Erica Solis, MBA '16
Concordia University Irvine student Erica Solis and her father Eric are in the startup phase of a company that may one day change the way you shop.
MovoCash is a fledgling financial technology company that turns consumers’ cell phones into mobile wallets while eliminating the risk of fraud. They do it by digitizing pre-paid cards so that personal information is not shared in transactions. MovoCash can be created on the fly and used in real time to shop anywhere.
“Card account breaches are at an all-time high,” says Erica, noting that stores like Home Depot, Target and PF Chang’s have suffered security breaches, making customers’ financial information vulnerable. “MovoCash safely turns your smart phone into your own digital bank. Consumers can pay for goods and services using their mobile devices, without compromising their personal and financial information.”
The Solises’ idea was recently honored by OCTANE, an Orange County-based group of angel investors, venture capitalists and entrepreneurs. MovoCash was among ten start-ups invited to showcase their company at OCTANE’s annual Technology Investor Forum. MovoCash also was recently named to Red Herring magazine’s Top 100 North American startups of 2015.
Erica enrolled in Concordia’s MBA program in 2014.
“Everywhere I was going, people were talking about Concordia,” she says. “I’d always thought about getting my MBA and was waiting for the right time. So I did some due diligence, having heard so much about Concordia. It was the most competitively priced and in line with my core values.”
The Concordia experience immediately benefited her work with MovoCash.
“My first class was a management class, for instance,” she says. “I took what I learned in class and applied it the following week at work. The MBA program and MovoCash have gone hand in hand. It’s been so organic. My classes challenge me where I need to be challenged. I don’t know if I’ve ever had such good teachers.”
MovoCash’s platform does more than protect consumers from fraud; it is also handy for auto-debits and person-to-person transactions. The company is in its beta period, doing due diligence and raising $1.5 million.