Software engineer Sarabeth Jaffe, and divorce lawyer, Julia rogers appeared on Shark Tank season 13, hoping to rope in a Shark to invest in their online prenuptial agreements platform. The duo had the expertise, skills, and determination to help couples lock their prenuptial in three easy steps. They were planning to feast on a niche market with $550 million in valuation and were eager to scale. They asked for $150,000 for 10% equity stakes in their business, inviting Sharks for a gruesome grilling.
What Is Hello Prenup
Hello Prenup is an online prenuptial agreement platform that helps couple secure their assets without getting off their couches. The platform meets the need of modern couples by helping them bypass the traditional time-consuming legalities and getting right to the meat of the problem. Each fiancé can go to the Hello Prenup website and fill in a questionnaire detailing the terms of their prenuptial agreement and any comprehensive business. Then, the couple can resolve any differences they might have by discussing the terms, and once signed and sealed, their prenuptial agreement will be ready for download.
Sarabeth Jaffe and Julia Rogers took the Shark Tank season 13 stage to pitch for their online prenuptial agreement business, Hello Prenup. The duo was dressed for a wedding and had the Sharks’ attention from the get-go. Jaffe and Rogers opened their pitch by listing off the efforts that go into planning a dream wedding. Their business model was designed to help couples knock the most taxing task off their to-do list in three easy steps.
The duo revealed that the total addressable prenup market is valued at $550 million, allowing their business much room to camp. Jaffe and Rogers closed their pitch by going down on one knee and popping the question to the Sharks.
Mark took the lead and asked the duo how they met and the context of their business. Rogers replied that she is a divorce attorney at a top family law firm in Boston, Massachusetts, so she has a decade of experience under her belt. She added that she has talked to thousands of potential prenup clients looking for collaborative, quick, and cheaper prenuptial alternatives and realized the inefficiency in the niche. Rogers partnered with Jaffe, a technical genius, in March 2021 to further her business plan.
Jaffe, a software engineer by trade, was working for Microsoft when she got engaged and had to look into prenups. She was shocked that there was no easy solution to tackle the taboo practice, and that’s when she came across Hello Prenup. The soon-to-be bride emailed Rogers, and after a lot of back and forth over zoom, the two decided to join forces.
Robert inquired about the numbers of prenups they had written so far, and their answer put the Sharks on edge. The duo had written only 25 prenups, reasoning they had problems with their software, but now, with Jaffe on board, everything was in control. Rogers clarified that she had been employing overseas developers for over two years to develop her software before Jaffe came into the picture. She had funded Hello Prenup to the boot and had only soft launched in March 2020.
Kevin asked about their annual sales, and Jaffe replied they only had $20,000 in lifetime sales. The Sharks were not pleased with her answer, so Rogers hastened to make amends, citing the pandemic as an unlikely snag but was shut down by Kevin. He then inquired about the next year’s projection, and Jaffe answered that they were looking at $4.1 million in a conservation projection. The Sharks struggled to make sense of their projection, and Mark called it only a dream.
Lori turned the conversation to competitive advantage and sales margin, and Jaffe told her that while a traditional prenup costs over $5000, Hello Prenup doesn’t even cross the $1000 mark. She admitted that their customer acquisition is also high and is not currently profitable. Before the Sharks could comment, she added that Hello Prenup is the number source on prenuptial agreements online and a leading tech company based in the niche.
Kevin was the first Shark to step away from the deal when the duo couldn’t tell him the customer acquisition cost for next year. Lori appreciated the ladies for their hard work and told them they were right on the money, but it was too early for her to place her bets, so she was out. She encouraged the duo to continue the good work as they seemed to be on the precipice of something grand.
Mark liked their concept but was put off by the many issues in their business model, so he was out.
Robert thought if someone really wanted a prenup, they’d still hire a lawyer to take care of the matter. He added that Hello Prenup could be the leading source of information but probably never the solution, and for those reasons, he was out.
With Nirav being the only Shark in the tank, Jaffe and Rogers had little hope of closing the deal.
Nirav disagreed with Robert and said tech companies take off in two ways: they either get tons of venture capital or go scrappy. Mark and Mark joked that they had no idea what Nirav was talking about, but Nirav didn’t falter. He announced that he believed in the duo and was willing to invest. Nirav offered them $150,000 for 30% equity stakes. Jaffe and Rogers asked if he was willing to go down to 25%, and Nirav said he’ll do 25%. The ladies asked Kevin if he’ll join in, and Kevin said he’ll do it for 30%.
Jaffe and Rogers accepted a joint offer from Nirav and Kevin.
Hello Prenup posted a press release announcing their partnership with Nirav and Kevin. Currently, they have scaled their business from 18 to 31 states and have experienced a 545% increase in sales, with 30,000 people visiting their websites daily. The duo is looking to bring in more legal experts and lawyers on their team to operate nationwide.
Our Review of Hello Prenup
Hello Prenup is a convenient, cheaper, and hassle-free alternative to tackle taxing prenuptial legalities. The high valuation of the prenuptial market allows a great deal of opportunity to scale a niche business. Despite that, there is the matter of customer acquisition as the business model seems to be a long play. Even if someone finds out about the service today, there might be months or even years before they tie the knot.
Additionally, people with trillions on their names will still go to the lawyers as they wouldn’t care about the thousands spent on the cause. Only couples looking for cheaper alternatives might place their bets with Hello Prenup, and even then, the platform had room for scalability.
Pros of Hello Prenup
- Cheap
- Hassle-free
- Online
- Quick and easy
Cons of Hello Prenup
- High customer acquisition
- Not available nationwide
Who Is Hello Prenup for?
Hello Prenup is for modern-day couples looking to start their new life with a safety net. Couples who don’t want to make a big spectacle visiting divorce lawyers before their wedding and just want to tie loose ends subtle can enlist the help of this online prenuptial agreement platform.
Are There Any Alternatives?
All the online legal consultants require you to meet them and go through a process before granting you a legally binding prenuptial, making Hello Prenup the only online prenuptial agreement platform.
Our Final Thoughts
We think it was smart of the duo to interest Kevin in a joint offer with Nirav. With Nirav’s tech insight and Kevin’s wonderful effect, the Hello Prenup team had significantly amped up their chances of success, and their recent traction proves that.
