Job Q&A
by Erik Potter
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Kevin Wells:The idea for SwapIt evolved because my partner and I both had very large CD collections. We saw how the product/exchange marketplace was emerging, and it was very interesting. We thought it was a great idea for people to swap their unwanted used CDs for different ones. It allows people to gain some value for things they would otherwise no longer value.

KW: As a company, our goals are to eventually incorporate video game and DVD swapping into our site.

KW: Yeah, definitely. Product swapping works well on the Internet because it allows geographically distant people to interact with one another. We don't do peer-to-peer swapping. With SwapIt, you send us the CDs you want to exchange, and we send you your new selections. It's a brand new thing, and we would like to be the market leader.

KW: Well, this is the third dotcom that I have helped launch. The excitement that goes along with building a dotcom business is pretty amazing. You put the same amount of effort into building what is essentially an international business as you would put into building a local business.

KW: The last couple of years have been easier than ever before to get capital because of a gold rush mentality. Having already built successful businesses, we knew how to raise funds. You have to have a really great idea that makes sense no matter how many darts you throw at it. If so, you can find funding for it somewhere.

KW: Through a very grassroots campaign. Right now, we are sponsoring a lot of music events, mainly in the Boston area. We talk to people about the company and show them what we are doing. It gets people excited about SwapIt. Grassroots is a different kind of marketing than Super Bowl commercials, which, by the way, we will never do.

KW: The best advice I can give now is to get good experience first. The days of landing $25 million dollars in venture capital two weeks out of Stanford are pretty much over. The best thing to do is hook up with a really great management team and have a unique and marketable idea. You need to have an idea that will be profitable sooner rather than later. Work your network to get meetings with people who will actually take the time to look at your idea and management team.