End-of-life planning startup eFuneral has received a $250,000 investment to help people find resources online for funeral planning including funeral home reviews, estate planning, and cemetery information.Cleveland-based eFuneral was launched in February 2012 by cofounders Mike Belsito and Bryan Chaikin with the intention to help professional funeral planners, people who have just lost a loved one, and those interested in long-term planning … read more here.
eFuneral (www.efuneral.com), a comprehensive online end-of-life planning resource, has received a $250,000 investment commitment from nonprofit venture development organization JumpStart Inc. (www.jumpstartinc.org). The company’s free tools and support enable those thinking about end-of-life to make the best funeral decisions for their budget … read more here.
Dealing with death is difficult, but dealing with the cost of burying a loved one can be even harder. Mike Belsito, co-founder of eFuneral, said, “It’s overwhelming; it’s painful.” That’s how Mike felt when he and his family were faced with the unexpected death of his cousin … read more here.
A Cleveland startup that has created a website designed to help people plan funerals has received a $250,000 investment from JumpStart Inc. of Cleveland. The startup, eFuneral, will use the money to increase sales, marketing and web development efforts, according to an announcement from JumpStart, which assists and invests in technology companies in Northeast Ohio … read more here.
Like many startup Internet companies occupied by mostly 20-somethings, the atmosphere at eFuneral in downtown Cleveland is loose. There’s a huge bean bag chair, a sumo wrestler figurine wearing fuzzy dice, a Sasquatch carrying an American flag and a life-size cutout of Humphrey Bogart greeting you at the door. “He was here when we got here,” says eFuneral co-founder, Mike Belsito … read more here.
A decade ago, Ohio’s technology startup scene was a wasteland with hardly a bloom or bush dotting the landscape. Today, thanks to the combined efforts of fertile young minds and state leadership willing to cultivate them, the once barren ground is now green with new growth and promise of further development … read more here.
Bucking the national trend, Cleveland’s high-tech sector enjoyed a burst of momentum last year as venture capitalists poured new levels of money into the region. Young technology-based companies here attracted about $201 million in 2012, a 34 percent spike over the previous year, according to a study being released today by JumpStart, a Cleveland-based technology accelerator … read more here.
Planning a funeral can be overwhelming and expensive but a Cleveland-based company is making it a little easier. Ashley Johncola reports on how eFuneral is trying to reshape the way people think about burying a loved one … watch the video here.
eFuneral is now offering free Price Index reports for all 11 markets into which they have expanded including Detroit. These reports show averages and ranges for funeral services in those specific markets, as well as the same for the United States in general … read more here.
Mike Belsito’s idea for eFuneral came after a death in the family. eFuneral allows families to compare funeral homes, see reviews from other families, and even save money. “The average funeral in Northeast ohio is over $8,000,” Belsito said … read more here.
eFuneral, based in Cleveland OH is providing a service to people that are really struggling at the time. Loss of family or a friend is rarely if ever fully expected, so pulling it all together to arrange a funeral and all that comes with it can be difficult. Prepping for it can make the process much easier, especially to those of us who do not want to waste time and money … read more here.
When Guillermo and Norma Oropeza bought caskets and burial plots from a Florida funeral home and cemetery in 1992, they thought their advance planning would someday save their family money and stress. Just before Guillermo, a retired print-shop owner, died in 2010 at age 71, the funeral home told Norma that on top of the $6,800 already paid, she would owe $5,000 for services ranging from prepping the body to digging the grave. Norma, by then living on a modest fixed income, didn’t have that kind of cash to spare … read more here.
What were two 30-something software experts thinking when they left their stable jobs to jump into a start-up, let alone a start-up that is basically the Yelp of the funeral home world? Basically, there was a niche, and Mike Belsito and Bryan Chaikin had a solution … read more here.
Alexis Madrigal, senior editor at The Atlantic, has been writing about “Rust Belt” startups as part of an ongoing series called “Startup Nation.” In a feature titled, “Bringing Innovation to the Funeral-Home Business (No, Really),” he writes about Cleveland-based eFuneral, which brings funeral home shopping into the digital age. “The idea for the company did not originate in dreams of Instagram glory … read more here.
TheAtlantic.com has an exceptional section of its website called “Startup Nation 2012: Ideas and Entrepreneurs on the Leading Edge,” and this week its focus is on Cleveland companies. Alexis Madrigal, a senior editor at TheAtlantic.com who oversees technology coverage, visited Cleveland and turned out four posts (so far) about innovative business people he found here … read more here.
eFuneral’s offices are located on the 21st floor of a downtown Cleveland office building. Running late, I stepped into the elevator and noted with consternation that the elevator buttons only went up to 20. I rode up to that floor, looked briefly around, texted the company’s CEO Mike Belsito, and rode back down. “I’m looking for a place called eFuneral,” I said to the security guard I found in the lobby … read more here.
