Technology is oftentimes considered a tool for driving change for the better among the living. Now, Cincinnati-based software company CRäKN us using it to improve the death care space.
G. Scott Mindrum, who has more than 20 years in the funeral industry, acknowledged that the space he works in is unique.
“It’s a niche business,” he said. “Not a lot of people pay attention to it.”
Regardless, the industry's impact is wide, and comprised of funeral homes, crematories, cemeteries and other death care companies — with a declining workforce.
“A large percentage of the time, whenever we show the product, we end up selling it. It’s that good.”
“The number of students in mortuary school has dropped significantly,” Mindrum said.
And, now with the baby boomers facing end of life, the number of funerals is expected to grow.
But even before the landscape in the death care space began to change, Mindrum knew these tools — and industry-wide innovation — were necessary during his time as founder of Making Everlasting Memories, a software-as-a-service publishing company that helped capture and save memories of the clients' deceased friends and relatives.
Mindrum believed funeral home workers needed the opportunity to do more with less.
Enter CRäKN, which essentially allows customers have communication, collaboration and coordination tools readily available at their finger tips.
It does this with two of its software solutions, Vox and Solvo. Vox helps funeral directors track and receive feedback from customers, while Solvo allows clients to get a "one click" statement on the cost of their funeral services and other necessities.
The company, which works at HCDC, has resonated with both investors and customers alike. Just this week, CRäKN doubled the size of its internal workforce. And, since 2017, they raised over $2 million in two rounds of funding, and received an undisclosed amount of capital from the Queen City Angels in each round.
“A large percentage of the time, whenever we show the product, we end up selling it,” he said. “It’s that good.”
Currently, while CRäKN is not actively pursuing spreading out into other industries, Mindrum said that the company will grow as needed into other cities and markets.
