Guardian Angel, a London and Manchester-based death tech startup that helps people plan for and manage funerals has recently closed £1.1 million in an early seed funding round. With this, the UK-based company’s total funding is now up to £1.6million.
Utilisation of funds
The investment round was led by impact investor Fair By Design along with participation from institutional investors Ascension Ventures, GC Angels, Accelerated Digital Ventures and key angel investors such Andrew Weisz (early Hopin investor) and Rod Bulmer (an ex-CEO at Co-op Group).
Guardian Angel will use the funds to help people in the UK plan ahead and protect their loved ones and the things most important to them. It will focus on the expansion of its Manchester-based development team by doubling it over the next twelve months.
Guardian Angel’s Founder, Sam Grice said, “We’re 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. I wish my family had access to something like this, and as a team we’re proud to be offering more accessible and affordable planning tools to more people.”
Jess Jackson, Head of Investment at GC Angels, said ”GC Angels was drawn to Guardian Angel by Sam’s real passion to make a difference in an industry that so many have a negative experience with. Death tech 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. This funding round will support Guardian Angel to grow its development team in Manchester and further develop its death planning tool. That they have chosen Manchester to expand in is a testament to the talented tech community we have here and I’m looking forward to seeing how the team goes on to support people across the country during such a difficult time. “
First online consolidated death planning tool
Founded by Sam Grice, Guardian Angel launched a beta product, which is the first online consolidated death planning tool. It covers everything from wills and life insurance to post-death support. This tool has nearly 3,000 users and helps people navigate this complex process at a fraction of the cost. It is supported by large insurance and tech industry players Berkshire Hathaway’s GenRe and Covea Insurance.
Guardian Angel distributes their products directly to consumers and via business partnerships. They currently have around 100 partners distributing their services. This includes some of the country’s largest charities, funeral directors and employers.
Grow during pandemic
COVID-19 has put death at the forefront of people’s minds and the demand for this solution developed by Guardian Angel has witnessed a massive 400% growth last year. Eventually, it has resulted in increased awareness and urgency to end-of-life planning. The company saw an increase in revenue, team tripling, and customers growing to 100k across their services amidst the pandemic crisis.
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