Seven technology companies will receive a total of $385,000 in grants recently awarded by the Lorain County Community College Foundation’s Innovation Fund. Three companies received $95,000 each, and four received $25,000 each. All of them have committed to providing internships to students at the community college or providing some other educational experience … read more here.
The new managers of Ohio State University’s 10x business boot camp have made additional investments in three of the eight startups that completed the program’s third round Friday, including one that will use the money to move to Columbus from Hungary … read more here.
Since its launch in February, eFuneral has steadily grown as a resource for families searching for the right funeral provider. Now founders Mike Belsito and Bryan Chaikin are taking the company, which came out of the Ohio State University Fisher College of Business’ 10-Xelerator last summer, to another level. eFuneral recently announced a partnership with Hospice of Dayton … read more here.
Hospice of Dayton and eFuneral have announced a unique partnership which will allow patients and families of Hospice of Dayton to make funeral plans in a simpler, better informed way through eFuneral’s platform, effectively allowing eFuneral to expand its offerings into Dayton and the Miami Valley … read more here.
Last week I had the opportunity to spend the day in Cleveland, Ohio with new funeral industry startup eFuneral. The industry newcomer debuted in March at the ICCFA Convention and officially launch in the Cleveland, Ohio market two weeks ago. eFuneral helps undecided families connect with funeral homes who offer the type of service the family is looking for … read more here.
After developing their idea for an online funeral services resource at the Ohio State University Fisher College of Business’ 10-Xelerator last summer, Mike Belsito and Bryan Chaikin have proved eFuneral to be a successful endeavor. Originally called FunerAlly, the company was founded in June 2011. Belsito and Chaikin … read more here.
eFuneral is an online platform that allows families to quickly find, compare and select a funeral provider. The process begins after an individual submits basic funeral planning requirements on eFuneral.com. A notification is then sent to funeral providers in the eFuneral network … read more here.
Mike Belsito first immersed himself in the business of death a year and a half ago, when a cousin died unexpectedly. As the family absorbed the news, Belsito’s father asked him if he could go online and find out how best to make funeral arrangements in Parma. The Internet-savvy 30-year-old, who rarely goes out to dinner without consulting Yelp.com, envisioned a Web-based trove of information … read more here.
Deep underground accelerators such as the one at CERN (Europe) and at Fermilab, Illinois, send particles at massive speeds in collision courses with one another to reveal, scientists hope, the secrets of the physical universe. Ohio students and business people are taking a leaf from this process … read more here.
Putting life in funerals? Well, you can try; but the humor of the concept, such as it is, is largely unavoidable—even irresistible. Happily, Mike Belsito is a good sport. “We are numb to it,” he tells Selling to Seniors. “We hear at least a few jokes a day, and some of them are pretty good ones.” Belsito is co-founder of an inevitable Web-based business … read more here.
Shopping for a funeral online could become commonplace if two entrepreneurs have their way. Cleveland residents Mike Belsito and Bryan Chaikin have launched an online funeral planning service called eFuneral.com. This free service is just kicking off in the Midwest, but hopefully will take flight across the country … read more here.
Managing funerals is something professionals do every day. No one else, however, wants that much practice. So when the time comes — especially if it comes unexpectedly — there’s a lot for a decedent’s loved ones to learn in a very brief period, and a lot of choices to be made. Sometimes, the choices can seem expensive … read more here.
eFuneral.com, a website that provides funeral homes a simple and effective way to attract undecided families, was launched today in Northeast Ohio. With funeral home marketing costs averaging more than $400 per service performed, eFuneral a Cleveland-based startup company, helps drive new business for funeral homes … read more here.
Mike Belsito first immersed himself in the business of death a year and a half ago, when a cousin died unexpectedly. As the family absorbed the news, Belsito’s father asked him if he could go online and find out how best to make funeral arrangements in Parma. The Internet-savvy 30-year-old, who rarely goes out to dinner without consulting Yelp.com, envisioned a Web-based trove of information … read more here.
TechCrunch founder Michael Arrington showed up spoiling for a fight, the start-ups turned up looking for angel investors, and the rest of us were left wondering what the former might mean for the latter as the TechCrunch Disrupt show kicked off this week in San Francisco … read more here.
The sudden death of a young cousin left Mike Belsito’s extended family struggling with how to find a fitting memorial at the most affordable rate from a dozen Northeast Ohio funeral homes. “For as important of a decision as it was, it seemed crazy to me that we just picked one and hoped for the best … read more here.
Mike Belsito and Bryan Chaikin sprouted a business idea after a death in Belsito’s family. Both were working at Findaway World, a digital products company, when Belsito’s cousin died and he went through the arduous process of planning a funeral. The two started talking about how difficult it is to find the right funeral home in a time of crisis … read more here.
