When I first read the story I thought it was an exchange for actual goods, like bed pans and surgical kits, a circa-1999 idea like the old Commerce One or VerticalNet.
In 1995 he and a college pal jumped into the Internet, cofounding VerticalNet, (nasdaq: VERTD - news - people ) a Horsham, Pa. collection of Web sites with news and online marketplaces for industries like garbage and water treatment.