Compiled by Monica Bay

Meet David Slonim: CEO and Founder of Obolus—and a lawyer and president at The Slonim Law Firm. Obolus was launched on in 2016; its principal consumer facing services are two products, Family Promise and Estate Pass, both designed to help individuals, families and loved ones shut off online accounts after a death.

 

Age: Big 40

Citizenships: U.S., E.U. (French/British), Cyprus, Israel.  The short version is that I was born in Cyprus to a father who had British and Israeli citizenship and to a French mother. My dad was an Israeli tank commander in the six-day war in 1967.

 

Education & degrees: University of Florida, B.A., Anthropology 1999. Florida Coastal School of Law, J.D., 2002. Admitted in Florida.

Home base: Melbourne, Fla.

How did you end up in Florida?  As my citizenships hint, I immigrated to the U.S. from Cyprus due to a little spat between the Greeks and Turks over the ownership of the island. We naturalized in the U.S. a few years after arriving in the U.S. We finally settled in Florida when I was five. We lived in south Florida and I had dreams of moving further and further away from Florida as I acquired degrees. Then a  seemingly dream-job kept me here. Surprisingly to me, I’m happy in Melbourne, as it provides a nice home base and access to my favorite hobbies, flying and scuba diving.

Why elder work? Twist of fate, really. I had no love for estate planning in law school, but over the years I’ve found that elder law and I are compatible. I like helping people and it’s one of the few areas of law where clients are happy to visit and feel relieved when I help them plan for their and their family’s futures.

Social Science:
Website: www.estatepass.com
Twitter: @Estate_Pass
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/EstatePass2016 Note: There will be changes as we roll out Family Promise. They will all be branded under Oboluscorp.)

Past significant jobs: While an undergrad I started an internet service providers (ISP) in Gainsville, named GDN.NET—mostly because my two partners and I were pirates who wanted other people to pay for our T1 line. Sold my share when I graduated. Then I was the sole corporate attorney for an aviation startup that built “Very Light Jets.” You could say we were mavericks. Moved on because the company’s only aircraft, and subsequently the company, crashed and burned.

Why did you name the company Obolus? The obol was a form of ancient Greek currency. The deceased were buried with an obol placed in her or his mouth. According to legend, once a deceased’s shade reached Hades, he or she would be able to pay Charon for passage across the river Acheron or Styx. Those without enough wealth —or whose friends refused to follow proper burial rites—were forced to wander the banks of the river for 100 years. Drawing the parallel between trying to remove online accounts isn’t hard.

Problems your startup solves: Obolus services provide a legally authorized representative to help families get closure for the deceased’s social media, bills, banking, and the like. Obolus removes the hassle and stress giving families and friends closure and peace of mind.

In short, we help terminate or transfer online accounts (digital assets). We serve three market segments:
1) Consumers who are making plans for their assets and those who represent deceased individuals.
2) Online service providers; e.g., any website that asks a user to create a login. We provide an online tool as guided by the Fiduciary Access to Digital Assets Act, Revised (2015).
3) State Departments of Corrections; to outsource the closure of inmate and sexual offender online social media accounts, as directed by state law or policy.

Costs: Depending on the market segment we are targeting, the costs for the service differ. Our consumer services range from $99/year to $499 flat for a lifetime rate for Estate Pass. Family Promise flat rate costs range from $49 to  $245. The business and government segments are varied.

Patents? Not yet. Our present service offering is just that, a service. With additional funds we intend to create machine learning software that may have patentable qualities.

What inspired this startup? In 2012, two sisters asked our firm to handle the probate of their deceased brother. They weren’t sure what assets he had. They found his computer, with QuickBooks software, but were unable to access the software.  I was able to bypass the password and gave the siblings access to the software. That was a pivotal moment—I realized that digital assets were going to be an ongoing issue. In 2015, I brought my vision to life.

Do you have funding yet? No. We’ve reduced our efforts to actively seek outside investor funding. Right now, we are focusing on the tasks needed to get our services to customers. When we prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the company is viable, we’ll consider outside funding to enhance our growth prospects.

What is your biggest challenge re: the start-up? I concur with Gallup’s recent polling that only about 44 percent of the U.S. population have a “last will.” Now, the challenge is to educate the public about their own digital assets—and remind them that these assets are not just sentimental, they have value to their families, and unfortunately, to a variety of nefarious persons online.

What do you need right now? In six months? In a year?  Now: Time to catch my breath. We are negotiating with large national and international players. Six months: That would be a good time to step back from the tactical plays and look at the big picture to see where we can best meet the market’s needs in this emerging area. In a year: A bigger building.

What have you learned that you wish you knew five years ago? Patience—and that you don’t do something because you’re ready, you do it because it’s time.

Aside from family, who most influenced you? While I disliked the CEO of the aircraft company, he did pass along something I’ll always remember and respect: perception is everything. How people perceive you—and your company—take you much further than how things actually are.

 

What two people were your most important mentors: Now a good friend and mentor, University of Florida Professor Joseph Gennaro, Jr., who at 92 is still going strong drafting manuscripts. He focuses on anatomy and physiology. He offered A&P lab lessons in exchange for computer lessons from me. I wouldn’t be on my path without his guidance for more than the 20+ years.

The second is Michael Garvey, our former COO, who has a sincere and practical view of life. He’s a grounding factor throughout the startup process.

 

What book changed your life?  Brave New World by Aldous Huxley and What is Man, by Samuel Clemens (aka Mark Twain). Combine the author’s names and bit of their family (Clemens’ older brother) and you get my son’s name – Orion Huxley).

Advice for other entrepreneurs? Whatever you thought about startups, it’s harder than that—by far. Getting my law firm from a solo practice to where it is today—with multi-offices and attorneys— was a cake-walk compared to this. But enjoy the experience, it is amazing and I’d never change a thing—well, except for a chance to get early seed money.

 

What are you afraid of? Not seeing my 3-year-old son grow up to live a full life.

 

How does the startup affect your family? Having both a full law practice and getting a new company off the runway can strain on a marriage/partnership. I thank my wife, author Karen Best, for putting up with the stresses over the last couple years.

What are you most proud of? My aviation achievements. An early dream was to fly (who doesn’t want to be an astronaut). I now am a 600+ hour instrument-rated private pilot, with a plane (PA-28R) to call my own. Nothing builds self-confidence like being alone at the controls and having to land a plane on your own for the first time.

Favorite vacation destination: Urban: London, U.K.—the people, the culture, the chips! Less Urban: Lombok, Indonesia—a jungle and oceanic paradise with almost no cell phone or internet.

Favorite musician or group: Pink Floyd—it made an impact on me in high school (and no drugs were involved).

Favorite food: A well-made hamburger (Jimmy Buffett agrees).

Favorite quote:  “Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts.” —Winston Churchill.

Your mantra: Do what you can, while you can, because you never know when you can’t.

Who would you want sitting next to you if you got stuck for 3 hours on the tarmac in a 737? Someone who knows how to keep us from sitting another three hours in the bloody thing. Failing that, John Cleese.

Compiled by Monica Bay, CodeX Fellow. Twitter: @MonicaBay  Email: mbay@codex.stanford.edu