The Tech City-based “household management app for housemates” Splittable has expanded its service across to the US, Canada, New Zealand and Australia.
The app launched in London six weeks ago and offers users a feed of household items paid for by each person you live with, from rent to groceries, with another ‘all squared metre’ that calculates in real-time who’s in debit and who’s in credit.
The company got early seed funding 10 months ago from high-flying angels in the fintech and proptech sectors and it is currently raising another, larger seed round.
CEO Nick Katz knows household transactions don’t necessarily seem like the “I need an app for that” scenario, but if you’ve moved in with people, friends or strangers,” he says Splittable quickly “removes the awkwardness of having to ask someone to chuck you 35p for loo roll, again.” As someone who “broke up with his best friend” while living together Katz knows how badly house sharing can go.
As someone who has worked in real estate for his entire career, Katz is also all too aware of how much tech there is out there for property owners to manage their portfolios. “There’s also so much focus in the property tech sector around that large ticket rental or sale so we’re looking after the micro-transactions,” he says.
“A huge amount of your consumption as a human being is tied directly to your home and we know that passive aggressiveness between housemates is largely driven by money.” You aren’t meant to spend your life on Splittable, he adds, just log the Council Tax bill and you’re away.
The app, with its neat user interface, is focused on young professionals who are increasingly cramming themselves into shared flats in big cities, along with students, knowing that each user brings a few more people with them, and potentially lifelong customers as house shares split up and people move on.
Although he’s aware of competitors Katz reckons his company’s total focus on this one area of living and spending will pay off. Splittable will spend some time making relationships with universities and Katz has already been approached by institutions looking to help their students take the pain out of house sharing.
Plans to monetise could come in the form of using the data logged, like bills for certain electricity or broadband suppliers, to offer comparison and recommendation opportunities.