SU senior launches digital receipt waste solution, organization tool PapeX
When Syracuse University senior Nicolas Courbage was 16, he would notice his family repeatedly forgetting to bring home their paper receipts. That pattern inspired his idea of launching a new app: PapeX. Courtesy of Nicolas Courbage
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When Nicolas Courbage was 16, he got his first credit card. His parents made him meticulously record his purchases in order to build up his credit score. But, he and his family were constantly forgetting to bring their paper receipts with them when they went out to eat or run errands, which made it difficult to build up their credit score.
This led Courbage and his family to come up with the idea for a new app to solve this issue: PapeX.
“I never thought I was going to become an entrepreneur, but we had an idea,” said Courbage, a Syracuse University senior studying finance and entrepreneurship. “So, in my head, it wasn’t ‘I’m going to become an entrepreneur,’ it was an ‘I want to pursue an idea.’”
More than five years later, on Jan. 26, PapeX officially launched in the Apple App Store.
PapeX organizes users’ receipts digitally. Courbage said he wants to modernize and sort outdated receipts while also reducing paper waste.
Courbage didn’t start physically building the company until late 2024, when ‘CUSE50 Summit awarded him a $6,000 grant for the app. The prize allowed him to begin advancing PapeX and gave him the confidence to consult with the SU LaunchPad, where he met Jonathan Wess, LaunchPad program manager and Courbage’s advisor.
“He is one of those people that will fully tell you he wants to get this done and until he hears the right facts or information to change his mind, he is going to run at walls and he is going to see if he knocks them down or not,” Wess said.
Courbage stopped by Bird Library often to receive Wess’ advice on everything from fundraising to team relations, Courbage said. Wess said that he helped Courbage build a “narrative” around PapeX in order to develop the platform and raise money.
Courbage recognizes the environmental effect PapeX can have, he said. During the early development of PapeX, Courbage realized the app would not only allow for financial organization but also significantly limit paper waste and litter.
Although this wasn’t what drew him to the idea, Courbage said it was an added plus alongside the other benefits of the app. His family has always been “eco-friendly,” so it aligned with his morals, he said.
Later in the development stage, Courbage was awarded $1,000 in the 2025 ‘Cuse Tank competition and the Orange Innovation Fund grant in fall 2025. He raised an additional $6,500 through a GoFundMe set up for PapeX. With a total of more than $10,000 in funding, PapeX was able to begin its development.
Once PapeX secured funding, Courbage formed a team of 14 people to begin creating the app. Most of his team are SU students, who do everything from coding to marketing.
“I have never coded a single line,” Courbage said. His focus wasn’t to develop the app, but to grow a business, he said.
Tibo Bonte, a student at the University of California, Irvine, and a hometown friend of Courbage, was the first beta user of PapeX. Bonte explained that because the app isn’t adapted to many places yet, he is mainly using it at bars and restaurants.
“I used to throw away every receipt and now I scan it,” Bonte said. “If I forget what I spent, it helps me.”
After using the app for some time, he gave Courbage feedback on PapeX to help it improve. Although PapeX is still in its infancy, people like Bonte are helping to spread the word. Bonte said he feels like the app’s ambassador.
“I’ve told a lot of people about it at my school, I post it on my story, I tell friends and anyone that listens,” Bonte said. “The app deserves it.”
Courbage said he is currently trying to set up partnerships with universities and point-of-sale vendors to further adapt PapeX. He also hopes to integrate a transfer system that connects a user’s account to their purchases and allows the receipt to go directly into the app. Courbage said his goal is to remove all the hard work of organizing receipts.
Courbage credits the LaunchPad for his creation and the success of PapeX.
“At the end of the day, college isn’t about the classes, it’s about the experiences, and the experiences are built off the access to ‘free’ resources in an unlimited capacity for four years straight,” Courbage said.
