As a Boston family law attorney, Julia Rodgers heard her fair share of complaints about setting up prenuptial agreements. They were too expensive. The process took months. Both partners needed to retain an attorney, even if they agreed on the prenup’s terms.
Rodgers set out to simplify this process. She soft-launched HelloPrenup in 2020 as an online platform that guides couples through creating a fast, low-cost prenuptial agreement. In less than two years, Rodgers and co-founder Sarabeth Jaffe have landed a deal with two investors from Shark Tank, pushing the company into expansion mode.
When Shark Tank first reached out in early 2021 about appearing on the show, Rodgers thought it was a prank.
“I was like, I’m being punked,” she joked.
A few months later, Jaffe had joined the company and revamped its platform, and the two were in Los Angeles in front of Shark Tanks' Kevin O'Leary, Robert Herjavec, Mark Cuban and Lori Greiner, along with guest investor Nirav Tolia, pitching HelloPrenup. Their ask was $150,000 for a 10% stake in their company.
Cuban was excited that HelloPrenup was led by legal and tech experts, Rodgers said, and Greiner thought the company was capitalizing on a growing interest in prenuptial agreements.
The co-founders talked with the Sharks for more than an hour about the benefits of HelloPrenup, including its $599 price tag per couple and 1.5-hour-long process. In comparison, Rodgers said the usual prenup cost is $5,000, and the agreement takes three months for attorneys to create.
Beyond the benefits of the platform itself, Rodgers said she hopes HelloPrenup can also help women, who are often lower earners due to the gender pay gap and childcare needs, after a divorce.
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Contrary to popular belief, Rodgers said, prenups are not just used to protect the higher-earning spouse. Rodgers said prenups can contain financial agreements that provide the lower-earning spouse with lump sum payments, which can benefit women who might leave work to care for children.
“You can parse out the assets in a way that allows you to even the playing field,” Rodgers said, "with the understanding and acknowledgement that that party is the one that’s more likely to stay home.”
In the episode, the Sharks expressed concern that HelloPrenup had written only around 25 prenups to date. The co-founders said this was due to the steep drop in weddings in 2020 and the site updates that were only completed in 2021 after Jaffe joined the team.
Rodgers said she was concerned they would not get a deal because HelloPrenup was the first legal tech company to pitch on Shark Tank. She worried it was outside of the Sharks’ interests.
But Tolia and O'Leary stepped up, offering $150,000 for 30% of the company. It was a deal.
The show aired in November 2021, and Rodgers said they finalized the deal in late December. The deal changed since their Shark Tank appearance, Rodgers said, but she declined to provide specific details. Rodgers and Jaffe now also have access to Tolia and O'Leary for mentorship.
“They are in many ways advising on the strategy, kind of talking from their own experience,” Rodgers said. “They’re also there for helping (to) promote the product in any way they can.”
So far, the Shark Tank appearance has paid off. HelloPrenup’s website now has 30,000 monthly visitors compared to 3,000 before the episode aired. Sales are up nearly 600%. The startup serves 23 states and aims to be in all 50 by the end of 2022.
Beyond its paid services, HelloPrenup also offers free articles, videos and blogs about prenuptial agreements in different states.
“We are selling prenuptial agreements, but I think most importantly, we’re providing people with free resources to find information that they need,” Rodgers said. “There is no other comprehensive resource for prenups out there.”
