Mumbai-based WillJini has locked in its first outside capital at a $3.5 million valuation, a rare feat accomplished without dialing a single venture capital firm. The estate planning startup instead drew checks from 11 SPJIMR batchmates, close friends, and its own mutual fund distributor partners.
That fundraising strategy speaks volumes about the company’s three-year bootstrap journey. Monthly revenue climbed from ₹3 lakh to ₹50 lakh purely on client money before any external funding arrived. Today, the platform serves more than 20,000 families across 480 cities and 32 countries, while acting as the official succession planning partner for HDFC Group, Tata Group, Yes Group, IIFL, Incred, and several other institutions.
The round attracted investors who witnessed the founders build from the ground up. Five influential wealth management firms joined alongside Jugal Popat’s college roommate and other personal connections. “They approached us. They believed in the category before the market did,” said Jugal Popat, who co-founded the company with his father Jatin Popat and Rahul Shah.
That conviction stems from a sobering reality. Less than 1% of Indians currently hold a Will, even as research from Julius Baer and EY projects $1.2 trillion in intergenerational wealth transfer this decade. Most of that money will move without any succession framework in place.
The company traces its origins to 2013, when practicing lawyer Jatin Popat began fielding requests from CEOs to draft their Wills. What started as professional favors evolved into a dedicated business. Jugal Popat, an SPJIMR MBA and former Swiggy executive, joined full-time in 2022 to bring operational structure alongside Rahul Shah.
Fresh capital will fund advisory team growth, technology upgrades, and geographic expansion. The founders compare estate planning’s current state to India’s insurance sector two or three decades ago: low penetration, lingering stigma, yet inevitable adoption.
WillJini now shoulders the task of normalizing succession planning for Indian households at scale.
