17th March 2023, Bengaluru: Yellow, a startup founded by alumni of Wharton and Stanford universities, has recently raised an undisclosed amount in a Seed funding round from Gruhas. The LegalTech startup, founded in September 2021 by Niranjan Vemulkar and Nikhil Varghese aims to provide a secure and cost-effective digital estate planning solution for all Indians to protect and preserve their legacies & plan for their future.
Yellow is on a mission to drive the adoption and growth of estate planning solutions in India where properties and family disputes account for 76% of litigation burdening the judiciary. Another alarming statistic that Yellow aims to address is that nearly 1.5 lakh crores lie in unclaimed accounts in India due to a lack of Wills, families being not fully aware of the extent of financial assets held by their loved one who has passed away, incomplete financial planning and non-updation of nominees.
“Protecting and providing for loved ones is a fundamental human instinct, yet many individuals struggle to secure their family’s future due to a lack of knowledge and resources. To address this issue, Yellow has developed a groundbreaking digital Will-making solution that is accessible not just to those with expensive lawyers and wealth management firms, but to everyone. With the vision of making a Will a necessity for every household in India, Yellow is the first Indian-made digital Will-making and Estate planning app that empowers all Indians to plan for their family’s future.” said Niranjan Vemulkar, Co-Founder & CEO of Yellow.
“Given the lack of awareness of the necessity of Wills and Estate Planning, its perceived complexity, and misunderstanding of the Indian Legal system among Indian masses, Yellow provides a unique digital solution that can disrupt a market that has historically been fragmented and unreachable to the masses. We are delighted to invest in Yellow, and back its exceptional founders Niranjan and Nikhil as they make estate planning services more accessible and affordable,” said Abhijeet Pai from Gruhas.
Starting with a Will, estate planning is necessary for every asset owner regardless of net worth. The Yellow app aims to help Indians consolidate all their asset information in one place and pass on their wealth to their family members in a smooth and secure manner. With Yellow, a consumer can create/generate a legally binding will with plans costing as low as INR 5 per day. “A Will is for everyone, not just the wealthy, and estate planning, starting with a Will, is necessary for every Indian, regardless of net worth. By combining technology and legal expertise, we want to provide a simple, secure, and cost-effective solution for all Indians to protect and preserve their legacies,” Niranjan added.
The core team at Yellow brings with them extensive experience in estate planning, investment consulting, wealth management, and digital product development. Designed by Yellow’s legal experts who have 50+ years of combined experience and have protected assets worth INR 42,000 crores for Indian families, a Yellow Will is recognized by Indian courts once signed. Yellow encourages Indians to have important conversations around estate planning, and get vital documents in place while leveraging the convenience of digital solutions, time, and place without having to pay an hourly rate for a professional.
Back in 2022, the legaltech startup had also raised an undisclosed amount in a pre-seed round from institutional and angel investors, Aprameya Radhakrishna, Co-Founder of Koo, Mukund Rao, Co-Founder of Muvin, TT Jagannathan, Chairman of TTK Prestige, Pranav Pai, Founding Partner of 3one4 Capital, and IIFL Wealth, among others.