commend the filmmakers for not editing the footage to make obvious what we now know to be true or casting the events they recorded using 20/20 hindsight. I found it interesting to note where the audience laughed. There seemed to be an assumption that the fall of Kozmo.com was pre-destined and that their business model was never a good idea. I disagree with this premise, and ultimately believe that something very much like it will be successful. Thankfully, the film allows one to draw their own conclusions. Highly recommended.

Rating:
Summary: E-hubris
Review: Well, we knew trouble was headed in the compnay's direction when they couldn't get the utility bills paid on time. Or when the payroll procedure was out of whack. All this, of course, while Kozmo.com dodged phone calls from some of the world's top investment banks and lead the investment community to think that a tenuous relationship with the Internet was all it took to catapult these companies to nose-bleed market capitalizations.

In e-dreams, we are taken on a roller coaster ride through 2 entrepreneurs vision and its contrapuntal relationship with the grim realities of corporate America. At one point in the film, one of the co founders bemoans the fact that senior talent had to be recruited to help the fledgling dot.com. Welcome to the party, pal. Early 2000 saw over 2 trillion dollars of company and investor money wiped out. Kozmo.com is imbricated in the middle of all this, transforming from a ten employee squad operating out of a decrepit Manhattan warehouse to a 1,100 man arsenal covering ten major US cities. At its acme, the company was able to collect 280 miilion dollars in VC money and form a strategic alliance with SBUX, which was in and of itself an incredible business concept.

In the end, sadly, Kozmo.com was out the door as fast as the Seinfield character that spawned its name. In 2001, all the remaining employees were laid off, the 2 founders headed off towards MBA-ville, and company assets were liquidated. Yes, even the orange fleeces had to go. Ultimately, the story about CEO hubris, contingency plans M.I.A., and IPO fever, e dreams reminds us of how ludicrous the Internet company craze was to begin with. At the end of the day, profits are what matter most. Not good PR.