Divide and conquer: Splitsy pulls $70K from crowdfunding, ‘extra bump’ toward launch 

Splitsy is ready to cash in on its widespread consumer appeal, revealed Brad Starnes, announcing the close of the startup’s first crowdfunding campaign and what it might mean for its rapidly scaling future. 

“We’re sitting at about $130,000 in funding right now,” said Starnes, co-founder of Splitsy, noting a nearly $71,000 chunk of the startup’s launch-phase funding came from the recent close of a WeFunder campaign.

“We learned the hard way that [crowd]funding takes twice as long to do and you get about half the amount [you think] you’re going to,” he laughed, adding he and his team are overall impressed with the success of the recent campaign, which is expected to help fuel the startup — maker of a mobile app that allows users to automatically split large shared bills without the need for P2P transferring services — as it begins to probe the possibility of venture capital backing. 

“All the investors that we raised from are on a single cap table and that’s important to us as we [begin thinking about] venture capital.” 

Additional funding for Splitsy comes from a successful run at the University of Missouri-Kansas City-backed Regnier Venture Creation Challenge earlier this year and a Digital Sandbox KC grant. 

Click here to read more about Splitsy’s success with local programs and funding opportunities. 

Joe Allen, co-founder, Splitsy

Nolan McMichael, co-founder, Splitsy

“[Previous funding] helped us develop what we have so far, but this WeFunder campaign is kind of that extra bump that not only allows us to launch, but to be able to start trying to acquire users until we can get to that next inflection point of raising,” Starnes said, adding Splitsy is seeing angel investors actively interested in taking a chance on the early-stage company. 

Growth opportunities for Splitsy don’t stop with funding, he continued. The startup was recently accepted into the 1871 Equifax Design Sprint program, which is expected to help expand the Splitsy product to include credit building for shared payments. 

“We’re working on how we can allow Splitsy to report to Equifax for payments shared with roommates,” he said. “The head of household won’t just earn credit for [split] bills, there is potential for subtenants to do so also.”

Starnes said he’s hopeful such momentum has the startup launched, rolling out even more add-on features, and primed to begin its bid for venture capital backing by next year.

“I feel that [the mindsets of] a lot of funds and grant programs are beginning to shift and they’re starting to realize that there are a lot of young entrepreneurs who have some very creative, outside-of-the-box thinking,” he said. 

“I think that is what’s helped contribute to our success — in conjunction with knowing our pitch and knowing our product. … Delivery of your product and knowing what your business is about is the most important thing.”