Product Roadmap · v1.0 · April 2026
Settle
Guided estate administration for grieving families.
Market Opportunity
Why this problem is worth solving at scale
1.86M
Estates requiring settlement annually in the US
$15.77B
Total addressable market, growing 11.2%/yr
570–600h
Average executor hours per estate (EstateExec)
16 mo
Average time to settle an estate
150+
Distinct steps in the executor process
$12,616
Avg. family out-of-pocket cost (Empathy 2024)
The core insight: Every one of the 1.86M estates settled each year requires a grieving person to complete 150+ bureaucratic steps — across government agencies, financial institutions, insurance carriers, and utilities — with no training, no guide, and while managing acute grief. Settle replaces $3,500–$7,000 in attorney fees for straightforward estates and eliminates the 570-hour executor burden with a guided, compassionate workflow.
North Star Metrics
The five measures that define product health and mission success
Estates Guided
Target: 2,000 by Mo 12 → 20,000 by Mo 36
Primary volume metric. Every estate guided is a family served. Drives all downstream revenue and impact measures.
Hours Saved / Estate
Target: 100h saved (Mo 6) → 400h+ (Mo 36)
Tracks how much of the 570h burden Settle actually eliminates. Increases as automation depth grows across phases.
Benefits Discovered ($)
Target: $2,000 avg. per estate at Mo 12
Unclaimed life insurance, pension benefits, and government entitlements surfaced by benefit discovery scan. Justifies paid tier instantly.
Executor NPS
Target: ≥70 NPS throughout
Word-of-mouth is the most powerful channel in grief-adjacent markets. NPS ≥70 signals product-market fit and fuels organic growth.
Time to First Task
Target: <10 min from signup
Activation metric. Families in grief need to feel momentum immediately. Sub-10-minute time-to-value is a hard product requirement, not an aspiration.
Competitive Landscape
Where Settle fits and why the gap exists
| Company | Funding | Model | Distribution | Key Gap | Settle Advantage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Empathy | $162M | B2B insurance benefit | Life insurance carriers | Only available if family holds policy with partner carrier. No direct access. | Direct access No carrier lock-in |
| Atticus | $107M | Attorney lead-gen | SEO + attorney network | Guidance only — points users to attorneys rather than completing tasks. Monetizes referral, not resolution. | Full execution Task completion, not referral |
| Elayne | $500K | Guided software | Direct | Very early stage, limited state coverage, limited task automation. | Scale + depth 10-state DB at launch |
| DIY / Attorney | — | Status quo | Word of mouth | Costs $3,500–$60,000+. Takes 16 months. Executor bears full cognitive load. | 10–30x cheaper Guided, not abandoned |
| Settle | Seed | Freemium + insurance + commission | Funeral homes, hospice, SEO, insurance | — | Full-stack guidance Any family, any carrier |
Strategic positioning: Empathy owns the insurance channel but is locked behind carriers. Atticus owns SEO but monetizes referral. Neither owns the direct executor relationship end-to-end. Settle's beachhead is direct-to-consumer at the moment of death, with institutional partnerships as the growth layer, not the entry point.
Revenue Model
Four layered streams that compound as scale grows
Tier 1 · Months 4+
Free Tier
$0
Personalized task list, call scripts, deadlines, and basic document checklist. Drives top-of-funnel and word-of-mouth. Competes directly with DIY status quo.
Tier 2 · Months 4+
Per-Estate Paid
$199–$499
Notification service (letters sent on behalf of estate), document vault and management, benefit discovery scan, AI assistant, progress tracking. One-time fee per estate.
Tier 3 · Months 13+
Insurance Partnership
Per-referral fee
Insurance carriers pay per estate guided to their bereavement services. Pilot with 1–2 carriers in Phase 3. Mirrors Empathy's model but without exclusivity constraint.
Tier 4 · Months 13+
Benefit Recovery Commission
% of recovered value
Commission on unclaimed benefits (life insurance, pension, government entitlements) surfaced by Settle's discovery scan. Aligns incentives: Settle wins when families win.
