Clinkle

Clinkle

Company type	Private
Industry	Mobile payments, Financial technology
Founded	2012
Founder	Lucas Duplan
Defunct	2016
Headquarters	San Francisco , United States
Key people	Lucas Duplan (Founder), Barry McCarthy (former COO)
Products	Mobile payment application, Clinkle Card
Number of employees	70 (peak)

Clinkle was a mobile payments startup established by Lucas Duplan in 2012 and ceased operations in 2016.

History

The inception of Clinkle dates back to 2011 when Lucas Duplan, then studying computer science at Stanford University, conceived the idea. His interest in mobile payment solutions was sparked during a study abroad experience in London. Upon his return to Stanford, he received mentorship from professor Mehran Sahami. Initial development was financed by Duplan’s family and participation in a Highland Capital Partners summer program, resulting in an app trialed within the Stanford community that enabled peer-to-peer financial transactions.

Through VMware co-founder Diane Greene, Duplan was introduced to Accel partner Jim Breyer, who became one of the company’s earliest backers. By mid-2013, Clinkle had secured $25 million in funding from prominent investors including Greene, Andreessen Horowitz, Intel Capital, Intuit, Peter Thiel, and Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff. This seed round was the largest ever recorded in Silicon Valley at that time. The company grew its workforce to 50 employees and moved its headquarters to San Francisco.

In October 2013, Barry McCarthy, formerly CFO of Netflix, joined Clinkle as chief operating officer, soon followed by two additional former Netflix executives appointed as vice presidents. Despite this, a significant downsizing occurred in December 2013 when a quarter of the staff were let go. McCarthy left the company in March 2014 after serving less than five months. The product officially became available to college students on September 24, 2014.

In November 2014, Duplan earned a spot on Forbes 30 Under 30; however, Forbes later expressed regret over this selection, including him in its Hall of Shame for unsuccessful picks.

By 2015, internal challenges led to the departure of seven key employees, leaving mostly consultants on the team—a sharp decline from the peak headcount of approximately 70. Investors reportedly grew frustrated with the lack of commercial success by January 2016 and sought to reclaim their capital.

A widely publicized event took place in January 2016 when Duplan and investor Richard Branson were photographed burning counterfeit $100 bills as a symbolic gesture against physical currency. Nevertheless, Clinkle discontinued operations by May 2016.

Product

Clinkle launched its application on both Google Play and the iTunes Store, initially focusing on merchants located near university campuses. By September 2013, more than 100,000 students had registered on college-specific waitlists despite limited information about the product. Until its official launch in September 2014, the app offered minimal features, primarily allowing users to secure a spot on the waitlist.

Prior to release, Clinkle maintained secrecy about its offerings despite extensive media attention. The application functioned as an online wallet connected to users’ existing credit cards and bank accounts. Early reports suggested payment processing via high-frequency sound technology; however, this claim was later withdrawn. Clinkle confirmed it would forgo using near field communication, unlike competitors such as Google Wallet and Apple Pay. Additionally, the platform intended to provide merchants with consumer data to enable targeted sales promotion campaigns.

Although introduced as an alternative payment method, Clinkle struggled to compete with emerging platforms like Venmo and subsequently Apple Pay, which effectively realized the concept it had envisioned. The company shifted focus and unveiled a revamped flagship app on September 24, 2014, aimed specifically at college students.

This launch featured the Clinkle Card, which allowed users to accumulate rewards for both in-store and online purchases. After every seventh transaction, users received a "Treat" that could be gifted to friends, offering recipients a chance to win a complimentary purchase.

Further reading

• Business Insider
• TechCrunch