# GovWorks

govWorks Inc. was a dot-com company founded in 1998 by Kaleil Isaza Tuzman, Tom Herman, and Chieh Cheung. It went bankrupt when the dot-com bubble burst in 2000. The company's history is documented in the 2001 documentary Startup.com. Originally known as Public Data Systems, the company produced software to help government clients track contracts and oversee purchasing functions. As the Internet boom accelerated, the company transitioned toward becoming an Internet web portal.
During the company's existence, cities such as Grand Island, and New York, expressed interest in using its services. A survey by The Economist concluded that people preferred to pay fees owed to the government over the Internet due to its convenience. Nevertheless, govWorks was unable to overcome some of the challenges faced by start-up companies, and CNET ranked it as one of the top ten dot-com failures of the time.
The govWorks website was relaunched in January 2018. The current iteration of govWorks is related to its predecessor in name only and expedites passports and travel visas.

## History

The company was founded in May 1998 with 8 employees and was originally known as Public Data Systems. The service delivery model for govWorks was inspired by Tuzman, after he found a two-year-old parking ticket in his New York City apartment. The company offered a service that enabled people to pay city fees through their Internet portal. The initial launch of govWorks.com online services to select markets occurred in October 1999 in key cities in Massachusetts and Connecticut, with a full scale rollout planned in early 2000.
The firm set out to provide a website portal to allow citizens in local communities to access, pay, or apply for city services and jobs, or receive community information. However, mismanagement, capital demands, speed to market, and a lack of proper service execution contributed to the company's failure. In January 2001, Tuzman and his investors sold the company to First Data Corporation after using approximately $60 million in venture capital during its three years of existence, according to public statements by govWorks.com co-founder Tom Herman.
Just a few months after the founding of govWorks.com, the employee count grew to 30 as of August 1998, and by October 1998, the company had 70 employees. As additional capital investment came into the company and as the company neared its full scale rollout in 2000, the company expanded further, with headcount growing from 120 employees in January 2000 to over 250 employees in April 2000. However, as depicted in the movie, govWorks.com suffered from a number of organisational power struggles and governance issues that would eventually lead to the company's demise.
Towards the end of 2000, when it was clear that the company was losing money and unable to fully execute its planned services, the company dramatically reduced its headcount to 60 employees in November 2000 in an attempt to stem the $1 million per month in overhead expenditures. The company was sold to First Data Corporation in January 2001. The documentary film, Startup.com, which was released by Artisan in May 2001, won the Grand Prize at the 2001 Sundance Film Festival and accumulated $765,000 in initial box office receipts.

## Competitors

One of govWorks's main competitors was Atlanta-based EzGov.com, which offered software to local governments and municipalities to allow citizens to pay parking tickets, taxes, and obtain other city services online 24 hours a day. EzGov co-founder Bryan Mundy was invited by Tuzman to tour govWorks offices prior to either company releasing their software; this visit was shown in Startup.com. On January 15, 2001, Mundy and Erin Johansen, 26, of Ontario, Canada, died of smoke inhalation during a fire in Mundy's Atlanta, GA home.
In addition to EzGov, govWorks had other competitors, some of whom offered the same or similar service as govWorks but at a much lower cost or even free, as the competitor service models relied on alternate forms of financing versus govWorks’ client-funded approach.

## Bankruptcy filing

In March 2001, govWorks.com officially filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. At the time of the filing, the company listed assets worth approximately $8 million and liabilities of $40 million from the more than $70 million it raised through venture capital. Boalt Holdings, LLC acquired the domain and brand assets in 2017.

## Current ownership

The govWorks website was relaunched under new ownership in January 2018 and has developed a software platform which allows companies to offer passport application creation services to US Passport holders.