MRR trajectory: $0 (Mo 6, beta) → ~$15K MRR (Mo 12, 200 paid estates/mo) → $50K MRR (Mo 18) → $200K MRR (Mo 24) → $1M+ ARR (Mo 36)
Distribution Channels
Reaching families at the moment they need help most
Insurance Claim Moment
Phase 3+ · B2B2C
Life insurance carriers surface Settle as a benefit at time of claim filing. Highest-intent moment. Carrier pays per referral. Empathy's channel — but without exclusivity.
Funeral Homes
Phase 2+ · Partnerships
Funeral directors hand families a QR code or tablet during arrangements. Natural moment of need. Pilot in 3 metros in Phase 2. Revenue share or referral fee model.
Hospice Organizations
Phase 4+ · National
Hospice social workers introduce Settle to families during active caregiving, before death. Pre-death planning integration. Highest lifetime value — families plan ahead.
Organic SEO
Phase 1+ · Content
Long-tail content targeting "how to notify [institution] after death," "executor checklist," "close [bank] account after death." Atticus's primary channel — replicable with better destination.
Employer Benefits
Phase 4+ · B2B
HR departments add Settle to employee benefit packages (bereavement support). Volume channel with recurring annual contract. Similar to Empathy's employer distribution.
Attorney Network
Phase 3+ · Escalation
Attorneys refer complex estates to Settle for administrative work. Settle refers cases requiring legal representation back to attorneys. Mutual benefit, not competition.
36-Month Milestones
Key gates from foundation to national platform
P0
10-state task DB
P1
200 beta users
P2
2,000 users, 25 states
P3
$50K MRR, insurance pilot
P4
50 states, $200K MRR
P5
$1M+ ARR, full automation
| Milestone | Phase | Month | Owner | Gate Criteria |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Task DB live — 10 states | P0 | Mo 3 | Product + Legal | 60% of US deaths covered; peer-reviewed for accuracy |
| MVP shipped | P1 | Mo 4 | Engineering | Free + paid tier live; <10 min time-to-first-task |
| 200 beta users | P1 | Mo 6 | Growth | 200 active estates; NPS ≥70; 3 funeral home pilots |
| 25-state coverage | P2 | Mo 9 | Product | Task DB validated for 25 states; state variation QA complete |
| 2,000 users + AI assistant | P2 | Mo 12 | Product + Eng | AI assistant beta live; benefit discovery scan shipped |
| Insurance pilot launch | P3 | Mo 15 | Partnerships | 1–2 carrier pilots signed; first partnership revenue received |
| $50K MRR | P3 | Mo 18 | Revenue | Blended across per-estate + partnership + commission streams |
| 50-state + Series A | P4 | Mo 24 | CEO + Finance | Full national coverage; $200K MRR; Series A closed |
| $1M+ ARR | P5 | Mo 36 | All teams | Tier 1 automation live; pre-death planning in beta |
Phase-by-Phase Roadmap
Detailed build plan across all 6 phases
Phase 0
Foundation
Months 1–3
"Build the rails before you run the train."
Deliverables
- Task database for 10 states covering 60% of US deaths
- Institutional requirements database (banks, SSA, IRS, utilities, carriers)
- Guided intake flow — interview, not form
- Core data schema (estate, decedent, executor, task, institution)
- Legal review: UPL boundaries per state, content disclaimers
- Design system and component library
- Privacy + security architecture (HIPAA-adjacent, PII handling)
Not in scope
- Payment processing
- AI/ML features
- Institutional integrations (API calls to banks, SSA)
- User accounts (intake is stateless in P0)
- Mobile app
Gate: Task DB peer-reviewed for legal accuracy in all 10 states. Intake flow tested with 10 executor volunteers.
10 states live
60% US death coverage
150+ tasks catalogued
Legal review complete
Phase 1
MVP Launch
Months 4–6
"Ship a real product to real families in grief. Learn what matters."
Deliverables
- Free tier: personalized task list + call scripts + deadlines
- Paid tier ($199/estate): notification letters + document vault
- User accounts + estate state persistence
- Payment processing (Stripe)
- Daily Three dashboard (3 tasks/day, grief-paced)
- 200 beta users (target)
- SEO content pipeline launched (50 target articles)
- 3 funeral home pilots in 1 metro
Success criteria
- Time to first task <10 min from signup
- NPS ≥70 from beta cohort
- 20%+ free-to-paid conversion among engaged users
- 0 UPL complaints or regulatory flags
- Funeral home pilot: ≥5 referrals/month per location
Gate: 200 active beta estates, NPS ≥70, paid tier generating first revenue.
