An Overland Park tech startup that wants to give roommates a better way to split bills is racking up early wins, including a spot in the Equifax Accelerate program.
Splitsy LLC advanced through multiple phases of the accelerator program, starting with being among 50 applicants chosen to participate in the Design Sprint, giving startups access to Equifax Inc.'s APIs. Now, Splitsy is among 10 startups chosen to participate in the full 12-week accelerator program, which culminates in a demo day in December in front of an audience of roughly 100 executives, Equifax customers and potential investors.
The accelerator is a collaboration with 1871, which gives Splitsy access to additional mentors and resources that already have helped the startup hone its business plan, Splitsy co-founder and CEO Brad Starnes said.
Working in the accelerator also opens the door to potentially solving a core issue of splitting bills — missing out on building up credit history when the bills are in someone else's name. That scenario happened with Starnes' former roommate and Splitsy co-founder Joe Allen, who'd made rent and utility payments for three years, but none of it counted because the bills were in Starnes' name. When Allen moved out, he needed his mother to co-sign on a new apartment.
A frustration with traditional mobile payment services like Cash App and Venmo is that payments take a few days to show up in an account, unless a transfer fee is paid, Starnes said.
Splitsy developed a multiuser automatic payment system that allows roommates and others to split bills, such as rent and utilities. Through Splitsy's app, users set up their bill preferences, and Splitsy charges each individual their portion and then sends a lump sum on their behalf to the biller. With utility bills, Splitsy makes revenue by rerouting the funds to a cashback card that earns 1% to 1.5% on each transaction. For bills that don't allow a card, such as mortgage payments, Splitsy charges a $2.99 fee per person to split the bill. In the future, Splitsy plans to roll out a premium service with more advanced budgeting features and credit building.
Beyond Equifax Accelerate, some of Splitsy's other recent wins have included landing "pivotal" Digital Sandbox KC funding to build out its minimum viable product and winning first place and $15,000 in the Regnier Venture Creation Challenge. A friends-and-family round was contingent on securing Digital Sandbox KC funding. Starnes also credited the two wins with giving Splitsy enough validation to successfully raise nearly $71,000 on WeFunder.
Splitsy is launching its beta test this month and plans to make its app live early next year.
