Stripe Alum Secures $9M Series A for Funeral Tech Startup
Sam Gerstenzang, a Stripe alumnus, co-founded Meadow Memorials with Emma Gilsanz in January 2024 and raised a $9 million Series A funding round led by Lachy Groom and Haystack, following a $2 million seed round earlier in 2024, according to Crunchbase News.
Company Origins and Founders’ Experience
Gerstenzang drew from his personal experience of arranging his grandfather’s funeral, where families faced ambiguous pricing and overwhelming logistics, leading him to launch Meadow as a “contemporary funeral home without the home.” The startup allows families to arrange funerals over the phone or online and partners with curated venues like wedding spaces or chapels. Gerstenzang, who previously led product teams at Stripe, and Gilsanz also co-founded Moxie in 2022 to help nurses open medspas, identifying patterns in highly regulated markets lacking innovation.
Meadow’s Business Model and Cost Savings
Meadow operates without physical storefronts, using software for administrative tasks to reduce costs, claiming services like a typical funeral for around $1,300 compared to the national median of $8,300 for a funeral with viewing and burial in 2023, as cited by the National Funeral Directors Association. The company offers honest pricing and focuses on cremation or burial options based on family wishes, with nearly a third of its business from pre-planning services. Meadow has grown its revenue 3x from 2024 to 2025 and worked with more than 400 families in February, according to Crunchbase News.
Expansion and Investor Insights
After becoming the largest independent funeral home in California, Meadow expanded into Texas and Washington, with plans for Arizona and five other states this year. The company uses software to enhance hospitality and efficiency, allowing teams to focus on customers rather than paperwork. Haystack, an investor in the round, was also an early backer of DoorDash and Instacart, with its founder Semil Shah noting via email that the firm targets “broken, unsexy” industries, as detailed in the report from Crunchbase News.
