– Yellow, a LegalTech startup, aims to offer a secure and cost-effective solution to safeguard and preserve the legacies of all Indians.
16th March 2023, Bengaluru: A startup called Yellow, founded by Wharton and Stanford alumni Niranjan Vemulkar and Nikhil Varghese in September 2021, has recently secured an undisclosed amount of Seed funding from Gruhas. The LegalTech company aims to offer a secure and cost-effective digital estate planning solution to all Indians to safeguard and plan for their legacies and futures.
Yellow’s goal is to promote the adoption and expansion of estate planning solutions in India, where 76% of litigation is related to property and family disputes. Yellow also seeks to tackle the worrying statistic that almost 1.5 lakh crores are held in unclaimed accounts in India due to factors such as a lack of wills, incomplete financial planning, families being unaware of the full extent of their loved ones’ financial assets, and failure to update 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.
Yellow’s core team boasts extensive experience in investment consulting, wealth management, digital product development, and estate planning. The LegalTech startup’s legal experts have a combined experience of over 50 years and have safeguarded assets worth INR 42,000 crores for Indian families. Once signed, a Yellow Will is recognized by Indian courts. Yellow aims to encourage crucial conversations about estate planning among Indians and provide them with convenient digital solutions that do not require paying an hourly rate for a professional.
In 2022, the startup secured an undisclosed amount in a pre-seed round from institutional and angel investors, including 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.