Death Industry Disruption

Patrick identifies an opportunity to innovate in the death care industry, which is currently controlled by 4-5 major companies worth multiple billions that own everything in the "last mile of life."

Key Points:

• Current Market Structure:

  • 4-5 companies control entire death care ecosystem
  • Own everything from coffins to funeral service homes
  • Control how memories and final arrangements are handled
  • Multi-billion dollar companies

• Areas They Control:

  • Coffins
  • Funeral service homes
  • Products sold in funeral homes
  • Memory and remembrance services

• Previous Innovation Attempts:

  • Example: Dave Balter tried creating a memory company
  • Would load memories to be accessed via Alexa
  • Found industry very traditional and buttoned up
  • Difficult to penetrate existing structure

• Market Opportunity:

  • Aging population creates growing market
  • Current consolidation leaves room for disruption
  • Need for modernization of services
  • Potential for technology integration

• Challenge:

  • Extremely consolidated industry
  • Traditional and resistant to change
  • Difficult to penetrate existing relationships