Funeralbooker, a curated marketplace for independent funeral directors, has raked in $975,000 in a Seed round led by White Cloud Capital (WCC). Also supporting the round was existing investor Laurent Laffy, director of Secret Escapes. A statement issued by the company said that it plans to use the new funds to invest in technology, marketing and operations.
Ian Strang, CEO of Funeralbooker, talking about this newest round of funding, said,
Finding an investor that shared our vision and could provide strategic support, as well as new funds to support our growth plan, was key. WCC has a longstanding reputation as a focused investor in businesses and an international reach that will help us accelerate the potential we see both at home and overseas.
Founded just last year in 2015, the company is based out of London. It was established when the founders, Ian Strang and James Dunn, realized that people who had suffered bereavement had a pretty difficult time searching online to find accurate prices for a funeral. They found that every funeral director had different pricing schemes, with the overall language of the funeral industry being undecipherable. There was also no easy way to find out whether a funeral director had a reputation for providing a good service or not.
Ian, explaining more about the inception added that the company was born out of the belief that customers want a more transparent, thoughtful and straightforward process to arranging a funeral. Since then, they’re on a mission to bring transparency to the funeral business. It’s a stressful time and through technology, they wish to connect thousands of independent funeral directors – who are the heart of a great funeral experience – with customers in need of help. This purpose remains even more relevant today where customers expect a digital approach and something more than the ubiquity of the mass market funeral package.
Working out of their offices in Vauxhall, they have signed up hundreds of independent funeral directors to their platform who provide their accurate pricing and are reviewed by real customers. They constantly develop their platform and advice centre to give everyone access to helpful tools such as online celebration pages or the ability to crow funeral costs.
Till date, they have managed to raise $1.27 million, gradually piling up the finances in three rounds from five investors. Isabel Fox, head of venture capital at WCC, said,
Funeralbooker has built up a very differentiated business that fits well with our portfolio. We see significant growth potential for this unique business, both in and outside the UK, making it an obvious partner for us as we continue to grow our portfolio of health and wellness brands internationally.
