Helping people grieve with an online memory book
The death of two close family members sparked an idea that created a growing business and looks set to offer funeral directors an invaluable product.
Anthony McKenna and Nathan Wilkinson started on their journey with Rememory in 2014 while business marketing students at Ulster University. The idea stemmed from personal experiences. After Anthony’s uncle passed away, he heard stories about him during the time of the funeral that he never would have heard had he not been in conversation with certain people. Nathan also had similar experiences around the time his granddad passed away. It also become apparent to the pair that a headstone can only say so much about a person and never gives the full story. It was as part of a final year project that they started Rememory. Now, as graduates, Anthony and Nathan are continuing this journey.
Anthony said: “The Rememory idea was to give family members a safe, secure and private digital place to grieve and share stories together from across the world. A place that is not widely accessible and ad heavy like Facebook. In an ever growing digital world people are becoming increasingly connected, but in death that sense of community just does not yet exist.”
Rememory formed a non-executive board of Directors in 2015 and currently comprises of David Capper (Elwood and Capper, Dunmurry Belfast) and Philip Bain (Shredbank). Critical market research was also gathered from industry experts, such as Colm Kieran
of the IAFD.
Anthony added: “We are determined to not only speak to the right people but to do anything it takes to deliver a quality service that clients will be able to use efficiently, and ultimately to help lessen the pain of the grievance process.
“Rememory is a solution which requires little knowledge of technology and is designed for use by the widest age and ability ranges. Rememory was started to enable families to gel together stories, pictures and videos that capture what made their loved one who they were. It has become a space for overseas relatives to be able to contribute and connect if they can’t make it home for the funeral.
It has also become a gift from family members to an elderly person by way of a memory book.”
Every client who signs up gets a personal profile page, a physical welcome pack including a ‘how to’ of the internet and social media and also the option to download a memory book once the page has been populated.
Anthony explained: “Funeral directors are busy people but the beauty about Rememory is that funeral directors who partner with us will be able to provide a modern service for their clients without having a technological know-how themselves. We have a dedicated customer service line to take any and all questions clients may have adding to the quality of service that Rememory want to provide.”
Rememory wants to treat funeral directors as real partners in helping it grow, and offers a unique commission structure which reflects that ethos.
Rememory launched on 29 February, and is initially running test sales for a period of six weeks to ensure the most user-friendly experience possible before an official launch.