The last 60 million viewers saw Kaleil Isaza Tuzman was the end of the movie, Startup.com where his Dotcom era company, govWorks was crashing. The movie paints a very poor portrait of him as leader and business person.

But, Isaza Tuzman has been busy building a successful business, The Recognition Group since this time. This company helps restructure and turnaround companies in transition. They have completed over 40 assignments including mergers and acquisitions, financial and operational restructuring, recapitalizations, and business acceleration projects. Isaza Tuzman also runs a small venture fund.

Isaza Tuzman was in Chicago last week to promote his new project, “The Entrepreneur’s Success Kit : A 5-Step Lesson Plan to Create and Grow Your Own Business”. It is a multimedia offering filled with a book, workbook, flashcards and CDs.  I had the opportunity to have dinner with him and the person I met surprised me. At 33 years old, he is a different man than I saw portrayed in the movie.

Isaza Tuzman originally says that he began writing his book as a way to defend what was portrayed in Startup.com. The filming originally began as a project for Harvard University where he is received his PhD. The “outtakes” are what the movie makers sold to Artisan Entertainment. As a result, 400 hours of film for the project became an hour and a half movie. Surprisingly, the first time Isaza Tuzman found out that the film existed about 2 weeks before it was shown at the Sundance Film Festival in 2001.

He calls the movie a “dissection of failure” and “the subject is me”. But after much soul searching, Isaza Tuzman now views the film and govWorks as a “blessing” in his life. The movie put “on the silver screen my worst characteristics, so I could not avoid or deny them”. He goes on to say that “I felt like dirt and people reminded him that I felt like dirt”. He reveals how he received hundreds of horrible emails from people who held him responsible for everything bad in the internet bubble. He takes total responsibility for his failure where he lost $55M of money from VCs, his friends and family. At one point, he even says that his father had even come to work for govWorks and he had to be let go. Isaza Tuzman states that his ego took control of the business. He was pursuing fame and recognition instead of selling govWorks solutions. Isaza Tuzman says that at the time, he prioritized business over relationships. He thought that he was out to change the world, but now he realizes that all he really wanted was fame. This became his Achilles Heel.

Isaza Tuzman said that before the govWorks’ failure, he thought he was smart. After, he realized he was lucky for his previous successes. He wrote the book to help entrepreneurs come face to face with their strengths and weaknesses. He believes each one needs to determine what success looks like for them. Isaza Tuzman now counsels that starting your own business is not a get rich quick scheme. He believes that the most important thing is for each of us to know ourselves. Isaza Tuzman states that

"the problem is that most people are not brutally honest with themselves. Successful entrepreneurs know what drives them and how to be channel that."

Isaza Tuzman worked with 100 different entrepreneurs to talk  about the lessons they’ve learned from failure on the entrepreneurial path, and what they see as the key to subsequent success.

One of my favorite parts of the kit is where he describes this drive as a person’s “currency”. He believes that there all entrepreneurs fall into 6 categories:

  • Making Money

  • Achieving Recognition (Fame)

  • Feeling Courageous

  • Being Victorious

  • Feeling Accepted

  • Feeling Healthy and Content

Isaza Tuzaman said that when he was running govWorks, his currency was fame. Now, after that brutal experience, it is courage.

Isaza Tuzman talked about the time he hit bottom at a book signing at Transitions Book Store last week. He describes how it was the night before the board meeting where he would be fired. Isaza Tuzman tells us that he was lying in a fetal position in his living room when a brick came through his window with a note attached threatening him! Isaza Tuzman reminds us that "As entrepreneurs, failure brings us face to face with our demons. There is no institution there to keep us insulated or safe. We are on our own to enjoy our strengths and weaknesses. Entrepreneurship is a journey of transformation."

I was impressed by Isaza Tuzman. He is a savvy and smart entrepreneur. His failure transformed him into a more confident business person and leader. Read his book and listen to his CDs. There is a lot there we can all learn from his journey.