New York--Want to lose weight but just don’t have the motivation? Trying to quit smoking but can’t kick the habit?

One Web site, www.stickK.com, has a way to help you reach your goal, by holding you accountable with cold hard cash.

“We offer users the ability to create a commitment that’s contractually binding,’’ said Jordan Goldberg, the 23 year-old chief executive and co-founder. “Users can bind themselves into achieving whatever goal.”

Users to stickK.com are able to create commitments to lose weight, quit smoking, live a greener life or whatever they come up with and are held accountable by agreeing to put money on the line each week.  You don’t need to ante up money to use stickK.com, provided that public humiliation is all you need to get motivated.

But if you wanted to wager money and were aiming to lose a pound a week for the next 10 weeks you could put up a $100 weekly. If the goal isn’t reached, the money would go to a person you designated, a charity or, for added motivation, one of four organizations that hold views that are contrary to you. The Web site, which launched less than a month ago, picked gay marriage, abortion, global warming and gun control as the organizations un-designated money would be donated to.

“We wanted to pick very relevant and contentious issues,’’ said Goldberg of choosing gay marriage, abortion, global warming and gun control. “Where the money is going influences a person’s desire and motivation.”

Visitors to stickK.com are also urged to choose a referee or person who can verify the progress or lack of it and to keep an online journal that would go out to your friends and family. You are expected to record your progress daily in a personal journal.

StickK.com, which counts 3,500 registered users, was born out of the research by professors at Yale University, including economics professor Dean Karlan, who found the success rate for losing weight or quitting smoking was much higher when something was on the line. Karlan came up with the idea of the Commitment Store, a place on the Web where people can go to sign contracts obliging them to achieve personal goals. The research is grounded on two principles of behavioral economics: people don’t always do what they claim they want to, and incentives get people to do things.  Karlan teamed up with Yale professor Ian Ayres and Goldberg to create the Web site.

The company is aiming to roll out a corporate business in the coming months, whereby corporations can reduce health care costs by encouraging employees to engage in binding goal contracts. StickK.com also plans to make money via advertising and could sell products on its Web site, like weight-loss programs. 

While a Web site of this nature is sure to appeal to consumers, analysts aren’t so sure it will be a hit with corporations.

“Corporations tend to be pretty staid in terms of what they do,’’ said Rob Enderle, of research firm Enderle Group. “Corporations aren’t exactly known for being adventurous with new technology.”

Enderle did say that StickK.com lends itself to the next phase of the Internet, where people are creatively thinking about what will be big online.

“A lot of activities like losing weight, kicking drugs and alcohol are best when using a community method,’’ said Enderle. “Similar things work very well on a Web community.”

To ensure the money is actually there, StickK.com requires the cash to be paid upfront via PayPal. The money sits in a personal account and each week is sent out to whomever is designated to get it.

According to Goldberg, 30% of users are making weight-loss commitments, while another 30% are pledging to exercise regularly and 10% are committing to quitting smoking. The rest run the gamut from being more organized at work, to being greener, and even learning how to use chopsticks.

Goldberg himself has pledged to exercise regularly, and has $50 a week on the line. The young entrepreneur said he’s exercising every day before work.

“I haven’t said it’s flawless, but there’s far more success,’’ said Goldberg.