..A Film By Wonsuk Chin

Two twentysomething investment bankers developed one simple, great idea: online shopping with one-hour delivery, and soon quit their prestigious jobs to funnel what little savings they had into a new Internet company, which they named Kozmo.com., after their favorite drink, "the cosmopolitan."

In the course of a year, Kozmo grew from only 10 employees to over 3,000. They were courted by Amazon.com, inked a deal with Starbucks, raised over 250 million dollars from investors and had their sights set on the inevitable IPO…all while the founding members were still in their twenties. 

But then came the market crash of April 2000. Suddenly, the climate surrounding Internet companies changed. It was now all about profitability and dotcoms were dropping like flies. The gold rush was over. Now could Joseph Park, a 28 year old CEO, run the company like the gray hairs in this downturn of the market? 

e-dreams is a feature-length documentary, which successfully captures the highs and lows of the dotcom frenzy of the past few years. It is a behind-the-scenes look at an Internet start-up, chronicling the dramatic growth of a young company and the fate of its co-founders, Joseph Park and Yong Kang.

Director's Comment

In September, 1999, I returned to the Big Apple after spending almost a year overseas. But this wasn’t the New York I had known for ten years. Everywhere I turned, there was a dotcom advertisement. Everyone I met was leaving their jobs to join an Internet company. Suddenly the world became a different place. 

Then I met Joseph Park, the co-founder of Kozmo.com. I couldn’t believe this 28-year-old man with a baby face was the CEO of the next big thing. Who was this man? Was he a brilliant computer genius? I wanted to know more. 

This is the story of one incredible rollercoaster ride. There are no good guys and bad guys. Just real people. Real people, who made tremendous sacrifices and along the way, went through an extraordinary part of their lives. 

e-dreams is about momentum. A sheer momentum like a runaway train. It was exhilarating even as a witness. It’s about dreamers. Everyone has a dream but not many actually pursue it. Here were people who risked everything to realize their dreams. It almost has the design of Greek tragedy without even being fictitious. The market crash came out of nowhere. Like the iceberg in Titanic. But is it really a tragedy? In the end, they had the ride of their lives. Sometimes, the journey is more fascinating than its final destination.

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