Meet the “Uber for funerals”: Sydney startup Picaluna is looking to disrupt an industry worth $1 billion

The funeral industry has long been dominated by traditional industry players, but Sydney-based startup Picaluna is looking to bring this $1 billion industry into the modern age with its two-sided funeral marketplace.

The Picaluna concept was born when co-founder and managing director Greg Inglis grew frustrated with the overpriced, “cookie-cutter” nature of funerals, after his own mother died and he was “funnelled into a 45-minute service” that he says felt “really rushed” yet still cost more than $10,000.

“We made the most of it but it really didn’t reflect mum’s life or who she was,” he tells StartupSmart.

“Mum and I used to love going to the races — it would have been way more appropriate have her cremated, buy 100 tickets to the Royal Randwick , have a laugh, have a cry, tell stories and scatter her ashes. The cookie-cutter approach doesn’t leave you satisfied and doesn’t help the grieving,” he says.

Out of this experience, Inglis founded Picaluna with Chris Hancock, Paul Quinn and Adam Podger in 2014 to give consumers end-to-end control over planning a funeral.

“I sometimes dislike using this term but it’s sort of the ‘uber for funerals’ in it’s model,” says Inglis.

The startup connects users with florists, coffin suppliers, crematoriums and other service providers through a cloud-based platform. Read more

Angela Castles - Startup Smart - 21 Sep 2017