DormPool

Split campus laundry & vending costs fee-free with roommates.

Score: 7.3/10ArgentinaMedium BuildReady to Spawn
Brand Colors

The Opportunity

Problem

College students pay high fees for campus-specific payments like laundry and vending machines due to inadequate mobile banking apps.

Solution

DormPool enables group wallets where roommates pool funds and split bills for shared laundry/vending via QR pays. Auto-splits costs based on usage or equal shares. Eliminate high fees and Venmo hassles for dorm life.

Target Audience

College students on campuses relying on shared laundry and vending machine payment systems

Differentiator

Group pooling and auto-splitting for shared campus expenses, perfect for roommates unlike solo wallets.

Brand Voice

supportive

Features

Group Wallets

must-have12h

Create/join dorm pools for shared funds.

Auto-Split Bills

must-have15h

Automatically divide payments by usage or equal.

QR Payments

must-have10h

Pay laundry/vending from group pool.

Balance Settle

must-have8h

Request/settle owes with one tap.

Shared History

must-have7h

Group view of all transactions and splits.

Machine Alerts

nice-to-have8h

Group notifs for free machines.

Expense Categories

nice-to-have5h

Tag laundry vs vending for better splits.

Invite Links

nice-to-have6h

Easy roommate onboarding.

Total Build Time: 71 hours

Database Schema

users

ColumnTypeNullable
iduuidNo
emailtextNo
campus_iduuidNo

Relationships:

  • campus_id -> campuses.id

pools

ColumnTypeNullable
iduuidNo
nametextNo
balanceintNo
split_typetextNo
created_attimestampNo

pool_members

ColumnTypeNullable
iduuidNo
user_iduuidNo
pool_iduuidNo
share_percentintNo

Relationships:

  • user_id -> users.id
  • pool_id -> pools.id

transactions

ColumnTypeNullable
iduuidNo
pool_iduuidNo
amountintNo
typetextNo
created_attimestampNo

Relationships:

  • pool_id -> pools.id

campuses

ColumnTypeNullable
iduuidNo
nametextNo

API Endpoints

POST
/api/pools/create

New group pool

🔒 Auth Required
POST
/api/pools/join

Join via invite

🔒 Auth Required
POST
/api/pools/topup

Add to pool wallet

🔒 Auth Required
POST
/api/transactions/pay

Group pay with split calc

🔒 Auth Required
POST
/api/pools/settle

Settle owes

🔒 Auth Required

Tech Stack

Frontend
Next.js 14 + Tailwind + shadcn/ui + React Query
Backend
Next.js 14 API routes
Database
Supabase Postgres
Auth
Supabase Auth
Payments
Stripe
Hosting
Vercel
Additional Tools
ResendPlausibleQR generator

Build Timeline

Week 1: Users and pools DB

22h
  • Auth
  • Pool create/join

Week 2: Wallet and top-ups

25h
  • Group balance
  • Stripe

Week 3: Split logic

25h
  • Auto-split calc
  • UI

Week 4: Payments and history

20h
  • QR pay
  • Shared history

Week 5: Settles and notifs

15h
  • Settle flow
  • Alerts

Week 6: Refine and deploy

12h
  • Tests
  • Landing

Week 7: Polish extras

8h
  • Categories
  • Invites

Week 8: Final QA

5h
  • E2E
  • Launch
Total Timeline: 8 weeks • 142 hours

Pricing Tiers

Free

$0/mo

3 members, $50/mo

  • 1 pool, basic splits

Pro

$27/mo

$500/mo

  • Unlimited pools/members
  • Alerts
  • Settles

Suite

$69/mo

Unlimited

  • All Pro + multi-campus
  • Custom rules
  • Exports

Revenue Projections

MonthUsersConversionMRRARR
Month 12501.5%$101$1,212
Month 62,0004%$2,160$25,920

Unit Economics

$9
CAC
$280
LTV
5%
Churn
91%
Margin
LTV:CAC Ratio: 31.1xExcellent!

Landing Page Copy

Roommates: Split Laundry & Snacks Fairly

Group wallets end fee fights and Venmo drama.

Feature Highlights

Auto cost splits
Shared QR pays
Easy settles
Dorm machine alerts

Social Proof (Placeholders)

"'No more 'who owes what?'' - Group of 4, UCSD"
"'Saved our friendship!' - Dorm at UMich"

First Three Customers

Leverage roommate matching Facebook groups and dorm subreddits for beta pools. Offer free Pro for first 3 full dorm groups (4+ members). Email resident advisors at target campuses.

Launch Channels

Product Huntr/roommatesr/dormsIndie HackersFacebook Groups

SEO Keywords

split laundry costs roommatesdorm expense splittercollege group walletcampus bill sharing approommate payment pool

Competitive Analysis

Splitwise

splitwise.com
Free/Premium $5/mo
Strength

General splitting

Weakness

No payments, manual entry

Our Advantage

Integrated campus pays + auto-splits

🏰 Moat Strategy

Network effects from dorm groups, sticky via shared balances.

⏰ Why Now?

Rising dorm occupancy and shared living, but no campus-tailored split-pay tools amid fee hikes.

Risks & Mitigation

technicallow severity

Complex split disputes

Mitigation

Configurable rules + manual override

marketmedium severity

Group coordination friction

Mitigation

Viral invites + easy join

financialmedium severity

High churn on splits

Mitigation

Trial period + testimonials

Validation Roadmap

pre-build7 days

Poll dorm groups

Success: 50% signup interest

mvp14 days

3 beta pools

Success: Weekly usage

launch21 days

Affiliate program

Success: 50 pools

Pivot Options

  • Family shared wallets
  • Club treasuries
  • Team expense tracker

Quick Stats

Build Time
142h
Target MRR (6 mo)
$6,000
Market Size
$1200.0M
Features
8
Database Tables
5
API Endpoints
5