Preston student turns bill-splitting frustration into fast-growing fintech business
Ever tried to book a group trip but struggled to get everyone organised? These two University of Lancashire friends may have the answer with their fast-growing startup business in Preston.
A University of Lancashire student and graduate have teamed up to turn a common everyday frustration into a growing business venture by developing an app to take the awkwardness out of borrowing, lending and splitting money between friends and family.
MSc Entrepreneurship and Innovation student Zeejah Qazilbash is working with software engineering graduate Anas Syed to create group payment platform SharePay, where rather than one person paying for a group booking and chasing everyone else for their share, multiple people can contribute directly at the point of purchase.
Zeejah, who was born and raised in Preston, had the idea after repeatedly finding himself paying upfront for group activities and waiting weeks to be reimbursed. What began as a solution to a personal problem has since evolved into a growing fintech business with customers, active users and ambitions to become a recognised name in digital payments.
The idea first gained momentum when Zeejah’s tutor and mentor Becki Cross, from the University’s School of Business, encouraged him to enter a University three-minute business pitch competition.
I'd always had the idea in the back of my mind, but Becki told me about the competition and said I should go for it," he said. "I pitched the concept and was awarded £1,000. That was the first moment I realised it could be more than just an idea."
"I'd always had the idea in the back of my mind, but Becki told me about the competition and said I should go for it," he said. "I pitched the concept and was awarded £1,000. That was the first moment I realised it could be more than just an idea."
Just weeks later, Zeejah entered the University's Dragons' Den-style enterprise competition, progressing through multiple selection rounds before securing a further £2,000 investment. This was followed by £2,000 from the Be Inspired Business Awards (BIBAs) and an additional £500 from SWEF start-up business grants.
He said: “The funding mattered, but just as important was having experienced people believe in what we were building."
The funding allowed Zeejah to begin developing the concept and recruit technical whizz Anas, who he met at the University.
Anas joined the business as technical co-founder after meeting Zeejah at the University. Anas built SharePay’s entire software platform, including the website, mobile app and backend. He also built the merchant checkout system that allows several people to contribute towards one purchase, with a guest-payment flow so invited participants can pay without creating a SharePay account.
The 24-year-old said: “It’s a great business to apply my skills to. I’ve created an easy to use platform which now supports major payment service providers, Stripe, Adyen and Worldpay. We’ve only been operating since August but SharePay is already growing and attracting interest from potentially large clients.”
Now, SharePay has secured additional grant funding, received mentoring through the University's enterprise network, and launched its app to the public. The platform now has around 200 users and is working with early clients while exploring opportunities with larger organisations.
Zeejah wants SharePay's future growth to benefit the city that helped launch it, with ambitions to create graduate jobs and work closely with University students in Preston.
"Without the University, SharePay wouldn't exist," he said. "It gave me the confidence to put myself forward, the connections to meet the right people, the mentorship to develop the business and the opportunities to test my ideas. Everything started from that first conversation and the support I received here."
Looking ahead, Zeejah hopes the company's future growth will benefit both Preston and future University students.
“My ambition is to build a successful fintech company that people recognise nationally, but I also want to create opportunities locally," he said.
"I want SharePay to grow in Preston, create jobs and work with students coming through the University. The support I received made a huge difference, and I'd love to be able to give something back."
For now, the focus remains on growing the platform and securing new partnerships, but the long-term ambition of Zeejah and Anas is clear.
"We want SharePay to become a household name,” Zeejah added. “We're still at the beginning of the journey, but we're building momentum and we're determined to keep pushing forward."