200 beta users
$199/estate paid tier
3 funeral home pilots
First MRR
Phase 2
First Year Growth
Months 7–12
"Expand coverage. Deepen value. Prove the product works at scale."
Deliverables
- State expansion: 10 → 25 states (80%+ of US deaths)
- Benefit discovery scan (life insurance, pension, SSA benefits)
- AI assistant beta (natural language task Q&A)
- Funeral home partnerships: 3 metros → 10 metros
- SEO content library: 200+ targeted articles
- Mobile-optimized web (PWA)
- $499/estate premium tier (AI + benefit scan + dedicated support)
- Referral program for executors
Success criteria
- 2,000 total estates guided by Mo 12
- Avg. benefits discovered: ≥$2,000/estate
- Funeral home channel: ≥20% of new user acquisition
- AI assistant: ≥4.0/5.0 helpfulness rating
- ≥$15K MRR by end of phase
Gate: 2,000 estates guided, benefit discovery live and generating measurable user ROI.
2,000 estates
25 states
AI assistant live
~$15K MRR
Phase 3
Monetize & Partner
Months 13–18
"Turn distribution relationships into revenue streams."
Deliverables
- Insurance company pilot: 1–2 carriers (B2B partnership)
- Attorney escalation network (refer complex estates, receive admin referrals)
- Long-tail estate monitoring (ongoing tasks: annual tax filings, asset transfers)
- Employer benefit package pilot (3–5 mid-size employers)
- White-label option for insurance carrier portals
- Full document automation: auto-populated notification letters
- Benefit recovery commission infrastructure
Success criteria
- $50K MRR by Mo 18
- 1–2 insurance carrier contracts signed
- Attorney network: 50+ participating firms
- Benefit recovery commission: ≥$500K recovered for users
- Employer pilot: ≥2 companies renew
Gate: $50K MRR, at least one insurance carrier contract live, benefit commission flowing.
$50K MRR
1–2 carrier pilots
50+ attorney firms
Employer pilots
Phase 4
Scale
Months 19–24
"50 states. National partnerships. Series A fuel."
Deliverables
- 50-state coverage (full national task + institutional DB)
- Employer benefit programs: national rollout
- Hospice partnerships: national network (100+ organizations)
- Direct API integrations with Tier 1 institutions (SSA, major banks)
- Enterprise dashboard for funeral home chains
- Series A fundraise ($5–10M target)
- Team scaling: engineering, partnerships, customer success
Success criteria
- $200K MRR by Mo 24
- 50 states live with validated task DBs
- Series A closed
- 10,000+ total estates guided
- Hospice channel: ≥10% of new acquisition
Gate: $200K MRR, 50-state coverage validated, Series A closed.
$200K MRR
50 states
Series A
10,000+ estates
Phase 5
National Platform
Months 25–36
"From product to platform. Automate the hard parts. Plan for what's coming."
Deliverables
- Tier 1 full automation: notifications sent on behalf of estate via direct institution integrations
- Pre-death planning features (vault, letter of instruction, digital asset inventory)
- Cross-border support (Canada, UK — jurisdictions with similar estate frameworks)
- Platform API for third-party integrations (estate attorneys, trust software)
- Advanced AI: document generation, form auto-fill, predictive task ordering
- Estate planning product line (wills, trusts referral / light guidance)
Success criteria
- $1M+ ARR by Mo 36
- 20,000+ total estates guided
- 400+ hours saved per estate (automation-driven)
- Pre-death planning: 5,000+ active pre-planners
- Cross-border: Canada + UK beta live
- Net Revenue Retention ≥110% (upsell + monitoring fees)
Gate: $1M+ ARR, Tier 1 automation live, pre-death planning in market.
