The developer of breakthrough technology using the first fully programmable magnetic strip expects the innovation to enable the next-generation of credit and debit cards, providing added security for consumers while protecting retailers and financial institutions from fraud-related losses. The technology was invented by Dynamics, Inc., a Pittsburgh-based company founded in 2007 by CEO Jeff Mullen while attending the MBA program at Carnegie Mellon University’s Tepper School of Business. In September, Dynamics secured $5.7 million in Series A funding led by Adams Capital Management, completing a big step toward commercialization of its technology. “Dynamics’ success is reflective of how an interdisciplinary-academic approach coupled with experiential learning is a recipe for successfully incubating entrepreneurial ventures,” says Art Boni, executive director of the Donald H. Jones Center for Entrepreneurship at the Tepper School of Business.<\/p>\n
Dynamics developed the first prototype of its payment card technology while a tenant of Project Olympus, an initiative of Carnegie Mellon’s School of Computer Science. Project Olympus provides incubator space, start-up advice, and micro-grants to faculty and students across campus. The core of the program is a proof-of-concept Innovation Lab, where students, graduates, faculty, and on- and off-campus partners explore the commercial potential of innovations developed at the university. Mullen and his team presented the concept for Dynamics at one of the Project’s “Show and Tell” programs, in which students and faculty present their ideas directly to regional investment and business leaders. By winning several international business plan competitions, Dynamics subsequently netted roughly $400,000. Mullen holds more than 90 patents pending or issued and received his undergraduate degree in electrical and computer engineering from Carnegie Mellon. He “leveraged the strengths of several schools and disciplines at the university” to develop, test, and refine Dynamics’ business strategy, according to Boni. “We had to solve many technical challenges, such as the compatibility of our product with the more than 60 million current point-of-sale magnetic readers,” Mullen adds. But “gaining traction in the marketplace and attracting top executives into the company takes a different skill set.”<\/p>\n