'I lost my mother suddenly and now I'm helping people plan for death'

The death market is one of technology's last frontiers, says entrepreneur Sam Grice and the company he founded, Octopus Legacy, is aiming to bridge the divide for consumers.

Since launching in 2018, the UK-based firm has helped more than 300,000 customers, with Grice’s own personal loss leading to the growth of his "death tech" brand.

“A big part of our brand and 'bringing death to life’ as we say, is me talking about it openly and not being afraid of using the words death or die,” he says. "It’s important to get people engaging with the subject.”

In 2016, Grice’s mother was hit by a reversing car which spun out of control. She tragically died at the scene while her husband suffered a head injury. “It was sudden and came out of the blue,” recalls New Zealand-born Grice.

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“She had no up to date will, it was valid legally but the wishes didn’t really match with what mum wanted. That caused a lot of friction and there was nothing else in place.”

“A week after mum’s death, preparing the funeral was a stressful experience as there were no plans to be either cremated or buried."

Grice’s professional background had been a mix between brand management and launching a paleo cereal business at a time, over a decade ago, when it was difficult to buy grainless cereals.

The short-lived business hit around £1m in revenue before he returned to finance and worked as an equity analyst. “It’s a bit of a mixed bag but I guess it is my entrepreneurial traits coming out of me,” Grice admits.

With his family unable to find the right support mechanisms following their loss, Grice began to look towards technology as the foundations which could help others.

“I thought it would be great to build a business that helps people deal with loss. That’s difficult if there are no plans in place,” he says.

Grice, who grew up in Auckland, arrived in the UK in 2018 to set up Guardian Angel, which rebranded as Octopus Legacy after tech unicorn Octopus Group acquired a majority, multi-million pound investment stake in late 2022.

Grice says he has feels confident using the "death tech" phrase more than other companies. He says: “I believe what Octopus Legacy is doing is a holistic solution to help people prepare, but ultimately help loved ones after they’ve gone. That’s really why I started the company when I lost my mum.

“Death tech is important to me. We use technology to make that process more proficient as either people lose interest in it or they don’t put plans in place."

The company’s early iterations had started out catering for bereavement support. “That was also important for me in building a brand which dealt with compassion and love. It's why we called it Guardian Angel, to help people through the chaos in those first few weeks.”

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However, Grice’s business found difficulty in the early throes and problems were two-fold.

“What we struggled with was finding those consumers as people tend to shut out the outside world,” he admits. “We had to find them to help them. We tried to explain the technology and how it could alleviate stresses and the incumbents weren’t quite ready for us.

“We also found it difficult where a lot of the people that were dying and using our platform weren’t prepared or they didn’t have any plans. It was hard as a company to help solve a problem we couldn’t solve.”

Grice, who is also CEO, pivoted to focus on pre-planning, which meant that his expanding team could first form a bond with consumers and then with their families post-death to help with aspects such as probate and estate management.

Octopus Legacy’s partners — it works with around 200 charities — have pre-existing conversations around preparations, before Grice and his team step in to offer a digital solution.

“We enable them to do it in a more modern way, such as writing a will online through to care homes and hospices," he says. "Our partners are household, trusted names and the customer already has that trust in brand. Now we are seen as the same and it’s kind of a match made in heaven for people to take action.”

That includes Octopus Legacy’s workforce, with most job applications coming from those who have lost a sibling, parent or close friend. “We see in the covering letters it is mainly about their personal stories and background,” says Grice, whose goal is to bring on one million customers within the next two years.

“It means we get a lot of people around a cause and generally trying to do the right thing.

“We believe the death conversation starts with will writing. It has become transactional and template driven but really it’s the last messages to your loved one.

"That’s why we call it 'Legacy' and it’s more than a document as it could be voice notes and videos.”

If a consumer has a terminal illness, Grice will personally speak to consumers who want to bring their stories to life on film for families as one of its product offerings.

“I think that’s what humans care more about rather than a document,” believes Grice. "It’s obviously not for everyone but we believe that will be of incredible value to their family members.

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“Getting people to talk is super powerful. It’s a video I wish my mum had filmed which I don’t have.”

Behind the brand: Octopus Legacy founder on…

Being a trusted name

"Around 70% of people don’t have an up to date will and that’s a problem as your wishes can change and life can evolve.

"53% also experience anxiety after death. Anxiety is an emotion. The brain mimics physical pain that deals with grief and consumers who don’t have plans in place heighten all that.

"I wasn’t in the right state to make decisions the week after mum’s death. When you're dealing with that you need a trusted brand to deal with that."

Leadership

"As a founder and leader, you are going from windsurfing to sailing to driving a cruise ship and you have to adapt in how to run each environment.

"When you are on a small ship with 10 employees you can be a bit more open but now I'm starting to realise you have to have structure in place which doesn't come naturally to me. I’m a constructive thinker not used to process. I like doing things quickly where good ideas should get done."

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