In 2022, the Memorial Asset Protection Plan, or MAPP, received offers from the Mississippi Seed Fund and angel investors in the state, some of which CEO Justin Bernard O’Keefe said he’s still considering. (One offer has come in for $200,000, which MAPP declined.) He’s also in initial talks with an investor from the East Coast who could put up $10 million to help this MAPP program grow. But O’Keefe hasn’t signed anything yet as of early 2023.

“So we’re negotiating with them right now, you know, ‘how would that look, and what would the responsibilities be?'” O’Keefe said. “We’ve got a lot of exciting things going on.”

MAPP grew out of O’Keefe’s five-generational funeral company on the Mississippi Gulf Coast. Realizing that many end-of-life consultations also include issues around probate, financial planning, real estate and other matters, O’Keefe launched MAPP to bring more financial services resources to funeral directors around the country. The software-as-a-service tool enables professionals in funeral services to refer clients to other financial services professionals in the network, who then pay commissions on the referrals. In 2022, around $15 million moved through the network.

While O’Keefe is looking at different ways to grow the business quickly, he says a lot of 2022 was tied up in building partnerships and bringing on various service partners who see the potential of MAPP. The funeral marketing company Precoa has made a substantial investment and hired a director to help generate more connections with financial services. Insurance and long-care facilities companies are interested in working through the MAPP network to reach customers when they’re busy with end-of-life planning.

O’Keefe expects revenues to grow from $500,000 in 2022 to $4 million in 2023; MAPP’s goal is to offer customers around the country those financial services from local professionals, so they have to grow into new markets by reaching both the funeral directors and the professionals who provide the service. 

In his Company and Investor Spotlight pitch at Innovate Mississippi’s 2022 conference, O’Keefe used Peoria, Ill., as an example. A customer discussing financial services with a Peoria funeral director who uses the MAPP network should expect a call from a Peoria-based financial planner within minutes of the need coming up.

To get there, MAPP has to go national—some of that has already happened by tapping into national networks of attorneys and companies that can provide services in 50 states. O’Keefe notes that he “isn’t reinventing the wheel,” as some funeral directors offer financial management and end-of-life planning services. What’s different is the network MAPP is building and the software they have to facilitate that network.

“We’re taking the idea and scaling it on a national level, with a national funeral marketing company, a national network of advisors and a network of attorneys,” he said. “I’m basically taking what other people have done in limited ways and taking it full-blown.”

In 2023, he hopes to do just that with help from current partners and by making intelligent decisions about outside investment. “We’re glad that we’re still moving in a steady but conservative growth pattern,” O’Keefe said.