Splitterbug (YC S11) private beta: track expenses with friends from your phone • Hacker News Board

Re: Splitterbug (YC S11) private beta: track expenses with friends from your phone

#11

Post by Brewer » Mon, Jul 04, 2011, 1:01 AM UTC

That's a great idea for an app! The only problem is that I don't have a cell phone. :P Is there an Android version too, or is it just for iPhone?

Re: Splitterbug (YC S11) private beta: track expenses with friends from your phone

#12

Post by dmpatierno » Mon, Jul 04, 2011, 1:20 AM UTC

sean_lynch wrote: post #5

avree wrote: post #2

Are you guys iPhone only, or do you have an Android client?

We have both iPhone and Android clients and we're looking for beta testers for both.

I'd be happy to help beta test for iOS. Email in profile.

Re: Splitterbug (YC S11) private beta: track expenses with friends from your phone

#13

Post by sean_lynch » Mon, Jul 04, 2011, 1:27 AM UTC

masnick wrote: post #4

You can start using the web version of their app right away by going to http://splitterbug.com on your mobile (at least it worked on my iPhone) and signing in with Facebook.

Good eye :) The web version lacks a lot of optimizations we were able to add on the client though. If you're excited to start using the thing now, shoot me an email at support [at] splitterbug.com and let me know what device flavor you prefer (iPhone/Android). I'll get you set up.

Re: Splitterbug (YC S11) private beta: track expenses with friends from your phone

#14

Post by d0m » Mon, Jul 04, 2011, 1:28 AM UTC

I guess any entrepreneur already thought about building that application once in their life. I myself thought of it a lot of time.. but always dismissed it thinking that it wasn't a monetizable business and only a fun hack project over a weedkend.

However, these guys seemed to have proved me wrong as they're in YC while my "serious business ideas" were rejected. Or, maybe YC decided to invest mainly for the team (Both founder were "Product manager at Google") ? Still, I'll follow their path and I hope they'll be successful :)

Re: Splitterbug (YC S11) private beta: track expenses with friends from your phone

#15

Post by marciovm123 » Mon, Jul 04, 2011, 1:30 AM UTC

charliepark wrote: post #3

I wish you all the best, but I'm skeptical that this could become a viable business. Is this a problem that people struggle with enough that they'd pay for a service to help them with it? What would differentiate Splitterbug from, say, BillMonk? Or just an e-mail? What are you planning on for revenue? One-off App Store purchases, or something more?

Using mobile devices to facilitate a shared buying experience with friends is huge. This app is a first step into this wide open and potentially massively profitable space.

Discounting the future of the business from a landing page describing its very first private beta is not only mean-spirited but also shortsighted.

Re: Splitterbug (YC S11) private beta: track expenses with friends from your phone

#16

Post by sean_lynch » Mon, Jul 04, 2011, 1:32 AM UTC

charliepark wrote: post #3

I wish you all the best, but I'm skeptical that this could become a viable business. Is this a problem that people struggle with enough that they'd pay for a service to help them with it? What would differentiate Splitterbug from, say, BillMonk? Or just an e-mail? What are you planning on for revenue? One-off App Store purchases, or something more?

We're both very big Billmonk fans, but unfortunately the application hasn't seen very much improvement since it was acquired a few years ago. Splitterbug helps you solve the same problem using some very cool tech that Billmonk didn't have access to (native iPhone apps/Android/Facebook graph/etc).

Our primary focus right now is building an app solves the problem of splitting bills and tracking debts. We've got a few ideas about monetization, but if we can't build a useful app first, that discussion is moot.

Re: Splitterbug (YC S11) private beta: track expenses with friends from your phone

#17

Post by sean_lynch » Mon, Jul 04, 2011, 1:34 AM UTC

Brewer wrote: post #11

That's a great idea for an app! The only problem is that I don't have a cell phone. :P Is there an Android version too, or is it just for iPhone?

Both an Android and an iPhone versions are looking for beta testers :)

Re: Splitterbug (YC S11) private beta: track expenses with friends from your phone

#18

Post by bankim » Mon, Jul 04, 2011, 2:00 AM UTC

Looks similar to Buxfer and Billmonk...

Re: Splitterbug (YC S11) private beta: track expenses with friends from your phone

#19

Post by Brewer » Mon, Jul 04, 2011, 2:14 AM UTC

sean_lynch wrote: post #17

Brewer wrote: post #11

That's a great idea for an app! The only problem is that I don't have a cell phone. :P Is there an Android version too, or is it just for iPhone?

Both an Android and an iPhone versions are looking for beta testers :)

Well I won't have a phone for another few months, but if you're still looking for testers then, I would be happy to help out.

And if you're already done testing, then I'll download the app anyways!

Re: Splitterbug (YC S11) private beta: track expenses with friends from your phone

#20

Post by [deleted] » Mon, Jul 04, 2011, 5:01 AM UTC

marciovm123 wrote: post #15

charliepark wrote: post #3

I wish you all the best, but I'm skeptical that this could become a viable business. Is this a problem that people struggle with enough that they'd pay for a service to help them with it? What would differentiate Splitterbug from, say, BillMonk? Or just an e-mail? What are you planning on for revenue? One-off App Store purchases, or something more?

Using mobile devices to facilitate a shared buying experience with friends is huge. This app is a first step into this wide open and potentially massively profitable space. Discounting the future of the business from a landing page describing its very first private beta is not only mean-spirited but also shortsighted.

[deleted]