The link hasn't come through in your post (it just shows as plain text), so this is feedback on the proposition as described plus the things worth checking on the site itself. Happy to look at the pages once the URL is visible.
Does it make sense? Yes, the problem is real and you've described it well. Most people have a vague idea they should sort this out and never do. That's also your biggest challenge: you're selling something people know they need but actively avoid thinking about. The pitch needs to make the first step feel small, not like admin for your own funeral.
One test: can a visitor understand in under ten seconds what they get, what it costs, and how their family actually gets in? If any of those three needs scrolling or clicking, tighten the homepage.
Would people trust it? This is where it will live or die, and the questions a sceptical visitor will ask are predictable:
- Where is the data held, and how is it encrypted? "Bank-level security" means nothing. Say whether it's zero-knowledge (you can't read it), where the servers are (UK/EU matters to people), and whether it's been independently pen-tested.
- How do trusted people get access? Spell out the release process. Death certificate? Named executor confirming? Time-delayed release with a veto? If this is vague, people will assume it's either too easy (a risk while alive) or too hard (useless when it matters).
- What happens if Arca Veritas goes bust? This is the killer question for any legacy service. Someone signing up at 40 expects it to still exist at 85. You need a written answer: data export at any time, a wind-down commitment, escrow arrangement, or similar. Put it in the FAQ, don't bury it in terms.
- Who is behind it? A real name, a real face, a Companies House number in the footer, a UK address, ICO registration number. Anonymous founders and a contact form alone will lose people instantly with something this sensitive.
Would people pay, and what would stop them? The free competition is stronger than many realise. Apple has Legacy Contact, Google has Inactive Account Manager, Facebook has memorialisation, and the big password managers already offer emergency access. Your answer to "why not just use those?" needs to be on the site. The honest answer is probably that they're fragmented and nobody's partner knows they exist, and that the wishes, messages and paperwork side isn't covered at all. Lead with that.
On pricing model: think carefully about monthly subscriptions. If someone stops paying (or dies and the card gets cancelled), what happens to the vault? A lapsed subscription on a legacy product is a nasty failure mode. A one-off or lifetime fee, or an annual plan with a clear grace period and guaranteed release regardless of payment status, will sit much better with the people you're targeting.
Two legal points that need to be very clear on the site:
- Stored "wishes" are not a will. In England and Wales a valid will must be signed and witnessed under the Wills Act; Scotland has its own rules. Say plainly that the platform sits alongside a proper will, not instead of one, or you'll attract complaints and possibly regulatory attention.
- Sharing login credentials for someone to access accounts after death often breaches the platform's terms of service and can put the trusted person in a grey area. You don't need to solve that, but pretending it isn't an issue will make legally aware visitors (solicitors, will writers) distrust the whole thing. Those same people could be your best referral channel.
Things to check on the site itself - Pricing visible without signing up
- A clear "how it works" page with the release process in plain English, ideally a simple diagram
- Privacy policy and terms written for humans, not copied from a template
- A demo or screenshots so people can see the vault before handing over an email address
- Mobile layout checked properly, since a lot of your traffic will come from people reading about this on their phone late at night
- Genuine testimonials once you have them, with names and context rather than initials
One last thought Your conversations with people ("do they know your funeral plans?") are your marketing. That question stops people in their tracks far more than any feature list. Consider building the homepage around three or four of those questions, then showing how the platform answers each one. Pair that with a free starter tier (say, a one-page "where to find things" checklist) that gets people over the emotional hurdle, and upgrade them once they've started.
Post the working URL and a few people here will happily pull the actual pages apart for you.
