An East Lothian-based entrepreneur has tapped into the current ‘death tech’ trend by launching the UK’s first ever digital legacy service.
The innovative new online product, called Biscuit Tin, is aimed at helping people prepare for their death giving family members peace of mind and minimal stress following the bereavement.
Named after the old biscuit tin every family used to have for storing important documentation, Biscuit Tin is a secure digital vault which can hold important documents, account details, memories and post life wishes. These are then released to nominated loved ones in the event of a death.
Founder and CEO of Biscuit Tin, Sheila Hogan, a business architecture consultant and past President of the Association of Scottish Businesswomen, started the business following the death of her parents.
As an only child, the trauma of having to deal with the aftermath of their deaths, particularly after her father’s death, on her own, was almost too much to bear. It prompted her to investigate whether there was a way, in this new digital age, that our wishes could be captured and managed to ease the burden on loved ones left behind.
As the population in the UK is increasingly getting older, coupled with all of us becoming more digital savvy, there is a growing need for a secure way in which nominated individuals can access and terminate online accounts of those who have died, if they so wish.
The Biscuit Tin is a secure digital solution to this problem and is able to hold all the valuable information required by a loved one once someone has passed away, addressing issues which are often not talked about in life and can be difficult to discuss face to face. For example, post life wishes such as funeral arrangements, organ donation, guardianship of children and beloved pets, can all be tackled and held securely and privately until such time as your family will need them.
Entrepreneur Sheila, who previously ran her own successful award-winning maintenance business for 10 years, has secured Scottish Enterprise Innovation Grant funding and is currently on Business Gateway’s Growth Pipeline.
She said: ‘The company’s mission is to make death less taboo, and for it to be more socially acceptable to plan our own deaths, saving those left behind avoidable stress after we pass away by being able to access all crucial information, wishes, memories and instructions we’ve left behind.
‘Our vision is for Biscuit Tin to become the UK’s most trusted digital legacy leader, with 5% of UK digital savvy over 35-year olds using a Biscuit Tin account within the next five years.’
During the set-up of a Biscuit Tin account, customers can choose ‘nominees’ to be the executors of their digital vault, allowing access to all their data when it is needed.
A Biscuit Tin subscription costs £59.99, with the option of a 14-day free trial. For more information log onto www.biscuittin.co
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