NextWorth was founded by David Chen, Andrew Walsh and Scott Richardson while they were students at Babson College. The company was selected for Babson College's 2005 Business Hatcheries program, which provides free resources to student-led startups. NextWorth Inc. began operations the following year. It was originally a service that helped businesses and non-profits prepare luxury items for online auctions in exchange for a 20-33 percent commission. In the spring of 2006, NextWorth changed its business model and services to focus on electronics trade-ins. In January 2007, NextWorth raised $1.5 million in its first round of funding.