Willful Announces $750K Bridge Financing Round With Support From Michele Romanow And Other Investors

USA - English

• USA - English

TORONTO, Dec. 2, 2021 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- Willful, Canada's leading online will platform, announces a $750K bridge financing round with participation from Canadian technology entrepreneur and Dragons' Den star, Michele Romanow, and other notable angel investors, family offices, and strategic investors including Conconi Growth Partners. With this new funding, Willful plans to add to their 15-person team, invest in product expansion, and bring digital estate planning into the hands of even more Canadians.

Tonight, Canadians watched as Willful co-founders, and husband and wife duo Erin Bury and Kevin Oulds entered the den in search of $500,000 for 5 per cent investment in the estate planning company. Over 57 per cent of Canadian adults don't have a will, and 10 per cent of those who do have a will said it is out of date due to a life change, and Willful is on a mission to change that. Willful made a deal in the Den with Clearco founder and investor Michele Romanow, who has a history of scaling ecommerce companies and digital platforms.

"This is definitely a first for me as I never thought I'd be investing in the death tech space, but I was very impressed by Erin and Kevin's pitch," said Michele Romanow, Canadian Tech Entrepreneur and Dragons' Den star. "I wasn't aware of the number of Canadians who are currently without a will. There's a real need for a company like Willful to guide Canadians through the estate planning process and they make it so easy. I'm excited to be backing such a forward-thinking team and eager to see where this new investment takes Willful."

Founded in 2017, Willful has created over 100,000 documents for customers across eight provinces since its inception. Willful partners with estate lawyers in each province to draft its legal content, and to keep that content up to date as legislation changes. Willful's platform guides people through a series of questions about their life situation and helps them to appoint key roles like executors and beneficiaries. Once the relevant information for their end-of-life wishes has been gathered, Willful provides customized legal documents supported by detailed instructions outlining how to execute the will in accordance with provincial requirements. Willful also offers free updates in future, so customers can keep their will up to date as life changes. Willful is also the first company to offer a fully digital notarial will in Quebec, which can be completed 100% online without the need to physically print or consult a notary in person. On December 1 Willful launched a pilot program for digital wills in BC, the only online will provider approved to do so as part of the Law Society of BC's Innovation Sandbox program.

"We are thrilled to welcome Michele and our other new investors to join us as Willful grows," said Erin Bury, CEO and Co-Founder of Willful. "The estate planning industry in Canada is still stuck in the past, but small victories have been achieved like the passing of Bill 21 in BC which allows British Columbians to electronically sign, virtually witness, and store their wills online. As we see this landscape slowly evolve, we're excited to be leading the way and this new funding will help us remain innovators in this space."

Today's bridge financing announcement builds on the $1.1M seed funding round Willful raised in May 2020. The seed funding was led by Montreal-based venture capital firm Tactico with participation from York Angels, existing investors including Real Ventures, alongside others.

Visit Willful.co to learn more.

For more information:
Kayla Ciaschi
Talk Shop
647-985-9109
[email protected]

About Willful
Willful is on a mission to change the way Canadians prepare for and deal with death. Their first product is an online platform that makes it affordable, convenient, and easy for Canadians to create a legal will online. The platform provides simplified estate planning services, enabling consumers to create a will and/or power of attorney by following a clear step-by-step process. Willful's platform was developed in collaboration with leading estate lawyers, and has pricing plans starting at $99. Willful is based in Toronto, and it is currently available to residents of Ontario, Quebec, British Columbia, Saskatchewan, Alberta, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, and Manitoba.

Media Contact

Kayla Ciaschi, Willful, +1 647.985.9109, [email protected]

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SOURCE Willful