Technology

DeadHappy, a U.K.-based insurtech startup that wants to offer more flexible life insurance and remove the taboo surrounding death, has raised £4 million in Series A funding. Backing comes from e.ventures, alongside the companyseed investor Octopus Ventures.

Founded in 2017, DeadHappy claims to be the U.K.&first fully digital pay-as-you-go life insurance provider.& It offers flexible life insurance policies that are designed to be &cheaper, easier and better& than existing traditional providers. This includes pricing insurance based on your current circumstances and the option to add (or remove) further coverage on a rolling basis.

More broadly, the startup is developing what it calls its &Deathwish& platform, which is something akin to a will. The idea is that you can specify how you wish any future insurance payout to be used, such as paying off your mortgage. And there are also plans to incorporate other wishes not related to finances.

&Our vision is to change attitudes to death and we are tackling that in a number of ways,& DeadHappy co-founder Phil Zeidler tells me. &Despite death being the one certainty humans face, it remains for many a taboo subject, and the failure to talk about it and plan for it is both counterintuitive and leads to significant further trauma at the most difficult of times for family and loved ones.&

Currently the Deathwish platform offers financially motivated Deathwishes, but the longer-term plan is to enable practical Deathwishes, such as making sure your funeral is the way you want it, and what Zeidler calls emotionally motivated Deathwishes.

The idea is to help offer a way to help loved ones &achieve something meaningful in their lives, whether thatlearning how to play the drums or funding an expedition to the Amazon,& he explains.

&Crucially, customers can share these Deathwishes as they choose, which is a practical tool to ensure their wishes are clear and understood. Our platform acts as a catalyst for opening a conversation with loved ones and a place to share recorded video messages and stories.&

Meanwhile, DeadHappy says it will use the new funding for future growth by further building the technology and capabilities of its Deathwish platform. It also plans to expand its product and partnership offerings to major financial service distributors.

UK startups concerned the country is about to leave the European Union in just a little over a monthtime with nothing agreed to ensure a smooth transition should point their eyes at this guide — put together by startup policy advocacy group, Coadec.

While a ‘no deal& brexit is still not inevitable the chances of it happening have stepped up sharply in recent months as the clock winds down towards exit day with no withdrawal agreement in place. Such an outcome has major implications for technology businesses, given the cross-border nature of services startups tend to provide.

&With the UK potentially just over a month away from exiting the EU, no deal remains the default option,& warns Coadec. &We are clear that no deal would be disastrous for the startup community…but that doesn&t mean that it won&t happen. Thatwhy we have teamed up with the UK Tech Cluster Group - Tech Nation to put together this guidance for the startup community.&

Under current prime minister, Boris Johnson, the UK government has sharply dialled up the brexit rhetoric. Johnson has said — in typical flashy fashion — that he&d rather be &dead in a ditch& than ask for an extension to the October 31st deadline for agreeing a deal with the European Union.

He has also prorogued parliament — illegally — in an attempt to bypass parliamentary scrutiny, which he described in an internal memo as &a rigmarole&.

The prorogation was quashed by the Supreme Court. But since parliament resumed this week ministers have been refusing to clearly state whether the government will abide by a law it passed just before it got closed down — which requires the PM to ask the EU for an extension if he fails to secure a withdrawal deal before October 19.

Speculation is therefore rife over what political chicanery the government might seek to pull to wiggle out of complying with the law and crash the UK out regardless.

Former UK prime minister, John Major, gave a speech this week warning that such a move would be unforgivable. But there are no signs the government is rethinking its approach.

Johnson has been splashing public money on an advertising campaign that instructs the country to &Get ready for brexit& (such as the billboard pictured above). The government also claims to have substantially ramped up domestic preparations for a no deal exit.

While itpossible this loud show of bullying bravado is a theatrical tactic to try to pressure the EU into shifting position on contested brexit issues (primarily the Irish back-stop) — so Johnson can grab a deal which could pass a vote in parliament — italso possible the government isn&t that interested in a deal, and just wants to deliver brexit &do or die&, as the PM has also put it.

Even if ittheatrics it doesn&t mean the whole high stakes game of chicken might not backfire — resulting in the UK actually crashing out with nothing on Halloween.The only robust legal certainty is that without an extension to Article 50 the UK will indeed leave the EU on October 31, deal or no deal.

Given rising political turmoil in the UK combined with a hard and fast-approaching brexit deadline, startups are well advised to prepare for the worst — which means leaving the EU with no contingencies in place beyond those you&ve put in place yourself.

