According to Brad Wiskirchen’s 12-year-old son, dad’s job is to catch bad guys on the internet.
“What we really do is give companies the data they need to make sure they’re dealing with a verified person during digital interactions,” said Brad, the CEO of Kount.
The patented technology Kount uses was originally developed at another Idaho-based powerhouse, ClickBank, where Brad previously served as CEO.
“ClickBank grew up in the sale and distribution of digital goods,” explained Brad. “We invented and patented the technology to protect our own merchant accounts and over time we realized the technology would be something that would greatly benefit others. So, we interviewed the top 100 internet retailers in the world to find out what they’d like in a fraud control solution and we built it.”
Now, Kount’s award-winning fraud management, identity verification and online authentication technology empowers digital businesses, online merchants and payment service providers to make better business decisions through data.
“We protect 6,500 merchants around the world and do transactions in over 180 countries on any given day,” said Brad. “We protect the largest payment processors and acquiring banks on earth and provide fraud control services for companies like Chase Paymentech, Moneris, BlueSnap, and PayPal’s Braintree.”
One might think that Brad’s primary source of pride comes from protecting large industry names such as Staples, Dunkin’, BodyBuilding.com, BP, PetSmart, Intuit, and Wendy’s, just to name a few. But what he’s most proud of is the family environment Kount’s maintained throughout its pattern of continued growth. Brad emphasizes that while most people will undoubtedly rally behind a morally compelling value proposition, the true test of a company is how much the employees care about each other.
“One of the metrics that matters most to me is time spent with fellow team members after hours,” said Brad. “I find a great deal of pride in the fact that the team goes together to play softball or train all summer to hike the tallest peaks in Idaho or go bowling. They engage in any number of things together outside of work hours and its meaningful stuff. It’s proof that the people around here fundamentally care about each other and each other’s families.”
Brad understands that the bonds developed beyond the office walls helps enable his employees to be hyper-effective. That’s part of the reason the company focuses on opportunities to give back through community service projects with organizations like Habitat for Humanity, the Idaho Foodbank and various cleanup programs.
“We do service projects nearly every other month,” said Brad. “It makes us think beyond ourselves and beyond our company and recognize how incredibly lucky we are to work in a place like this, and how remarkable our community is.”
The Kount team, cultivated from that remarkable community, is comprised of quality employees dedicated to long term careers. Their relationships with their coworkers and community enable them to perform better than anyone else in the industry.
“No matter what challenge we face – be it a competitive challenge, a technology challenge, or whatever else – if you sit the Kount team in a room for even an hour, we can find a solution,” said Brad. “I know no matter what we face we’re going to find the answer.”
Kount is located at 1005 W Main St, Boise, Idaho, 83702 or at www.kount.com.