When Donnell Beverly Jr. decided to launch end-of-life planning startup Eazewell after the loss of both of his parents, he knew exactly who to call to help launch the business: longtime friend, and nine-time NBA All Star, Russell Westbrook.
“The main thesis with Russ across every business that he touches is how do we impact people?” Beverly Jr. [pictured above] told TechCrunch. “He’s been very vocal about that throughout his career. I always say we really took personal pain and then created a platform to really help people.”
Westbrook was in. Former four-time NBA All Star Kemba Walker also joined and the trio launched Eazewell.
Eazewell is an AI-driven platform that helps families navigate and automate the administrative aspects of end-of-life and funeral planning. The startup’s AI agent gives people a 24-hour, 7-day-a-week resource and helps users with everything from finding and booking a funeral home to cancelling credit card accounts for a deceased person.
The company partners with different service providers, like hospice care, funeral homes, and various insurance companies, which allows the platform to be free to use with the option of paying for more premium features.
“I had an opportunity to be able to be close with his family and go through the process with [Beverly Jr.],” Westbrook told TechCrunch. “He’s done an amazing job of idealizing this idea and bringing it to life. I’m excited to kind of be partner with him alongside him on this.”
Beverly Jr. said he got the idea for Eazewell after losing both of his parents in a short period of time. Navigating what came after their deaths made him realize how large of a burden the end-of-life process can be — and how fragmented the market of these services is.
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He added that seeing the recent advancements in AI made him realize the technology could be used to help reduce the number of administrative tasks grieving families need to tackle following a death.
“We’ve seen how AI has impacted our lives while we’re here, but you know now we’re entering a space where it’s impacting our lives after death,” Beverly Jr. said.
Eazewell was founded in 2024. The company said it has been able to help more than 100,000 families since its launched its platform earlier this year.
Now, Eazewell is rolling out a new enterprise platform for hospice companies, senior living facilities and life insurers. This allows companies to fold Eazewell’s automated features into their own management software.
In the future, Eazwell hopes to help people manage a loved one’s digital assets after they pass, a task that has become a bigger undertaking as people’s lives are increasingly online.
“The average person has anywhere between 70 and 100 digital accounts that are active at any time,” Beverly Jr. said. “Your family is inheriting all those digital accounts and those digital assets as well. And that’s not typical. We’re stepping into a new kind of realm within that. When we look at the whole landscape, we see a grand opportunity to not only help people but just make it a lot more seamless.”
For Westbrook, Eazewell offers the perfect opportunity to go into business with a decades-long friend while also being able to use his platform to amplify a business that can help people — especially those from underserved and under-resourced communities — navigate this painful and costly experience.
“Anytime I put my name on anything, I try to find ways to open doors, build trust, find ways to play a big role in it and be present because I think that’s important,” Westbrook said. “And this isn’t about me or being super technical by any means, but it’s more importantly about families finding ways to be able to help them through a loss. And for me, using my platform to be able to do that is a no-brainer.”
Source: techcrunch.com
