“Stick the finger to free trials”

How long has it been since you were enticed by a free trial that ended up costing you?

Recently Slash launched with a service to save you from the consequences of forgetfulness. Slash lets you issue joint, shared debit cards that you and friends can “co-own” so you can split the costs on things like streaming subscriptions. This also means you can quickly create new cards, say with a limit of $1, to skirt being charged once your free trial expires. As maker Victor Daniel Cardenas notes, you’ll be “sticking the finger to free trials!”

“We started Slash as an answer to the ridiculous number of streaming, music, news, and other subscription services that have popped up, each offering their own silos of exclusive content.”

Remember not long ago when we talked about all the different forms of fractional ownership popping up? Add this one to the bank.

Slash’s two main use cases are growing in relevancy.

In the early days of streaming, apps like Netflix and Hulu were seen as an escape from excessive cable bills. As Bloomberg just reported, “If you put together the flagship streaming services… it would now cost you $92 a month in the U.S… as much as a typical cable-TV subscription.”

Separately, Vox writer Emily Steward just lamented about free trial enticements, and did a deep dive on the psychology and finance behind them, noting “Free trials flip the switch from choosing to buy to remembering to quit.”

Slash may be playing in gray territory. Commenters asked how the product will stand up against Terms of Service violations. It looks like the makers are willing to face the risks, partially because splitting amongst a household is totally kosher and partially because...

“Our bet is that it's pretty unlikely that most of them will crack down on cost-splitters, as they depend on these users to keep their service afloat!”

Last summer we saw a similar product, Braid, launch on Product Hunt. Braid enables group accounts by connecting to your existing bank accounts. Like Slash, Braid’s makers noted a lack of Venmo features and stitched-together solutions with apps and excel sheets as a driving motivator behind their product. Unlike Slash, Braid currently offers one credit card paired to a group.

Last week we announced which makers received our latest round of grants to support them as they continue building and creating.

1Feed maker and grant recipient Ethan is sharing great advice for staying on track or figuring out your next steps.