Title: Co-Founder and CEO
Company: Beam Dynamics
Location: Winston-Salem, NC
Overtime: In his off hours, Kaszycki can be found cooking, writing, trying local craft beers, or golfing.
Why You Need to Know Him: David Kaszycki, 33, is an entrepreneur at heart who likes to solve problems. That combination led him to co-found Beam Dynamics, a company that is bridging the information gap between Pro AV manufacturers and end users.
With an entrepreneurial father who had worked with some of the earliest touchscreen kiosks, Kaszycki figured it was inevitable that he’d lead a startup in the tech industry. He started early, establishing his first company with two partners when he was a sophomore at Furman University in Greenville, SC. NBinnovation installed digital LCD screens across the university campus and sold digital advertising. Kaszycki even left school for a year to pursue the opportunity.
After more than two years of running that business, it didn’t take off. The major deal never came through, and the business folded.
He learned a lot from that first attempt, including the importance of diversification, protecting the business from people with ulterior motives, and focusing on business and operations, not just the “fun” stuff. Kaszycki re-enrolled and graduated in December 2012.
I don’t believe in luck. It’s 100% hard work and you make it work, no matter what.
A few years later, he was working in the professional video industry, tasked with visiting hundreds of broadcast studios and production sets every year—and he continued to see the same problem. Gone were the days of simply opening a chassis and addressing an issue. Equipment needed firmware, software, and security updates, none of which could be fixed with a screwdriver or soldering gun. Engineers simply could not stay up to date with their equipment or access the necessary documentation quickly when problems occurred.
Beam Dynamics was born when Kaszycki devised a way to help end users manage their products. Basically, one web portal collects data from thousands of vendors into a single place, while keeping data presentation consistent between manufacturers and vendors. The service allows an engineer to upload a list of their inventory, then dynamically searches for documentation, updates, end of life announcements, and more. As software updates are made available, Beam pushes notifications to customers automatically.
When COVID-19 hit, Kaszycki's hours were reduced, leaving plenty of time to make progress on Beam. The company won a startup grant, and Kaszycki became Beam’s only full-time employee in December 2020. Today, Beam has 21 employees and is expanding its feature set and into new market verticals—and Kaszycki expects the company to be self-sufficient by the end of the year. Beam already has more than 5,000 manufacturers and vendors as well as almost 500,000 unique products in its database.
“I don’t believe in luck,” he added. “It’s 100% hard work and you make it work, no matter what.”
Meanwhile, as a young CEO, Kaszycki is transitioning his leadership style. In the beginning, he was focused on having a strong vision for the company. Now, he is focused on helping his team understand and deliver on his vision for the future.
Beam began with servicing traditional broadcasters, but is quickly expanding its customer base into the Pro AV space. Kaszycki sees a lot of overlap between the environments, just with different products, and the company is already working with sports stadiums and other venues outside of broadcast. “It was an easy transition for us, it made logical sense,” he noted.
As the company continues to expand into the Pro AV space, he said Beam helps the Pro AV customer save money, reduce downtime and security risks, and have a better ownership experience. For manufacturers, it’s an opportunity to connect with end users, which is not always easy when so many products are no longer purchased directly from the source.
As a result, Kaszycki thinks Beam has real value for both end users and manufacturers. “Our platform brings together the people who own products with the companies who make those products, allowing them to communicate in a common environment,” he said. “We’re making the industry a better place for all stakeholders.”
