Comment by throw0101c | Hacker News Reader

Comment by throw0101c | Hacker News Reader

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> My father was cremated last year. He had no friends at the time of his death.

Something that often happens with men: they tend to (on average) not be as big social butterflies as women, and so any past friends they had fade into the background/disappear. It takes time/effort to keep relationships going.

"Why most men don't have enough close friends"

* https://www.ctvnews.ca/lifestyle/why-most-men-don-t-have-eno...

"Men have fewer friends than ever, and it’s harming their health"

* https://www.vox.com/the-highlight/23323556/men-friendship-lo...

"Men’s Social Circles are Shrinking"

* https://www.americansurveycenter.org/why-mens-social-circles...

"Men struggle to keep friends — and it’s hurting their mental health"

* https://globalnews.ca/news/6112225/male-friendship-mental-he...

"More than 1 in 7 men have no close friends. The way we socialize boys is to blame":

* https://www.latimes.com/lifestyle/newsletter/2023-10-10/more...

Also, with people having fewer children (if any), support structures toward the end of life are getting smaller and smaller.

Macabre though it may be, I've often thought about submitting a YC proposal for a startup that provides professional executor services for those who are facing death alone. Demand is only going to increase as time goes by and, as many internet articles show, it can be difficult to find an executor that one trusts if they have a small social circle.

Just to clarify for everyone (because I totally misread this the first time):

  Executor - A person officially appointed to carry out your will after you have passed
  
  Executioner - A person officially appointed to carry out your passing

As the executor of my dad's estate, he would have fun with the similar words and call me his ex eh cuter.

Thanks for reminding me of our shared joy of words. :)

R.I.P. Dad.

There have to been fatal mixups regarding this. Maybe not as bad as "inflammable".

I will never not be upset with the world for deciding that flammable and inflammable are synonyms

although in both cases, Trust is very important.

> a YC proposal for a startup that provides professional executor services

There are law firms already doing this. From a quick search of my area (Toronto, Canada):

* https://www.millsandmills.ca/areas-of-practice/wills-estates...

* https://ontario-probate.ca/estate-administration-executor-se...

* https://mcdonaldestateservices.ca/services

Seems odd to make that a VC-backed entity. That said I think the most important aspect is knowing the service will be around when you die. Updating wills, plans is expensive, and if someone has dementia etc and this goes bust because 90% of “startups” do, then that’s a real problem.

But just imagine all the "growth hacks" you could do, both to increase the dearly departed clientele and the amount of profit you could extract from them!

That's a tough market to break into. Pretty much everything servicing people past the age of retirement is already set up to suck out maximum amount of wealth from their "customers" before they pass. GGP's best chance is to simultaneously expand and capture the younger side of the market. To move fast, they might need to break some things, ignore ethics, laws, or basic human decency here and there - all par for the course for a modern VC-backed startup.

In the UK, some solicitors and accountants already provide this service.

They don't market it as "facing death alone" though, they market it more as "giving the family time to grieve" and "getting complex paperwork right"

Lawyers already do this. What would you have as a value add?

An app!

Almost every law firm already offers this. What would you bring to the table? Counselling on the prospect of facing death?

hmu

Apart from this issue, which is certainly important, almost anyone can end up without friends at the end of their lives if they outlive their friends and have no opportunities to make new ones as they get older.

He was a paedophile and a serial sex offender who alienated most of his friends and family, dying with more enemies than friends. Sexual violence is also more prevalent in men and it's important to remember that so we can be more responsible parents and educators for young boys.

Male friendships are existentially dangerous to the State. No wonder they are mysteriously disappearing.

Interesting comment. By what mechanisms would you suggest the disappearing is being carried out by the State? The State is threatened by power, obviously love and friendship are powerful things, but there aren’t in actuality any political efforts that are overtly targeting male friendships that I can think of. Maybe fbi infiltration of men’s rights groups and boys clubs like proudboys, MS13 and the freemasons?

One of my bosses was a high ranking mason. I asked him about the Freemason conspiracy theory stuff. He told me he’s not sure “who’s infiltrating who” in regards to the relationship between masons and other groups like who you mention.

Yup, when I go I expect it will just be my kids there and my wife. Same situation happened when my dad died, just us kids.

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