$1M+ ARR
20,000+ estates
400h+ saved
Pre-death planning
Cross-border
Swimlane View
Work streams across all phases — who is building what, when
| Work Stream | P0 Mo 1–3 |
P1 Mo 4–6 |
P2 Mo 7–12 |
P3 Mo 13–18 |
P4 Mo 19–24 |
P5 Mo 25–36 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Product & Engineering | Task DB (10 states)Intake flowData schema | Free tier MVPPaid tier + StripeUser accounts | 25-state expansionAI assistant betaPWA / mobile | Full doc automationLong-tail monitoringWhite-label API | 50-state coverageInstitution API integrationsEnterprise dashboard | Tier 1 automationPlatform APIAdvanced AI / doc gen |
| Legal & Compliance | UPL boundary reviewDisclaimers draftedPrivacy architecture | UPL monitoring liveTOS + Privacy Policy | 25-state UPL auditAI content review | Insurance carrier legalCommission licensing | 50-state complianceAPI partner agreements | Cross-border legal (CA, UK)Estate planning scope review |
| Growth & Marketing | Brand + positioningBeta user recruitment | SEO content (50 articles)Funeral home 3 pilotsBeta user program | SEO 200+ articles10-metro funeral homesReferral program | Employer pilots (3–5)Attorney network launchJan/Oct content surge | National hospice outreachEmployer benefits nationalSeries A narrative | Platform ecosystem marketingPre-death planning launchCross-border expansion PR |
| Partnerships | Identify funeral home targets | 3 funeral home pilotsLegal referral conversations | 10-metro funeral homesInsurance carrier introductions | Insurance pilot (1–2 carriers)Attorney escalation networkEmployer pilots | Hospice national (100+ orgs)Employer benefits rolloutCarrier expansion | Platform partner API programInternational distribution |
| Revenue | Pricing research | Paid tier $199 liveFirst MRR | Premium $499 tier~$15K MRR target | Insurance partnership feesBenefit recovery commission$50K MRR | Employer contracts$200K MRRSeries A | Platform API licensing$1M+ ARRNRR ≥110% |
| Data & Content | Institution DB (10 states)Task library (150+ tasks) | SEO content pipelineCall script library | 25-state institution DBBenefit discovery DB200+ SEO articles | Long-tail monitoring DBCommission eligibility DB | 50-state institution DBAPI data partnerships | International DB (CA, UK)AI training corpus |
Risk Register
Key risks, severity, and mitigation strategies
| Risk | Category | Severity | Probability | Impact | Mitigation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Unauthorized Practice of Law (UPL) liability | Legal | High | Medium | Product shutdown, regulatory fines, state AG action | Explicitly disclaim legal advice. Never advise on legal strategy — only on administrative process. Per-state UPL audit before each state launch. Attorney review of all task language. Monitor state bar opinions on legal tech. |
| Grief-sensitive marketing backlash | Brand/Ethics | High | Medium | Reputational damage, press coverage, user churn, viral negative sentiment | Establish a Grief Advisory Board (grief counselors, hospice social workers) who review all marketing copy. Never use urgency, scarcity, or fear tactics. Avoid acquisition advertising in the first 12 months — rely on earned channels. Institute a "30-day grief window" policy: no promotional email within 30 days of signup. |
| State variation in estate law complexity | Product | Medium | High | Incorrect task guidance, legal exposure, user confusion, poor NPS | Start with 10 highest-volume states (CA, TX, FL, NY, PA, OH, IL, GA, NC, MI). Build state-variation framework into data schema from Day 1. Each state expansion requires legal peer review before launch. Community of estate attorneys as paid reviewers. |
| Competitor response from Empathy | Competitive | Medium | Medium | Empathy launches direct-to-consumer tier, undercuts on price, leverages $162M war chest for SEO and funeral home channel | Move fast on funeral home and hospice channel before Empathy invests. Win on depth (task completion vs. guidance) and price ($199 vs. Empathy's implicit $0 carrier-bundled model). Build the attorney escalation network as a moat Empathy cannot easily replicate. Maintain 12-month product roadmap lead in automation depth. |
| Benefit discovery legal exposure | Legal | Medium | Low–Medium | Commission model triggers state insurance or financial advisor licensing requirements | Legal review of commission model per state before launch. Structure as referral fee, not commission on financial product. Consult insurance licensing attorneys in Phase 2 before Phase 3 launch. Consider partnering with licensed intermediary rather than holding license directly. |
| Data breach / PII exposure | Security | High | Low | Catastrophic trust damage in a trust-dependent product. Regulatory fines (CCPA, state breach laws). Possible product-ending event. | Security-first architecture from Day 1. Encrypt all PII at rest and in transit. Annual third-party security audit. Bug bounty program from Phase 1. Minimize PII retention — delete after estate closure window. Cyber insurance from Phase 1. |
| Institutional non-cooperation | Operations | Low | Medium | Banks/agencies reject Settle-prepared notification letters, requiring more executor effort than DIY | Letters are formatted to exactly match each institution's documented requirements. Include executor signature and authenticated estate documentation. Test with real estates in beta before scaling. Track rejection rate by institution — escalate persistent rejections to institution's ombudsman or CFPB. |
Investment Requirements
Estimated capital needs by phase and category
Funding strategy: Phases 0–2 on seed capital (~$1.5M). Phases 3–4 on Series A ($5–10M) raised at the $50K MRR inflection. Phase 5 on revenue or Series B depending on growth rate at Mo 24.
