Wiring the Town Meeting

Last October, Kaleil Isaza Tuzman was unpacking his stuff from a recent move. He opened a box in his new apartment, and sitting on top of his tennis rackets and his measuring cups and whatever else was in there was an unpaid parking ticket, almost a year old. Where you or I would have seen an unwelcome surprise, Tuzman, the 27-year-old CEO and cofounder of govWorks.com, saw the seed of a high-tech start-up that's going to change the way Americans relate to their government.

To be exact, what Tuzman saw, in his words, was a "classic arbitrage opportunity," which tells you something about his background — investment banking at Goldman, Sachs — and that he's been spending a lot of time talking to venture capitalists. Tuzman was happy at Goldman, Sachs, but he also felt he had some entrepreneurial energy he wanted to burn off, and he couldn't ignore the voice of "the kid inside that wants to make a difference." MORE >>