Obit: A Beautiful, Free, All-in-One Platform You Can’t Afford Not to Try
Every so often you hear of a product that seems too good to be true. It’s innovative and highly functional. It solves more than one of your persistent problems. It’s visually appealing and easy to use. And it can actually increase revenue.
But there’s just one catch: It’s free.
Believe it or not, it’s that admission that brings most of Brant Fischer’s conversation to a halt when he discusses his new obituary platform, Obit.
“That’s one of the most frequent questions I get from funeral homes,” laughs Fischer. “And I keep telling them it’s free. And they’re almost skeptical of it. But the truth is, this is something that affected me personally, and I made it a mission to fix it.”
From a good place
Fischer’s inspiration to build a better place to remember lost loved ones came from his own personal encounter with death and memorialization resources — or the lack thereof.
“I lost a friend about 10 years ago to suicide,” Fischer recalls. “I remember realizing at the time that we don’t do a good job of memorializing people online. It didn’t sit well with me. In fact, it stuck with me.”
As he mourned the death of his friend, Fischer looked around at online obituary sites, social media options, and other ways people were paying tribute to those they loved and had lost. The solutions of the day were disparate and antiquated.
For eight years, Fischer toiled away within a highly competitive hedge fund while at the same time imagining a better, more modern way people could pay their respects. In his spare time, he researched the deathcare industry and its offerings, learning what was available and how they worked. It wasn’t long before he realized which pursuit was truly his passion.
“Being a trader was always a goal of mine, Fischer says. “I love being involved in the market, the competitive atmosphere on the trading desk, the people I got to work with, but I accomplished my goal and realized that it wasn’t what I was passionate about. I wanted to do something with more purpose. I wanted to create something of value. That led me to Obit.”
Full-featured, functional, and quite lovely
Obit, Fischer’s passion project come to fruition, is a clean, modern platform with a deceptively simple interface that supports multiple functions. The red poppy flowers throughout the site pay homage to his late, beloved grandfather known as “Poppy,” and serve as a symbol of remembrance.
First, Obit is, as the name suggests, an obituary platform. Anyone can create an obituary/memorial profile complete with photos and personal stories on Obit in just a few minutes — much faster than a newspaper can publish, no matter how much a family pays for the privilege. Filling in Obit’s intuitive fields pre-populates other sections of the site. For example, when you enter the location of services, another area of the site takes that information and produces a map and directions.
The service data also populates the Obit Live app, creating an event which funeral directors can simply open to start livestreaming right from their mobile device. Recorded services stay on Obit so anyone can watch the video at a later date.
“Some funeral homes spend $80,000 on video and audio equipment for livestreaming,” Fischer says. “You know, we don’t chase our kids around with camcorders anymore; everything’s on our phones. It should be that easy for funeral directors. Plus, families may want to have the funeral in a place that had special meaning for the person who passed away — or they may want to do it in their own home. Now directors have the flexibility to do that as opposed to having hardware installed in the funeral home.”
Fundraising + follow-up
Not only can visitors order locally-sourced flower arrangements on Obit; they can also make donations to the family, to a charity in memory of the deceased, or directly to the funeral home to help with expenses. No matter which the giver designates, family members will see the donation and have the option of sending a thank-you note — all from the Obit platform, addressing a pain point that Fischer himself witnessed after his uncle’s passing.
“To honor my uncle, my aunt asked that donations be made to Girl Scouts of Middle Tennessee,” Fischer recounts. “My mother-in-law made a donation but was never notified that my aunt had received it. My aunt wanted to acknowledge and give thanks for the generous donations but she was also grieving for her husband, handling his funeral and closing out his estate. Keeping track of donations and saying thank you, all of a sudden became a cumbersome process. It should be easier to say thank you, especially for someone who just experienced a loss.”
From his unique viewpoints on both sides of this transaction, Fischer realized transparency and automation were key to solving what can easily turn into an awkward situation.
It’s free. Really.
Directors adding Obit as an option for the families they serve make a flower commission of 20 percent, and benefit from the crowdfunding option that can deposit directly into their funeral home’s bank account. You can also charge for the livestreaming service, if you’d like.
“Some funeral homes are charging and some are giving it for free within the package,” Fischer says. “But the ones that are charging are able to charge around $200 – $300, which could add up to an extra $24,000 to $36,000 a year in revenue for the average funeral home.”
That’s pure revenue because, remember — Obit is FREE.
“Our focus is on building technology that makes funeral directors’ lives easier and gives them better and modern tools,” says Fischer. “That way they can better serve families and create a better place for them to join together in remembrance. I don’t want there to be a high cost or any other barriers to entry. I just want funeral homes and families to use it.”
For more information on this all-in-one user-friendly platform, visit joinobit.com or reach out to Brant Fischer at brant@joinobit.com. Also, if you have any ideas for enhancing Obit, send those too. Fischer is always open to feedback. Just ask him about all the new features in the works!