| Category | P0 (Mo 1–3) | P1 (Mo 4–6) | P2 (Mo 7–12) | P3 (Mo 13–18) | P4 (Mo 19–24) | P5 (Mo 25–36) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Engineering | $90K | $120K | $240K | $300K | $480K | $1.2M |
| Product & Design | $30K | $45K | $90K | $90K | $120K | $240K |
| Legal & Compliance | $40K | $20K | $60K | $80K | $100K | $150K |
| Content & Data | $30K | $25K | $80K | $60K | $80K | $120K |
| Marketing & Growth | $10K | $30K | $80K | $120K | $200K | $400K |
| Partnerships | $5K | $15K | $40K | $80K | $150K | $200K |
| Infrastructure & Security | $10K | $10K | $20K | $30K | $50K | $100K |
| Ops & G&A | $10K | $15K | $30K | $40K | $60K | $120K |
| Phase Total | ~$225K | ~$280K | ~$640K | ~$800K | ~$1.24M | ~$2.53M |
| Cumulative | $225K | $505K | $1.15M | $1.95M | $3.19M | $5.72M |
Estimates assume lean founding team in P0–P1 (2–3 people), growing to 8–10 by Mo 12 and 25–30 by Mo 24. Phase 4 and 5 costs assume Series A capital. Revenue offsets costs from Phase 2 onward — net burn is materially lower than gross spend shown above.
Demand & Marketing Seasonality
Year-round product need, seasonal marketing windows
Key principle: Settle has no seasonal pattern in product demand — people die year-round at a near-constant rate. However, marketing has two annual windows where content and campaigns achieve outsized reach: January (New Year resolution season for estate planning awareness) and October (National Estate Planning Awareness Month). These windows are for awareness marketing and SEO, not for product demand generation.
MARKETING INTENSITY BY MONTH (relative)
Peak marketing window
Elevated content output
Steady-state
| Window | Timing | Rationale | Tactics |
|---|---|---|---|
| New Year / Estate Planning | Jan 1–31 | Highest search intent for estate planning content. People making resolutions to "get their affairs in order." Executor content reaches people who may be in active administration. | Publish 10–15 high-intent SEO articles. Funeral home partner newsletter push. PR pitch on estate administration burden data. Social content targeting adult children of aging parents. |
| Tax Season Overlap | Apr–May | Estate tax filings due. Executors realizing their estate is more complex than expected. High pain moment for active estates. | Content targeting "estate income tax return," "Form 1041 executor," "final tax return after death." Upgrade prompts for active estates. CPA partnership conversations. |
| Estate Planning Awareness Month | Oct 1–31 | National Estate Planning Awareness Month. Media, financial advisors, and attorney associations publish content. High organic reach for estate-adjacent content. Hospice awareness co-marketing opportunities. | Major content push. Partnership announcements. PR on Settle's impact data (hours saved, benefits discovered). Employer benefit program sales push. Insurance carrier outreach. |
| Holiday / End of Year | Nov–Dec | Families gather; loss and estate paperwork are top of mind for many. Year-end deadline urgency for estate tasks (tax elections, benefit claims). | Gentle reminder content for in-progress estates. Year-end task deadline notifications for active users. Thoughtful, non-promotional tone — serve existing users first. |
Marketing ethics constraint: Settle must never exploit acute grief for acquisition. All outbound marketing targets pre-need awareness, estate planning consideration, or professional partners — not families in the first 30 days of loss. The product finds users when they need it (SEO, funeral home referral, hospice). Paid acquisition targeting grieving families directly is prohibited as a standing policy.