This founder sat in court for years watching as her parents got divorced - now, she wants to make divorce easy
Now, there's a startup that's trying to make getting a divorce just as painless.
Wevorce, a startup that has the goal of "[making] every divorce amicable," was founded by Michelle Crosby.
When Crosby was a kid, her parents got divorced. But instead of being a cut-and-dry process, the divorce resulted in a drawn-out, years-long court battles.
"From a very young age, I knew how broken the system was," she told Business Insider.The worst part, Crosby says, happened when she was 9. She was asked in court which of her parents she would choose to live with if she got stranded on a desert island.
Since then, Crosby has gone to law school and practiced family law. In 2012 she founded Wevorce, and took the company through startup accelerator Y Combinator. Based in Boise, Idaho, the female-founded, 15-person startup has helped facilitate more than 300 divorces. The company says 98% of these divorces stayed out of court.
Less cost, more collaboration
Wevorce's web-based platform allows couples to go through a collaborative divorce - one in which both partners work together to decide how to split assets and figure out how to coparent. It's a way to ensure that neither party is too disappointed when they finally sign the divorce papers.
Wevorce's website has five modules, including those that deal with child custody and financials. The last step wraps everything into a legal document for the couple.
The startup is available nationwide and works with a network of 600 attorneys, counselors, and financial professionals across the country that are able to connect with families who need their help.
On Wednesday, Wevorce announced it has raised a $3 million Series A round led by Techstars. Wevorce is planning to expand its services through a series of partnerships, including one with the US military.
To date, Wevorce says it has processed over $40 million in assets through its platform. Wevorce's services start at $749. The average cost of a divorce in the US is $27,000.
Additionally, Wevorce speeds up the process of a divorce. A typical divorce takes over a year to finalize, but Crosby says Wevorce's divorces typically happen in less than 90 days.