Sometimes it’s best not to be too far ahead of the market. That’s the lesson Kanishk Parashar ’03 learned when he launched a mobile application called SmartMarket in 2010. The technology was impressive—consumers and merchants could do business with just their iPhones and iPads. Thousands of applications were downloaded. “But they could never find each other,” Parashar realized. It was too much of a stretch to expect both sides to be early adopters.
Parashar’s new San Francisco– based venture, called Coin, relies on the merchants using the same conventional card-swiping technology as they do with credit, debt, gift, and loyalty cards. But consumers can upload all their various cards onto a single device, simplifying their payment. The product is being launched through a crowd-funding e ort. He expects the first products to be shipped this summer.
Parashar also is counting on the wisdom of crowds to help Coin best meet consumer needs. Their input helps with the “evolution” of the product, he says. The potential customers’ chief concern to date isn’t a surprising one: Make sure the device is secure.