Kwedit Founder Danny Shader on Why His Highly Hyped Company Isn't What You Think
If there’s one point that Kwedit founder Danny Shader would like to communicate above all else, it is that his one year-old company -- which already has been excoriated by Stephen Colbert and favorably reviewed in the NYT -- is a serious operation with two potentially lucrative ways to change how we pay for things. Shader's message may be hard to stick. Kwedit, which went live on February 3, has received attention mostly for one aspect of its business: Kwedit Promises. The feature allows anyone over age 13 to pay for digital goods online by extending them small amounts of credit. Later, using the company's Kwedit Direct system, he or she can pay back what was borrowed using Mom or Dad's credit card; by sending in cash through a Kwedit-supplied envelope; or by printing up a barcode that can be scanned at a nearby 7-Eleven, which accepts cash payments, then alerts Kwedit that a particular “promise” has been kept.
