Amex Ventures and USAA among new backers of digital estate planning startup
Write a will and plan what will happen to your domain once you’re dead, that’s fine, not really fun. Both tasks can also be very costly endeavours, not to mention simply a pain to complete for many reasons.
And so it’s no surprise that many people put off tasks, perhaps living in denial they’re not immortal.
In fact, a 2022 survey found that about two-thirds of Americans do not have an estate plan. It’s not good because the loved ones you leave behind are forced to figure it all out and, in some cases, have to fight over assets that you probably would have left them if you had taken the time to write a will. Interestingly, this same survey – conducted by Caring.com – found that 50% more young adults (ages 18-34) had estate planning documents than before the pandemic.
A startup that helps reduce the pain and expense of the estate planning process by digitizing it is seeing demand for its services increase. And now this boot, Confidence and Willraised an additional $15 million from a group of leading financial institutions to build momentum.
Amex Ventures, Northwestern Mutual Future Ventures, SEI Ventures and USAA all participated in the new funding, bringing the San Diego-based company’s total funding to $48 million since its inception in 2017.
The funding follows a period in which Trust & Will has seen revenue “more than double” year-on-year, according to CEO and co-founder Cody Barbo, who declined to reveal concrete numbers. on earnings, but added that the company had seen its business double every year since 2020. He also declined to disclose Trust & Will’s current valuation, only telling TechCrunch that it had risen to a higher valuation than its last round — which included a strategic investment from UBS — at the end of 2021.
“We are going through turbulent times as macro trends continue to impact the tech sector as a whole, so raising capital in this environment is truly remarkable,” Barbo said. “We are proud that this capital gives us a good track for the years to come and will allow us to achieve profitability with solid cash reserves.” The company also plans to use capital to Expand operations and “integrate more with major financial institutions,” Barbo added. Currently, he is partnered with a number of banks, credit unions, other fintechs, insurtechs and non-profit organizations to educate and offer discounts to their members/clients on estate planning.
At the end of January, Trust & Will crossed more than 478,000 cumulative members and is on track to cross 500,000 this quarter, Barbo said. This compares to 311,753 cumulative members at the end of January 2022.
The capital injection of Northwestern Mutual Future Ventures represents the company that doubles down on its first investment in the company in 2020.
Trust & Will is committed to providing a “simple and secure” way to create estate plans and settle estates online, with the ability to customize legal documents to meet individual state and county guidelines. In October, the startup launched Trust & Will Probate with the aim of streamlining probate and estate settlement with “affordable options.”
The company primarily generates transactional revenue that customers pay in advance. It also charges an annual subscription that clients pay on an ongoing basis for the ability to update their estate plan.
“Estate planning is an essential pillar of consumer financial well-being. Yet today the process is complex, outdated and expensive,” Margaret Lim, managing director of Amex Ventures, said in a written statement. “Trust & Will is modernizing the estate planning industry with an easy, fast and affordable way to set up an estate plan online.” Lim added that Amex was not only investing in the business, but was also excited “to explore partnership opportunities with them.”
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