Entrepreneur hopes app eases burden when a loved one dies

Navigation for News Categories

Melissa Davies with her late father, Grant.
Photo: Supplied

A Christchurch entrepreneur is hoping her new online application will help ease some of the burden on people dealing with the death of a loved one.

Melissa Davies’ platform – called Holdmine – is a “digital safe” that allows users to securely store personal information, such as wills, funeral plans, lawyers’ contacts and even passwords for online accounts like Netflix.

The information could then be shared with trusted contacts, which would help ease some of the responsibility during difficult times.

Davies said the idea came through her own experience of dealing with the sudden death of her father in 2014, following a heart attack.

She was named executor of her father’s estate.

“At the time, I’d been working in Wellington and I had moved to Queenstown to work for a blockchain start-up.

“So I was kind of immersed in the world of technology and I kept thinking that this is a really challenging situation for anybody.”

Davies said it was the “hardest thing” she had ever dealt with, and believed the situation would be even harder for those dealing with other family or work pressures on top.

Holdmine officially launched its web app in 2022 and its mobile app was introduced at the end of last year.

Davies said the company was focused on protecting user privacy.

“You sign up with your phone number and e-mail address and that’s the only information Holdmine can see about you.

“Data sovereignty is really important – so making sure we don’t see or touch user data, and we certainly don’t sell it.”

Once signed up, users could upload a variety of important files and notes and then choose who would be able to access the data, she said.

“For example, if you did have a copy of a will, and you wanted to share that with the people you have asked [or named] to be the executor of the estate – as my Dad did – the intention is you would then invite them to view that information within Holdmine.”

As documents were updated, those with access would be able to view the latest version.

Davies also hoped Holdmine would help raise awareness about the importance of having a will.

Research from Public Trust showed only half of New Zealanders over the age of 18 had a will in place.

Davies said there was also a lot of potential for Holdmine to partner with other companies, such as legal firms or funeral homes.

She said the service was available within New Zealand, Australia and the United Kingdom.