Empathy helps through life’s hardest moments
Ron Gura has experienced more loss than he cares to remember, including the deaths of close friends, family and colleagues. On top of the grief that naturally flows from bereavement, Gura came to realise the experience of dealing with loss was made all the more difficult by the often impersonal and transactional nature of dealing with life insurance companies and employers.
Having previously co-founded a tech startup called The Gifts Project that was sold to eBay for a reported $30 million, he saw an opportunity to use technology to help people through life’s more challenging moments. That idea became Empathy.
Empathy recently took a significant leap forward by joining forces with insurance giant, Zurich. The partnership sees Zurich becoming the first major UK insurer to offer loss support at scale and means three million Life Protection customers can access human-led, digital bereavement support via Empathy.
To mark this milestone, we reflect on Ron’s founder journey and his drive to improve the standard of support for families after loss. The following interview is part of our Voices That Matter - Red Book interview series.
Q: The definition of empathy is to understand and share the feelings of another. How would you describe Empathy, the business?
A: It's quite similar. I'd like to think it's the friend you wish you had when you're going through a really tough time. Our flagship first product is for loss support. It's like you have a helpful neighbour who happens to be an estate lawyer as well as a retired social worker and a really good listener. It begins with empathy, but we focus on outcomes - helping families save time, money, and emotional energy during life’s most challenging moments. The reality is that grief is made harder by logistics, and logistics are made harder by grief. Our goal is to alleviate the logistics and help people move forward. To achieve that we team up with financial institutions and progressive employers to provide this platform to people in their moment of need.
Q:Where did the idea come from?
A: Nobody starts an end of life company purely for fun. I have experienced my fair share of loss. It started with the loss of my brother. That really hit me, my household, my family and especially my mother. There were many more losses over the years of friends, family and colleagues. I saw an opportunity for technology to support families through a process that hadn’t benefited much from digital innovation until that point.
Q: You recently raised a $72 million Series C round, bringing the total capital raise to $162 million. Clearly, Empathy is an established business now, but I'm curious what it was like when you first were pitching the idea of using technology to improve people's experience around bereavement.
A: I'm sure there are a few folks in my immediate community who thought it was crazy. There were a few software engineers, when we called and said we're getting the band back together who asked "Okay, what are we doing? Is it SaaS, fintech, cyber? What is it about?" I said "Take a seat. This one's a little bit different!" Once we assembled the core team, the novel nature of the business was a huge advantage because it's a new category and a very purposeful one.
“I'd like to think it's the friend you wish you had when you're going through a really tough time…It's like you have a helpful neighbour who happens to be an estate lawyer as well as a retired social worker and a really good listener.”
Q: You previously had success with the Gifts Project, which you sold to eBay. How helpful was that when trying to get investment for this new business?
A: After 18 months The Gifts Project was acquired by eBay, which owned PayPal at the time. It was a good learning experience. I'm certain that when investors were looking at this business they took our operational experience as one de-risking factor.
Q: Tell me about the first investors that came on board to support you.
A: I teamed up with folks I know. Saul Klein, from LocalGlobe, who also supported us during The Gifts Project days when he was at Index. And then we teamed up with Michael Eisenberg from Aleph, Joel Cutler from General Catalyst, Danny Rimer from Index, Avi Eyal from Entrée and Tom Bremner from Adams Street Partners. We're very lucky to have mission-driven investors with us from day one, and especially lucky to have Saul on speed dial. He's my contrarian. Often, when I decide to do something big I call him to ask, "why shouldn't I do it?"
Q: That's an impressive list of investors. As you say, Saul's the one repeat investor from The Gifts Project to Empathy. Why did you bring him back? Why did you want his voice?
A: Two reasons. First, I never had a choice. He literally made me swear when we sold to eBay that we have to call him when we start something new. That was a very simple and effective strategy.
The second reason is because it's an unfair advantage to have Saul on the cap table. You get a mature venture institution with early stage and late stage capital, combined with the mindset of an angel investor who's aligned with your best interests. It's just amazing to hear a different opinion. I always want to listen to the contrarian because it sharpens my thinking.
We’re expanding our mission from helping families deal with loss to helping them through any life-changing moment - those phone calls that divide life into “before” and “after”.
Q: You previously had success with the Gifts Project, which you sold to eBay. How helpful was that when trying to get investment for this new business?
A: After 18 months The Gifts Project was acquired by eBay, which owned PayPal at the time. It was a good learning experience. I'm certain that when investors were looking at this business they took our operational experience as one de-risking factor.
Q: Tell me about the first investors that came on board to support you.
A: I teamed up with folks I know. Saul Klein, from LocalGlobe, who also supported us during The Gifts Project days when he was at Index. And then we teamed up with Michael Eisenberg from Aleph, Joel Cutler from General Catalyst, Danny Rimer from Index, Avi Eyal from Entrée and Tom Bremner from Adams Street Partners. We're very lucky to have mission-driven investors with us from day one, and especially lucky to have Saul on speed dial. He's my contrarian. Often, when I decide to do something big I call him to ask, "why shouldn't I do it?"
Q: That's an impressive list of investors. As you say, Saul's the one repeat investor from The Gifts Project to Empathy. Why did you bring him back? Why did you want his voice?
A: Two reasons. First, I never had a choice. He literally made me swear when we sold to eBay that we have to call him when we start something new. That was a very simple and effective strategy.
The second reason is because it's an unfair advantage to have Saul on the cap table. You get a mature venture institution with early stage and late stage capital, combined with the mindset of an angel investor who's aligned with your best interests. It's just amazing to hear a different opinion. I always want to listen to the contrarian because it sharpens my thinking.
“We’re expanding our mission from helping families deal with loss to helping them through any life-changing moment - those phone calls that divide life into “before” and “after.”
Q: Tell me a little bit more about how Empathy works.
A: It's really about showing up for people who are recently bereaved and saving them time, money and headaches. For example, someone calls New York Life, our very first customer, and says "I lost my loved one. Where's my money?" New York Life will rightfully say, "I'm sorry for your loss, and the cheque is in the mail" and do the paperwork.
Since they have Empathy, they and many other carriers would say "Sorry for the loss, the cheque is in the mail and, by the way, we're going to stick around with you in the days, weeks and months ahead. We're going to help you with the full range of grief and estate needs." At that point, the bereaved individual will be able to access Empathy and start to utilise Empathy for emotional support as well as logistical support.
It's our job to show the financial institution that these values drive value back to them. It's mostly about how you increase asset retention and generational loyalty during what is clearly the greatest wealth transfer in history, with almost $124 trillion shifting hands globally in the next decade, so building an opportunity to shift that transaction into a relationship by providing continuity of care that goes beyond the payout.
Q: That is your Loss Support product. What is LifeVault?
A: LifeVault helps families and individuals prepare before loss happens. It’s a secure space for wills, trusts, guardianship documents, and powers of attorney — everything that gives peace of mind. Planning ahead is the most empathetic act you can do for your family.
Q: You recently raised a Series C round. How are you deploying that capital?
A: Mostly for breadth. I call it more moments in more markets.We’re expanding our mission from helping families deal with loss to helping them through any life-changing moment—those phone calls that divide life into “before” and “after.”
Geographically, we launched in Canada in January, and will soon open a new major market in Europe.
Q: What is your ultimate goal for Empathy?
A: Ultimately, Empathy's purpose is to build a more resilient society, one hard moment at a time. Our vision is a world where life’s most difficult moments are met with support, humanity, and hope. So we're creating the software and support needed to get people through life’s toughest moments, so they can get back on their feet and emerge stronger than before. I'd love for us to reach a billion people over the next three years.