A DeathTech company based in London and Manchester has raised 拢1.1 million seed funding.听
Guardian Angel听helps people plan for and manage death. The firm has听trebled both revenue and its team听in the last six months, with听customers growing to 100,000听across its products.听
This round brings Guardian Angel鈥檚 total funding to 拢1.6m in the last 24 months听and will be used to double its Manchester-based development team听
The 拢1.1m听early听seed听round听was听led by impact investor Fair听By听Design, which听views听the听firm听as part of听its听mission to tackle the poverty premium.听听
Fair by Design joins听institutional investors Ascension Ventures, GC Angels, Accelerated Digital Ventures and key angel investors听including听Andrew Weisz, an听early听Hopin听investor,听and Rod Bulmer,听an ex-CEO at Co-op Group.听
Guardian Angel was founded by former finance professional Sam Grice after his mother鈥檚 death from a road accident.听听
鈥淥n top of the obvious grief and shock, I discovered that the end-of-life industry was expensive and difficult to navigate, especially in an intensely emotional time,鈥� he said.听听
鈥淭he听industry had been largely untouched by technological innovation and needed to rapidly modernise.鈥�听
COVID-19 has put death at the forefront of people鈥檚 minds, with demand for this solution increasing by 400% during the last year.听听
A quarter of people in the UK have had a family member and/or close friend become seriously unwell because of COVID-19. This has resulted in increased awareness and urgency to end-of-life planning, however, products like life insurance remain in decline. Guardian Angel aims to solve that.听
Guardian Angel听has听launched a beta product which听it says听is the first online consolidated death planning tool – covering everything from wills and life insurance to post-death support.听听
This tool, which already has close to 3,000听users, helps people navigate this complex process at a fraction of the cost听and听is supported by large insurance and tech industry players Berkshire Hathaway鈥檚听GenRe听and Covea Insurance.听听
Guardian Angel distributes their products directly to consumers and via business partnerships.听It听currently has听around 100 partners distributing听its听services,听including听some of the country’s largest charities, funeral directors and employers.听
Grice听added:听鈥淲e鈥檙e thrilled that this new round of funding will allow us to help more people navigate the messy world of planning for death. Sorting these things early makes things significantly easier for the people left behind after someone dies.听听
鈥淚 wish my family had access to something like this, and as a team we鈥檙e proud to be offering more accessible and affordable planning tools to more people.鈥�听
Jess Jackson, Head of Investment at GC Angels, said:听鈥淕C Angels was drawn to Guardian Angel by Sam鈥檚 real passion to make a difference in an industry that so many have a negative experience with.听
鈥淒eathTech is an area ripe for disruption, but also an area that many are afraid to approach. The team at Guardian Angel are committed to changing this.鈥�听
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