Lucas Duplan caused more than a few jaws to drop in late June when the 22-year-old announced raising a massive $25 million round of funding for his first startup, a mobile payment service called Clinkle. Now he may shock a few more people with an announcement Wednesday that Clinkle already has attracted a waiting list of more than 100,000 people interested in using the app.
And he still hasn't shown off how the app works to the general public.
"We've been doing internal testing with the company until this point and are now segueing that to college testing," Duplan told Mashable in a recent interview. Clinkle opened up its waiting list to college students in mid-July and the plan, he says, is to "begin launching at certain colleges within the next couple months."
Multiple reports have suggested that the app allows users to make payments between devices through a specific high-frequency sound. Duplan declined to comment on the rumors, but a promotional video released Wednesday appears to allude to the technology by showing the app in use accompanied by a high-pitched noise.

In addition to the wait list statistic, Clinkle announced bringing on yet another notable investor: Virgin Group founder and CEO Richard Branson. Duplan was introduced to Branson through some of Clinkle's investors and the two "hit it off," according to Duplan. Branson has invested in several other notable startups in recent years, including Square, another mobile payments service that could prove to be a competitor with Clinkle.
Duplan has used the $25 million in funding to rapidly grow Clinkle's team. He says there are now more than 70 people on staff and many more roles to be filled.
Image: Clinkle