It all started with a text message on August, 4th 2017 from Daniel Goldstein to Cody Barbo (2 of the 3 Trust & Will co-founders)
Daniel and Cody had known each other for years and a simple text sparked an immediate interest in Trusts & Estates. What seemed to be an antiquated, fragmented industry was actually one that generated tens of billions in services revenue each year. Cody realized as soon as Daniel sent that text, that he, himself had never written a Will — let alone set up a complete Estate Plan. And as a soon-to-be-married man, Cody knew there had to be a better solution.
“So why haven't I gotten around to doing this yet?” Cody thought. “I do everything else online with my finances, taxes, and insurance...why is there not a TurboTax for estate planning?”
The truth was, he didn't want to waste the time and thousands of dollars it would take to talk to a lawyer to set up his Estate Plan. Especially when those documents would wind up living in a binder, in a box, in the garage. LegalZoom didn't cross his mind as an option either. While they do offer Estate Plans, the online experience seemed quite out of date as well.
So in the few months following August 2017, Cody, Daniel, and Trust & Will's third co-founder Brian Lamb, decided it was time for a change. In October 2017, Trust & Will was born!
A Little More about Trust & Will
Trust & Will is taking the Estate Planning industry to the next level with an easy, fast, and secure way to set up a Trust or Will online. They've modernized Estate Planning with a design-first approach layered on top of incredible member support to help people through the process — making Estate Planning simple, affordable, & accessible.
We've Made Some Serious Moves Over the Last Few Years Too!
On October 11th, 2017, Trust & Will made it into the top 10 finalists of the ‘Quick Pitch Competition’ hosted by Tech Coast Angels-San Diego and San Diego Venture Group! They took the stage at Qualcomm headquarters, in front of an audience of over 500+ investors, entrepreneurs, and supporters of the San Diego startup community.
Trust & Will took 3rd place, Along with a $5k cash prize!
Trust & Will incorporated after Quick Pitch, and has now raised over $8 million in capital. They went through the Techstars accelerator, lined up partnerships with MassMutual, Charles Schwab, Fifth Third Bank, Mint.com, Acorns, and more, completed the first electronic Will in history, and have helped over 125,000 Americans kickstart their estate plan.
Where Are We Now?
Fast forward to October 2021...We've officially helped over 250,000 put a plan in place for the future and our team has quadrupled in size (100% of our employees have completed their estate plans too!) We closed our series B funding round, raising over $15 million and are on our way to creating even more exciting products all focused on helping families build multigenerational wealth.
Trust & Will's driving mission is to help as many people as possible build their legacies and safeguard what matters most... And we're just getting started. So stay tuned for what's to come!
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