Joshua Lee ’22 and Hrishabh Parekh ‘22, graduates of the Theta Theta chapter at the University of Washington, recognized a common financial challenge among college students—managing shared expenses effectively. In 2023, driven by their firsthand experiences, they founded Tribe Money Pools, a startup aimed at simplifying group financial management.
During his time at UW, Joshua served as both Recruitment Chair and Archon of the Theta Theta chapter, where he encountered the complexities of handling group funds. From collecting dues to tracking payments, the process was often cumbersome, requiring spreadsheets, constant reminders, and extensive coordination, especially during leadership transitions.
Hrishabh faced similar frustrations in his everyday college life. Whether it was splitting rent with roommates, organizing group trips, or managing shared expenses, existing payment tools like Venmo and Zelle still required someone to front the costs and chase reimbursements later.
Recognizing these shared struggles, Joshua and Hrishabh developed Tribe Money, a platform designed to streamline group financial management. Tribe allows users to create shared virtual accounts—money pools—in a matter of seconds, offering a seamless solution for student organizations, fraternities, roommates, volunteer organizations, social clubs, and more.
For fraternities and sororities, Tribe provides a practical alternative to traditional banking. Setting up an official club account can be complicated, sometimes leading groups to rely on a treasurer’s personal account, which introduces risks and inefficiencies. Tribe eliminates these concerns by enabling organizations to establish dedicated, shared accounts, ensuring transparency and easy management without requiring a visit to the bank. Officers can be added to the pool, allowing for real-time financial visibility and a smooth transition when leadership changes.
Beyond student organizations, Tribe benefits everyday groups by facilitating advanced collections for dinners, trips, concerts, or shared bills. This proactive approach helps prevent overspending while reducing the burden of post-expense tracking. Everyone involved knows their contributions and how the funds are allocated, removing unnecessary uncertainty and awkward financial follow-ups.
Joshua and Hrishabh’s vision for Tribe Money Pools is rooted in making shared financial management effortless, fostering collaboration, and eliminating common hurdles that any organization or group may face, and is a result of their time as undergraduate leaders in Psi Upsilon. Through their innovative platform, they are transforming the way people handle group expenses, bringing clarity and convenience to financial interactions.
Tribe Money Pools recently presented at the Psi Upsilon Foundation’s Annual Fishfund venture summit and was a sponsor of the 2024 Gilrane Economic Symposium. We encourage any Psi U’s to learn more about Tribe Money Pools by visiting their website and downloading their app from the Google Play Store or App Store (iOS/Apple).
