A Chat with Ron Gura, Co-Founder & CEO at Support For Loss Platform: Empathy

Empathy is a world-class platform that combines technology and human support to guide grieving family members through the journey they face after losing a loved one.

The problem is immense: Families today typically find themselves spending over 420 hours dealing with logistical tasks in the days, weeks, and months following the loss of a loved one.

Empathy isn’t simply a service; it’s a helping hand extended to grieving families, guiding and supporting them through their experience of loss. Dedicated Care Managers are available 24/7 to provide users with both emotional and practical assistance, helping families navigate both responsibilities and grief. Empathy supports families directly, as well as empowering companies across industries like HR benefits and insurance to enhance their offerings and better support those they serve.

How did you come up with the idea for the company?

I have been thinking about the impact that loss has on families ever since my brother Amir died when he was only eight years old. I saw how it affected my mother, and I remember feeling desperate to ease the burden for her.

Later, as a manager at eBay, one of my employees was grieving for a family member, and I recall being struck by how few tools were at my disposal to support them. It was clear how difficult it was for them to deal with the sheer volume of logistics they had to manage while also being back at work. Today I understand that it is like working two jobs when you are at your most vulnerable.

These experiences were very formative for me. As an entrepreneur, I look for industries that can be improved by innovation, and the lack of solutions available to assist those dealing with end-of-life issues was something I kept running into. That motivated me to build a company with a purpose close to my heart. Empathy has created tools that make the burden of loss just a little less painful. I’m proud today to be able to offer employers the tools and guidance their bereaved employees need — so that managers can genuinely support their teams, even during life’s most challenging experience.

How has the company evolved over the last couple of years?

Since launching Empathy just last year, we’ve achieved a great deal. In 2021 alone, we raised $43M, allowing us to expand our presence further across the US, release new products, and grow our multidisciplinary team. Our award-winning platform has been recognized by Google, Apple, Fast Company, and CB Insights, among others.

We work with Fortune 100 companies, HR benefits providers, insurers, hospices, and others to ensure they have the bereavement tools necessary to best support their clients and employees.

What can we hope to see from Empathy in the future?

We are always looking for new ways to support the families we serve and to enhance the effectiveness of our platform. To that end, we are planning on rolling out several new features to meet bereaved families where they are, including new automation capabilities, identity theft protection, and more. We also have several partnerships with leading enterprises and insurance companies in the pipeline that we are excited to announce soon.

There is huge potential for change in the end-of-life sector. At Empathy, it is our mission to be a catalyst for that change and bring awareness to the issues that come along with loss. When innovators and tech giants pay attention to these issues and work toward solving them, not only will we see an increase in support around the practical matters that come with loss and grief, but we will also see a societal shift.

I am optimistic that many more people will be made aware of the implications of loss, and how we can address them as individuals and as a society. We invite employers, life insurance companies, and companies across industries to step up and support families in dealing with life’s greatest challenges.

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