How did you begin working together?

Jehane Noujaim: I was supposed to go back to Egypt but Kaleil (my room mate at the time) mentioned how it might be interesting to make a film about what he was doing. Two weeks after talking with Kaleil about it and watching things happen, I realised that I would be crazy to go back to Egypt.

Chris Hegedus: It was truly fate. I'd been wanting to do this exact story because the internet was fascinating to me. I started to hear about this strange place in New York that they were calling Silicon Alley as opposed to Silicon Valley, and all these young kids who were starting up dotcom companies and becoming millionaires. We started filming from the day we met.

One senses that Kaleil is more driven than Tom by the desire to make money.

Jehane Noujaim: I think Kaleil's more driven not by money but by the desire to succeed and I think that money is just one of the things that constitutes success for Kaleil. In comparison Tom was never part of this money culture, he was always the technical guy. I think that the money meant less to Tom than the idea of creating something.

Did it cause frictions in the relationship when Tom was forced into more of a backseat role?

Chris Hedegus: He knew that Kaleil was a very charismatic person and that he could take him on an adventure. I also think Kaleil admires Tom because he is more down to earth and has certain technical skills that Kaleil doesn't have and doesn't really care about. As filmmakers this dynamic was obviously really interesting to us.

The personal scenes with loved ones are perhaps the most revealing.

Chris Hedegus: Kaleil finds it very painful to see how he treated certain people now. Of course he had to be dedicated to the business 24 hours-a-day because there was so much at stake but he was also trying to juggle with the need to have a personal life. It was the same with Tom and his daughter. He started off by saying that he wasn't going to work weekends but then of course he started having to go in.

Jehane Noujaim: The criticism over the way they handled their private lives and relationships has been the most difficult part for Tom and Kaleil. As filmmakers however, we were privy to the responsibility Tom and Kaleil had to assume with the business. They had people dependent upon them, including family and close friends who had put their lives and careers in their trust. We could understand why they put the business first and we hope that the audience don't judge them too harshly.

"Startup.com" is released in UK cinemas on 7th September 2001.