March 2019

Page B4 MARCH 2019 FUNERAL HOME & CEMETERY NEWS S ec t i on (800) 4-HEARSE FuneralVan.com 4 more info visit: Six Feet Under (2005) Kent continued, “The most popular choice was shroud burial - but at that time all shrouds were reli- gious so we used plain cloth, sheets and quilts (which were a nightmare to prepare, transport to graveside and hard to lower.) As a designer I saw exactly what was need- ed and designed a proto- type “shroud product” that had leakage protection and could be easily wrapped, carried and lowered.” Kent launched Kinkara- co ® green funeral products online in February 2005. That summer the produc- tion of Six Feet Under con- tacted her to purchase her “shroud product” for the green burial episode of Six Feet Under and hired her as the green burial expert on the set. In 2008 BusinessWeek magazine called Kinkaraco for an interview entitled: “Entrepreneurs Re-invent the Funeral Industry” and Esmerelda was named as one of the four entrepre- neurs included. That same year the recession hit. “I found myself trying to sell a product to funer- al homes for a funeral ser- vice few professionals knew about and to the public on- line who didn’t even want to know! It was pretty tough but I had faith in the prod- uct and the green burial op- tion and knew if I could be patient it would become a popular funeral choice for my boomer generation,” said Kent. That was 14 years ago. Currently, Kinkaraco has a solid and constantly grow- ing customer base of faithful family owned funeral homes and green cemetery resellers all over the United States as well as a busy retail website to families selling American made 100 percent biode- gradable shrouds for green burial, cremation, Pacific- Sea Burial™ shrouds as well as her handmade Victorian repro Kinkara-Kart™ pro- cessional cemetery transport vehicles. “I am eternally grate- ful for this work, for the families and the meaning it has given my life,” said Kent. To learn more visit www.kinkaraco.com . KINKARACO ® Green Funeral Products Celebrates 14 Years Continued from Page B1 DETROIT,MI— Everdays, the so- cial platform that builds communi- ties around milestone life events, has announced the close of its Series A funding round, bringing its valua- tion to nearly $100 million in just 20 months since launch. The $12 million raise, led by Hous- ton-based Gordy Companies, qua- druples Everdays’ valuation from its seed round in 2017, validating its re- freshingly modern approach to facili- tating communication around death. The company plans to at least double its team of 30 over the next 12 months, hiring aggressively in all areas including marketing and product development. Everdays has enabled a dramatic ex- pansion in the community and con- tent generated around end-of-life events, capturing a large, proprietary audience and creating a market where none previously existed. With over 1,000 funeral homes using its cloud- based SaaS dashboard, and 1.8 million families and friends connected on its platform in under two years, Everdays is on pace to capture ten percent of the 2.7 million yearly deaths in the United States within the next three years. And, with an un-served audience of 100 million people in the United States ages 55 and up, demand for the offering was so strong that com- petitive bidding drove the valuation far past Everdays’ founder and CEO Mark Alhermizi’s expectations. This allowed Everdays the luxury of pass- ing on traditional venture capital in favor of high-networth family invest- ment offices. “Today, the support a family receives during these critical times is small, short-lived and painfully analog,” Al- hermizi said. “It’s what I experienced when my dad passed away a few years ago. It was such a hard and debilitating time, and there was no technology to guide or support the process to make it easier, for me or the community of family and friends who wanted to sup- port me. Everdays is solving that prob- lem and destigmatizing conversations around death, helping people feel more comfortable by offering the right kind of support when it’s needed most.” As both a web and mobile plat- form that builds a social community around a family before, during and long after a death, Everdays delivers on modern consumer expectations by infusing technology into an oth- erwise traditional industry that has not kept pace with contemporary mobile experiences. Families use the app to create an Everdays Announce- ment where community, dialogue, events, content and commerce con- verge to provide support during hos- pice care or when a loved one passes. “We aren’t just pouring funds into a better invention,” said Rus- sell Gordy , CEO of Gordy Compa- nies, one of two multi-billion dollar family investment funds that led the round. “We’re fueling the innovation of an entirely new concept and tap- ping a latent market just like Uber and Airbnb did. Everdays is giving the millions of baby boomers and their tech savvy children a long over- due way to celebrate life through powerful technology.” Everdays is the largest and fastest- growing social platform for building communities around milestone life events. Everdays provides free memo- rial announcements and keeps users up-to-date about deaths in their life’s network, enabling them to share mem- ories, events and condolences when loved ones need it most. The platform uses artificial intelligence to connect us- ers based on details about their home- town, high school, military service and funeral homes in their community to deliver automatic announcements, en- suring users never miss a relevant pass- ing from their life’s network again. The Everdays app is available on both iOS and Android. To learn more, visit www.everdays.com. Everdays raises $12M in Series A, nears $100M Valuation by Bringing Modern Approach to end-of-life Communication CEO and founder Mark Alhermizi with his father The Everdays Platform Johnson Consulting Group Promotes Nelson Thulin to its Leadership Team SCOTTSDALE,AZ— Johnson Consulting Group is ex- cited to announce that Nelson Thulin has been promot- ed to their leadership team as director of business con- sulting services. Thulin has been with JCG since March, 2017, and in that time has quickly gained the respect Nelson Thulin of his colleagues and cli- ents. President and CEO Jake Johnson states that, “Nelson’s rich background of multi-location manage- ment expertise and ability to connect with all levels of the organization will serve him well in his new role as JCG continues to grow.” Thulin brings over thir- ty years of experience to the position. He got his start in the funeral indus- try working for a small family-owned business, and then transitioned to independent ownership and corporate leadership posi- tions managing both large and small markets. In his new position as director of business consulting ser- vices, Thulin will continue to work with diverse clientele, overseeing the wide variety of services that JCG provides. He’s also hoping to develop further services and capacity at JCG. He succeeds Greg Hilgendorf, founder of the busi- ness consulting services at JCG. Greg stated, “Nelson has proven to be an extraordinary consultant delivering results and building close, trusted relationships with his clients. His new leadership role will enable him to have an even greater impact on the continued growth of JCG.” Greg will continue as a senior business consultant, providing vi- tal insight into the complexities of providing research and analysis at all levels and within all facets of funeral service. Thulin is enthused about this new opportunity with JCG, stating, “It is very gratifying to be part of the John- son Consulting Group team and witness our ability to provide the experience and expertise to support funeral home and cemetery owners make the best decisions for their businesses, so their businesses can provide support and comfort to the communities they serve.” Senior vice president of operations Jeff Casey summed up the feelings of the leadership team: “Nelson Thulin has demonstrated a true commitment to partnering with the Clients of JCG. His work ethic demonstrated on a daily basis is unparalleled.” Johnson Consulting Group is committed to providing intelligent business solutions that address operational and financial needs within funeral homes and cemeteries. By creating personalized partnerships with these profession- als to streamline their systems and processes, it allows them to save time and focus on what matters. Our solu- tions include business brokerage and valuations, technol- ogy, employee growth and incentive programs, financial management and accounting services, loans, professional consulting and coaching, online training, and much more. For more information about the Johnson Consulting Group email info@johnsonconsulting.com or visit www. johnsonconsulting.com. Interested parties can reach Nel- son Thulin in his new capacity as director of business consulting services at nthulin@johnsonconsulting.com. FUNE RAL HOME & C EME T E RY NEWS www.nomispublications.com