Sorry, I was a little confused about the password-via-email comment. No, it doesn't shorten your reg. Only the share. We include the password for easy record-keeping for users. Also, we don't keep anything of value on JTB. It is just receipts. No bank account numbers or CC numbers. Just like a paper receipt.
Also, it lets us make the 'Share' button much more powerful. This way, we can have someone share an account with a friend and deliver them a fully functional account with no signup.
We went from back-of-napkin to Beta in about a month, and are wondering if we have already hit a minimum viable product. We can accept expenses from Blackberries only, but we are working hard on an email submission process which opens up the iPhone/every other smartphone.
Other than that, what would it take to make this something that could satisfy your businesses expensing needs?
EDIT: I do really like the app overall though. You've definitely got me on the hook with your design and copy.
Admittedly, we haven't tested it on a Storm yet. We'll get on that.
Thanks for the support. We'll let you know when you can properly use the app.
Where's the logo? Even if you don't have one, let's at least get the name somewhere above the fold. And it's a good name.
Thanks. We like the name too.
As far MVP, if it works and you can start exploring product/market fit with rapid iterations (add more lean buzzwords here)...then of course!
Not sure if you've considered different business models, but mint.com's strategy of offering cost saving alternatives could work well here. Something like "you've spent 500 on office supplies this month.. did you know you could save $300/year with an OfficeMax mastercard? [affiliate link here]"
I think that leaves us some room to charge a reasonable monthly fee for some premium features. That is an easier, and more direct, business model.
The Mint-style stuff might come later if we have a big enough audience.
Thanks
However, you do need integration. If, for example, you could integrate with mint, you'll be gold.
Might be interesting to try and work in something to find out why people aren't interested in signing up also: don't have a Blackberry, don't understand the benefits, don't need this and just looking around, etc.
If you'd like to find out more about us, you can always go to staging.thirdi.com (our new site is going up soon, we thought we'd point there) or providentsecurity.ca.
A proper 'About' page is in the pipeline.
Plenty more lessons to be learned, too, I suspect.
I think once someone uploads 3 receipts to this thing they are going to be hooked, but that is a big jump.
You might also provide a way of tapping the number of people who shared the meal to split the bill (quick and painless divide) or an easy way to calculate a tip.
Finally, being able to tag line items then and there could be useful - say you purchase some stuff from the supermarket and a couple of those items are business while the rest are personal.
Looks like a beautifully simple first step. Well done.
It looked like a very full-featured system that does what "Just the Bill" seems to do and more. It was integrated with various credit card company backends.
They also have a full set of APIs. Maybe you could build on top of their system.
