This film records a pivotal year in the life of two college friends, ambitious Kaleil Isaza Tuzman and mild-mannered Tom Herman, collaborating on an Internet start-up called Govworks.com that consumes their every waking hour. Practically overnight, their venture goes from a one-room office to a multimillion-dollar enterprise — but can they maintain, much less build upon, this initial success?

Anyone with the faintest un-suppressed memory of the Internet boom should watch the cautionary "Startup.com," an intense look at the treacherous waters of American business start-ups. Chris Hegedus ("The War Room") and Jehane Noujaim ("Control Room") were lucky enough to capture the full dramatic arc of Tuzman and Herman's venture, from the height of the Internet frenzy to the dot-com bubble's big burst. "Start-up" demonstrates how the rules of cut-throat modern entrepreneurship can transform positive human ambition into nerve-shredding obsession.