Startup.com or How Not to Start a Business - Essay Example

Startup.com or How Not to Start a Business The movie Startup.com is a documentary portrayal of two friends who try to capitalize on the booming dot com business at the turn of the 21st century. The movie was a realistic view into what has often been called 'market over-exuberance''. It is a story about friendship gained and lost, money squandered, and the American dream shattered. It is an accurate portrayal of the riches to rags story that was played out countless times across the country, as people's greed for the future didn't square with economic reality.

The movie Startup.com is a history lesson of the times when men were reckless with cash and a must see for any student of economics who wishes to know how not to start a business.It seemed so easy. Kaleil Isaza Tuzman and his friend Tom Herman would get a massive fortune from venture capitalists, invest it in their Internet idea and be overnight billionaires. That, unfortunately, was the economic philosophy in the late 1990s. Get rich quick was the name of the game. For those without an idea, they could ride the coattails with stock options.

As the movie is seen now, the end is so predictable. But in 1999-2000, the audience would have been on the edge of their seat unable to know if they would succeed or fail.Of course they had to fail. They violated every rule of market economics imaginable on their way down the road to ruin. They had no marketable product. They had done no market research. They did not apply the most rudimentary laws of supply and demand. They never considered that he stock price would seek its true value. They never considered cash flow except for how much could flow through their hands.

Any student with average grades in Finance 101 could have made a better run as success than these two guys.This movie is a lesson that teaches the student of finance that here is more to this business of business than just getting a bunch of money and spending it. There is leadership. Startup.com had no leadership. A business is not run by what we hope will happen. It does not get its direction from corporate double talk and cheerleading the staff. The ship is led by dedication to a product and a service that meets the markets demands.

The movie is also a lesson in citizenship. It shows how fragile a friendship can become in the world of finance. This should not be taken lightly, as business is as much about relationships as it is finance. These relationships require commitment, trust, and dedication. In the world of economics no man is an island, they are all interdependent. Betrayal of a business relationship is the first step towards failure.The movie Startup.com is a history lesson of the period and a lesson for the future as well.

Any Finance class would do well to watch this movie on a regular basis and if they show any behavior that is shown by these characters, they need to do some serious self-assessment. Startup.com is about waste, SUVs, gadgets, and over-exuberance. Finance is not.ReferencesStartup.com. Dir. D A. Pennebaker. Perf. Kaleil I. Tuzman and Tom Herman. 2001. DVD. Independent.