Back in October 2019 on an episode the television production of Shark Tank, serial investor and billionaire Mark Cuban became invested in a death care company.  It was at that time that Cuban invested $600,000 for a 9% share of the “cremation carbon to diamond” company Eterneva.  That $600,000 investment gave the company a valuation of almost $7 million at the time.

Funeral Director Daily caught up with the company when we found this article in Insider.  In the article, Eterneva relates that they will be going to the market with a Series A fundraising pitch this year in order to make “a large expansion of our facility and our production capabilities here in Austin (Texas),” according to one of the founders.

In an e-mail to the article authors Cuban stated that  “. . .  his current role in the company  (is) as an advisor and confirmed he still owns 9% of Eterneva. “I agree with  (co-founder)[Archer] that the grief industry is very much old school and Eterneva can have a significant impact on it,”  

Again, according to the article, over a seven to nine months process, human cremated remains are processed into a diamond.  Once the carbon from the remains is purified, the lab growth process is similar to other synthetic diamonds on the market.

Eterneva has a staff of 30, according to the article, and has processed for around 700 customers to date.  The finished cost of their products range from $2,999 to as high as $50,000 for a 3-carat stone.  Crunchbase data, according to the article, shows that Eterneva has raised over $4.8 million in investment for their company.

Adelle Archer, one of the founders is quoted in the article, “We were really the first modern direct-to-consumer brand that’s ever been built in the death-care space.    And now the startup wants to bring that DTC ethos to funeral homes.”  To that end, the article states that the company has partnered with 17 funeral homes across the country “so that funeral directors can pitch the diamond service among or in addition to cremations or burials.”

Here is the website for Eterneva.

A word of “Thanks” from Funeral Director Daily:  Just recently the daily pageviews for the past month of Funeral Director Daily have passed the 11,000 mark. . .actually, over 11,600.  Thank you for continuing to read my work and a very special thank you to those sponsors who contribute every month so that all of you can receive this blog free of charge.  Take a look at our sponsors, and while you have a choice of who you do business with, if you haven’t given these sponsors a try, please do so.

The sponsors help with the costs of bringing Funeral Director Daily to the readers.  As we have grown we have had to update our security, our website, and our partners who deliver the emails to your inbox.  All of that costs something. . . and the sponsors take care of it.

It was never so evident as back in August when our growth caused our e-mail provider to get past its limits and our articles were not being delivered.  At that time we had, at last count, 10,233 page views in July.  When we had our issues in August and had to move to Mailchimp as our e-mail delivery system, we dropped to 8,843 page views for September – losing many (about 14%) of our readers in cyberspace somewhere.  We’ve now more than rebounded and are up over the 11,000 mark.. . . . and that is important to me. . . .as I strive to give those who sponsor more and more value for their dedication to the profession.

Thanks again.  I’m not a writer, but over my lifetime I have stories and experiences to tell that I’ve always believed might be beneficial to those in the profession as they gain experience.   I was mentored by some great funeral directors who made a real difference in not only my professional duties, but in my life as well.  Hopefully, some of the great things I learned from those people can be passed on to you.

All my best. . . .keep serving. . . .you will never regret it!!

More news from the world of Death Care:

• Elgin may get first crematorium.  Suburban Daily Herald (IL)
• Environmental issues related to burials are a major concern for many people.  Euro Weekly
• A beautiful alternative to the traditional cemetery.  TreeHugger

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