Digital Startup Revolutionising How Shared Expenses Are Mana

Digital Startup Revolutionising How Shared Expenses Are Managed

Media release: May 28, 2014

Digital startup Glassjar is revolutionising the management of shared expenses aiming to end roommate conflict worldwide.

Glassjar helps tenants securely manage their rental’s shared bank account, roommates and payments by automating the management of shared expenses and putting it online. It’s as easy to use and transparent as a glass jar on your kitchen counter.

Glassjar begun after the mismanagement of finances in co-founders George Smith and Duncan Keall’s first apartment led to late rent, lack of grocery money, and the end of friendships. Knowing their situation was common amongst their friends as well as in shared rentals worldwide, Smith and Keall set out to help improve group finance management.

“We are building the world’s most intuitive system for managing shared expenses. It’s never been done like this” says CEO Smith. “We see huge potential in aligning a group’s finances in one secure place online, where everyone is held equally accountable for their share.”

Through a secure online dashboard, Glassjar links with collective bank accounts to offer complete transparency between roommates and will automatically highlight spending trends and predict future balances for the shared account. This allows tenants to easily see how shared money is being spent and greatly reduces the potential for conflicts regarding owed money.

“Most people forget a shared account will hold over $50,000 over the course of a year. When that’s multiplied by the number of flats in New Zealand, the amount of mismanaged funds is mind blowing” says Smith.

Since entering the digital startup accelerator Lightning Lab, Glassjar has grown to now manage the finances of 650 rentals across New Zealand, Australia and the UK and has processed NZ$2 million worth of transactions in just two months.

Following Demo Day this week, Glassjar leaves Lightning Lab backing from leading angel investors, committed advisors and users worldwide.

“We are focusing on rentals and roommates because that was our personal pain point but the range of potential applications is massive. There is clear room for expansion to other verticals including clubs, schools, societies and businesses down the road,” says Smith.

https://glassjar.co.nz/

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