In India, less than one percent of the population has a will, leaving 99% of families facing legal complexities and confusion when transferring assets, bank accounts, investments, and businesses. The startup WillJini spent 12 years solving this problem and recently closed its first external funding round without pitching to any venture capital funds.
The estate planning company increased its monthly revenue from 3 lakh to 50 lakh rupees over three years by using its clients' funds for business development. When the company finally raised capital, the investors were people who already knew WillJini: MBA classmates from SPJIMR, close friends, and some of its own sales channel partners.
The latest partners are mutual fund distributors who sell WillJini's services to end customers and decided to invest in the company. Jagal Popat, co-founder of WillJini, noted: 'They came to us. They believed in this category before the market did.'
This round values WillJini at $3.5 million post-funding. Investors participating in the round emphasized both the scale of the opportunity and their familiarity with the founders. Priyash Sampat, a wealth management consultant from Mumbai who invested in WillJini, stated: 'In almost thirty-five years of my career, I have seen how much wealth is destroyed due to the lack of a will or trust. There are 1.4 billion people in India, and new multimillionaires are emerging, but almost none have a succession plan.'
He added that 'WillJini makes creating wills as simple as ordering food online—legal, safe, and accessible. It is not just a fintech; it is a family tech product.'
Sapan Gandhi, an SPJIMR classmate and investor, explained that he invested in WillJini for three main reasons: huge market potential, a problem worth solving, and personal acquaintance with both founders. He noted: 'Living in the US, I saw how developed this industry is there. It made me realize how much room there is for adoption and awareness in India.'
Pranav Bhatnal, another classmate and WillJini's first investor, has known Jagal and his co-founder Rahul Popat for ten years. He believes that 'I have seen how they use their complementary strengths working towards a unified vision. These investments were a natural next step.'
WillJini was founded in 2013 by Jatin Popat, a practicing lawyer who was often asked by company executives and business families to draft their wills. What started as a professional service turned into the first organized attempt in India to organize estate planning as a business.
For seven years, this category developed quietly. Then, the pandemic virtually instantly brought conversations about mortality and family security into the mainstream. In 2022, Jagal Popat, Jatin's son and an SPJIMR MBA graduate, and a former Head of Strategy at Swiggy, left his job to dedicate himself fully to the company. He implemented operating systems into the business that his father had built manually.
Co-founder Rahul Popat, who invested in WillJini before its official incorporation, completes the founding team. The growth in revenue from 3 lakh to 50 lakh rupees under self-funding was exciting but challenging. Every new idea was postponed to the next quarter because there was no cash flow to finance it.
Jagal emphasized: 'Every rupee came from clients who needed the product we were building. This gave us the confidence to raise funds on our own terms.'
According to an EY-Julius Baer report, India is entering a decade of significant intergenerational wealth transfer, expected to amount to $1.3 trillion over the next decade. However, most families do not have a plan for this transfer. Jagal argues that estate planning today is at the same level as insurance 20–30 years ago: low prevalence, stigmatized, but inevitable.
He added: 'Companies doing the same thing in the US have raised between $80 and $100 million each. The Indian market is only beginning its journey.'
The new capital will be directed towards expanding WillJini's efforts in raising awareness, hiring consultants, and technological infrastructure, as well as deepening the company's presence in the markets it already serves in 480 cities and 32 countries. Jagal concluded: 'Besides capital, this round gave us permission to think big.'
WillJini collaborates with over 20,000 families and interacts with financial institutions and distribution networks regarding succession planning. The company is an official succession planning partner for leading Indian financial institutions, including HDFC Group, Tata Group, Yes Group, IIFL, Incred Wealth, and many others. Jagal concludes: 'We created this category in India. Just as Flipkart had to build the culture of online shopping before scaling, we must create awareness about estate planning. This is both our challenge and our opportunity.'