Wikipedia
govWorks Inc. was a dot-com company that was founded in 1998 by Kaleil Isaza Tuzman and Tom Herman. It went bankrupt when the dot-com bubble burst in 2000. govWorks's rise and fall is documented in the 2001 documentary Startup.com. The firm, originally known as Public Data Systems, produced software to help government clients track contracts and purchasing functions. As the Internet boom accelerated, the company transitioned toward becoming an Internet web portal.
The firm set out to provide a website portal to allow citizens in local communities to access, pay or apply for city services, jobs or receive community information. Unlike many other dot-com companies of the time, the services provided by govWorks.com appeared to have a well-defined business plan, a market in need of a service and offered access to city services with ease through their website portal. However, like so many others, govWorks’ mismanagement, demand for capital, speed to market and a lack of proper service execution eventually contributed to the failure of the company. In January 2001, Tuzman and his investors sold the company to First Data Corporation.
According to public statements by govWorks.com co-founder Tom Herman, the sale resulted in a loss for the founders and investors. The company had burned through approximately $60 million in venture capital during its three years of existence.
During the company's existence, cities such as Grand Island, New York, showed interest in using its services. A survey was also conducted by The Economist which concluded that people preferred to pay fees owed to the government over the Internet due to its convenience. Still, govWorks’ couldn’t overcome some of the most common challenges faced by start-up companies and is ranked by Cnet.com as one of the top ten dot-com failures of the time.