Halolife (YC W16) Brings Transparency and Ease to the Process of Planning a Funeral

by Y Combinator3/14/2016

Planning a funeral is a sensitive and often stressful process
that is further complicated by having to call and visit multiple funeral
providers in person, dealing with unclear pricing plans and constant upselling. Across the ten major U.S. metro areas, prices for the same exact
funeral service type can vary by more than 100%, according to research from the Funeral Consumer
Alliance.

Halolife is an online marketplace launching out of our Winter 2016 class that helps individuals and families find and plan a cremation or burial service that meets their needs, budget, and location. By providing an online solution for these services, Halolife aims to bring transparency and ease of use into a notoriously antiquated and opaque industry.

Using Halolife’s automated online platform, individuals can select a plan, choose a funeral provider, complete paperwork electronically, and submit payment all through the web. There is no sales pitch. No pressure. Just a trusted advisor to help make the right choice.

The funeral planning industry is valued at $20.7 billion in the United States, with the average funeral costing between $8,000 and $10,000. With consumers carrying out more and more of their purchases large and small online, demand for an online solution in this market is only going to grow in the coming years.

Halolife CEO and cofounder Jake Beyer says,

“We are seeing younger family members using Halolife to plan for their loved ones in hospice, and even for themselves. Death is a difficult topic. We provide the option for people to plan online at their own speed on their own time.”

Last month, Halolife launched a referral program with one of
California’s largest hospice providers for patients and families to make
funeral arrangements.

Halolife’s cofounders Jake Beyer and Sam Bolgert both previously worked on building early-stage tech marketplaces at Storefront and Lovely. After seeing the difficulties of planning a funeral firsthand, they decided to build Halolife.

Author

  • Y Combinator

    Y Combinator created a new model for funding early stage startups. Twice a year we invest a small amount of money ($150k) in a large number of startups (recently 200). The startups move to Silicon