Funerals startup Bare raises $10 million Series A

Western Australian funeral industry challenger brand Bare has raised $10 million in a Series A.

The round was led by Perennial Partners and Ord Minnett Private Capital. The company, previously known as Bare Cremation counts OIF Ventures, Athletic Ventures, Who Gives A Crap founder Simon Griffiths and former basketballer Andrew Bogut among its backers and has now raised $15 million since launching in 2019.

The capital injection will be used to support investments in new digital products and physical infrastructure.

More than 15,000 Australian families have now used Bare since its launch, and the business has now expanded from its initial cremation offering to include funeral services, memorial celebrations, and legal support.

Co-founder Cale Donovan said Bare’s success is due to challenging the traditions around how funerals looked.

“The services themselves haven’t really evolved to meet the needs of the modern consumer. This has led people to choose from what they know a funeral to be, rather than getting what they want,” he said.

“The funeral sector is akin to the retail sector 20 years ago. Bare is the natural evolution in deathcare that places increased choice, personalised support and technology at the forefront. Being customer-led, and digitally enabled, allows us to build an end-of-life experience that is seamless, supportive and affordable. When you are able to provide people the right services, at the right time — the impact is profound.”

Perennial Private senior investment and legal principal James McQueen said Donovan and his co-founder Sam McConkey have developed a compelling offering in a complex market where decisions are typically made in high stress times.

“On top of securing strong revenue and market share, they’ve built a business with an unparalleled commitment to the people they support,” he said.

“Bare represents a particularly exciting opportunity for Perennial. They are a high growth company in a defensive industry. They have a clear path to becoming a dominant company in the deathcare space and their commitment to unparalleled customer experiences is truly unique. To the better of society, they’ve changed the game in a space that’s been ripe for disruption for years.”

Who Gives A Crap founder Simon Griffiths said the business was focused on social good.

“The best founders are the ones that can pick something up, run with it and do the things that you never thought were possible — that’s what I’ve seen time and time again with Sam and Cale,” he said.

“They manage to delicately balance integrity with opportunity to the benefit of their customers.”