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I have been having lots of discussions lately about how to effectively mix profit and non-profit activities in a software company.  Whenever I find myself answering the same question more than once it is time for a blog post. 

Here is how we have set up things here at Kashless.  Kashless, Inc. is a for profit (unprofitable = unsustainable) sustainable company.  Kashless, Inc. is venture funded, and expects to make a profit for it’s shareholders and to grow its business.  Kashless, Inc. develops software to enable reuse marketplaces.  Kashless.org is a non-profit demonstration consumer deployment of the Kashless, Inc. software platform.   Kashless, Inc.’s primary business is licensing the software platform to brands, companies, and organizations, not operating a destination consumer site.  In addition to operating Kashless.org as a public service, like many leading technology companies, Kashless, Inc. has committed a portion of its profits to a charitable foundation, the Kashless Foundation, which will promote Reuse and Recycling around the world. 

Kashless.org is a great place to get your old electronics re-used by someone who wants them.  I find all sorts of things there, old computers, monitors, even an iPod.  Sometimes when I am posting something to give away I get a nagging feeling that it might actually be worth some real money.  What if there were an easy way to figure out the market value of your electronics? 

Now there is.  The Kashless.org/Flipswap/Nextworth widget.  It is on the top of the side navigation.  There is basically a text box and you can start typing what you have and it will show you matches and values.  If you want to sell your item, the widget will link over to a co-branded site http://kashless.nextworth.com/ where you can complete the transaction.   They mail you a pre-paid envelope, you stick the stuff in and you get a check back in the mail in a couple weeks.  Very cool.

It has been awhile since I have posted about the new features we have been building at Kashless.org.  The Krew has been heads down for the last two months.  I have been saving up.  Over the weekend we released all the new code. 

Lets start with a review of some of the business problems Kashless.org is trying to solve for our members who post and search for free items.

Search and browse.  There are multiple sites with free listings.  Many sites lump all free into one category.  Or they make you read every e-mail searching for what you want.  Or subscribe to multiple lists.  No easy way to browse free listings by category, neighborhood, city, distance from where you are, or have the system search for you. 

Everything is done only in email.  While I love my email client, it is a pretty blunt instrument with which to perform ecommerce. Giving and getting free stuff is ecommerce.  That is why eBay, Amazon etal have lots of ways to do business with a browser based application. 

User transparency is lacking. Many marketplaces today are anonymous or you only have an e-mail from someone.  No context as to that person’s reputation, feedback in prior transactions, history, etc.  When I am giving something away or going over to someone’s house to pick something up, I want to know something about who I am dealing with and have the software application help me establish trust. 

Those aren’t the only problems we are solving, but some of the big ones.  So lets check out some of the new KL Alpha features with this context.

Way better UI.  The whole look and feel of the site has been re-designed by Krew member Jordan.  Better colors, fonts, more intuitive navigation, standardized buttons, more tab, all the bells and whistles of a professionally designed consumer ecommerce web site. 

New Browse tab.  When you mouse over or click on the “Browse” tab, you now get a list of product categories and neighborhoods/towns to browse.   With a count of how many items in each.  So for example if you live on Queen Anne in Seattle and want to see how many free items are in your neighborhood, you now can. 

Manage Conversation through the site.  We have implemented a very sophisticated message handling system that now allows you to send and receive e-mails as you always do about free items, but a copy of each message is saved on the Kashless site.  So now you can see all the messages relating to one of your listings in one place. You can respond to many people at once.  Coming soon, you can have the system tell new offers when an item is taken.  These are very powerful features when dealing with the large volume of responses you typically receive on free offers.  The Krew was also worked very hard so that you can use e-mail OR the Kashless site to interact on listings.  This is probably our coolest feature. 

Requirement to be logged into Kashless.org. During the initial part of the Kashless Alpha, we let anyone who came to the site see all listings, make offers, and use most of the features without an account.  But then we started thinking about transparency.  Every Kashless.org member has a public profile page.  Many of our third party sites that provide listings also only allow individual use of those listings. So we made the change to require users to be valid Kashless members in more cases.  While this is a pain in many ways, it leads to more trustworthy transactions and a more efficient market. 

Tomorrow is Seattle's much anticipated BIKE TO WORK DAY! And remember, Kashless.org is hosting a commute station at Counterbalance Park with Caffe Ladro and Counterbalance Bicycles. Here's what you need to know:

What: Bike to Work Commute Station
Where: Counterbalance Park.  Corner of West Roy St. and Queen Anne Ave. MAP HERE.
Who: Kashless.org, Counterbalance Bicycles, Caffe Ladro, and YOU!

There will be Coffee, Water, Snacks and Bike Services! It's Bicycle-rific!

Can't wait to see you there.

This Saturday and Sunday, March 28th and 29th, Kashless.org will exhibit at the Seattle Green Festival - the world’s largest consumer event dedicated to organics, sustainability and social justice.  Over 30,000 attendees came to the First Seattle Green Festival.
    
The Festival opens at the Washington State Convention and Trade Center in downtown Seattle. 

Visit us at booth #1415 in the New Green Business section of the convention floor where we will be showcasing live demos of the website, holding a raffle and spreading the word about easier reuse for everyone!

Come enter a drawing for $50 gift card, see the new features on the site and meet the team!  details here.

Many sites discourage pet related postings or even require a “rehoming” fee.  At Kashless we think that is just wrong, so we have removed Pets from our prohibited items list (much to the dismay of our lawyers) and you are now allowed, even encouraged to use Kashless to find a new home for your pet and/or a new best friend for yourself.  You are of course still required to follow all  local laws and regulations regarding transfer of live animals as we know you plan to do in any case.  Happy giving!