Watch E-Dreams

E-Dreams is a fascinating documentary that takes a look at the rise and fall of the internet start-up company, Kozmo.com. The company was founded by a group of young businessmen who wanted to take advantage of the burgeoning new industry of online sales and delivery. However, despite their innovative business model and rapid growth, the company ultimately fell victim to the same phenomenon that caused the dot-com bubble to burst.

The film is directed by Wonsuk Chin and features interviews with former Kozmo.com employees, including CEO Joseph Park and CTO Yong Kang. The movie explores the company's inception and development, from its initial concept to its opening day, where Kozmo.com promised to deliver anything from videos to snacks to customers' doorsteps within an hour.

The documentary highlights the excitement and optimism that defined the early days of internet start-ups. The founders of Kozmo.com believed that they could revolutionize the retail industry by offering fast and reliable delivery service that would cater to people's hectic lives. Kozmo.com aimed to be more than a regular delivery service, it was a lifestyle that delivered anything, anytime, anywhere to its customers.

The film also shows how the company was funded by massive investments from venture capitalists who were eager to invest in the booming tech industry. Kozmo.com grew at an astounding pace from just a handful of employees to over 3,000 in just two years, operating in ten major cities across the United States.

But, this rapid growth ultimately led to the company's downfall. The film examines the struggles that Kozmo.com faced as it expanded too quickly, trying to do too much, too soon. The company's high operational costs and complicated logistics made it difficult to be profitable, and it eventually filed for bankruptcy in 2001, just two years after its launch.

Despite the company’s collapse, the documentary is not a tale of failure. Rather it’s a tale of an era in which the internet promised great things and was the source of social transformation or merely a commercial revolution. The filmmakers do not only focus on the demise of Kozmo.com as they also showed how the employees remained amazed by the company's culture, and the sense of ownership they felt. Some employees reveal that they still feel a great sense of pride working for the company, even if it ended up failing.

E-Dreams offers a thought-provoking insight into the history of the tech sector and the culture of start-up businesses. It's an engaging and eye-opening documentary that offers a fascinating perspective on the opportunities and challenges of building successful tech startups. Moreover, the film provides a compelling inside look at what life was like in the early 2000s when people thought technology might change the world for the better, Kozmo.com being one of the pioneers in that era.

Overall, E-Dreams is an absorbing documentary that shines a light on the rise and fall of Kozmo.com. It's a fascinating portrait of a company that embodied the optimism and excitement of the dot-com era, its failure signifies the nature of the internet and the rise of technology giants we know today. The film offers valuable insights into the complexities of running a startup business and highlights the importance of balancing ambition, vision, and execution for success.