Coadecguide presents a concise overview of ten issues the policy advocacy group believes should be front of mind for startups and scaleups thinking about how to manage no deal risk.

The guide does not (and is not intended) to replace professional legal advice but it does cuts through a lot of the noise and fuzz around brexit — so itwell worth a read, especially if you&re trying to get up to speed fast.

Top of their list is data flows — a major consideration for tech businesses that receive personal data from the EU or EEA.

&Startups will need to create contract-based legal structures to replace the free flows of data we took for granted under the European system,& Coadec writes, noting that the UKdata protection agency is advising startups to look at model clauses, binding corporate rules, codes of conduct or certification mechanisms as alternatives for their data flows.

&These complicated legal structures have typically been the preserve of larger businesses and corporations, not startups and scaleups — so will take time to put in place,& it warns. &If you haven&t started preparations for your post-brexit data flows, they should be a priority now.&

Other issues the guide deals with include immigration - visas; taxation - VAT; and the impact of a no deal on specific pieces of EU legislation and strategy that are relevant to startups — such as the e-Commerce Directive and Digital Single Market — as well as related pieces of legislation (such as ePrivacy) that risk being caught in limbo by brexit as they&ve not yet been passed.

Therealso advice for startups that have .eu domain names, and for those who&ve received funding from the EUHorizon 2020 R-D fund, as well as links to relevant government resources.

The guide can be downloaded as a PDF here.

How is your startup preparing for brexit? Whatyour biggest ‘no deal& concern? How much is it costing you to manage brexit risk? Let us know by emailing This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

If you&re the founder of an early-stage startup, listen up. One of the best ways you can introduce your innovative company to the international tech community is to exhibit in Startup Alley at Disrupt Berlin 2019on 11-12 December.

There are plenty of reasons to exhibit, but herethe first thing you need to know. You have two ways to exhibit in Startup Alley. You can simply purchase a Startup Alley Exhibitor Package OR you can apply to our TC Top Picks program and win a Startup Alley Exhibitor Package and a VIP experience (more on that in a minute).

As an exhibitor, you&ll receive three Founder passes, access to programming on all stages (including the Startup Battlefieldcompetition, speakers, interactive workshops and Q-A Sessions), the complete attendee list via Disrupt Mobile App, CrunchMatch — TechCrunchfree networking platform, the complete press list, entrance to networking parties and exclusive video content access once the conference ends.

Exhibiting gives you prime exposure as thousands of Disrupt Berlin attendees — including 200 media outlets — from more than 50 countries explore Startup Alley to meet and greet the latest startups, sniff out emerging trends and network for potential partners, investment possibilities, collaboration and connection.

Herehow one co-founder, David Hall ofPark - Diamond, describes his Startup Alley experience:

Exhibiting in Startup Alley is the best training ground for early-stage startup founders, and it was a game-changer for us. We received more insight into our product development process, and we engaged with media and potential investors. Ita tremendous opportunity to grow.

Now, lettalk about the TC Top Picks. The application deadline is 1 October at 12 p.m. (PST). You&re eligible if your startup falls into one of these tech categories: AI/Machine Learning, Biotech/Healthtech, Blockchain, Fintech, Mobility, Privacy/Security, Retail/E-commerce, Robotics/IoT/Hardware, CRM/Enterprise and Education.

If you&re selected (TC editors will choose up to five startups in each category), you&ll exhibit for free one day and you&ll be interviewed by a TechCrunch editor live on the Showcase Stage. We&ll record that interview and promote it on our social media platforms.

Luke Heron, co-founder and CEO of TestCard, exhibited in Startup Alley as a TC Top Pick at Disrupt Berlin 2018 and hoped to cultivate relationships with investors. It seems, by the email he sent to TechCrunch editors, that his time exhibiting in Startup Alley was well spent:

We just closed $1.7m in funding in large part to you and your team,& Heron wrote. &You guys are fantastic — the lifeblood of the startup scene.

Whether you&re looking for founders or funders, collaboration and connection or publicity and promotion, you&ll find it, and a ton of opportunity, in Startup Alley.

Join us and the international startup community at Disrupt Berlin 2019on 11-12 December. Buy a Startup Alley Exhibitor Package or apply to TC Top Picks today.

Is your company interested in sponsoring or exhibiting at Disrupt Berlin 2019? Contact TechCrunchsponsorship sales team byfilling out this form.