Byron Batres, Founder, EZ Probate
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WHO? Byron Batres ROLE: Founder of EZ-Probate. “I started EZ-Probate in 2016 as a total side hustle” Byron explains. “I had two major reasons for starting EZ-Probate… first, my blood boiled when customers and people I knew would come back from a probate attorney with an awful experience and a crazy bill. Second, I saw a market of about 40,000 people per month looking for probate help.” Byron already had startup experience from an e-commerce company he and his wife ran, was still working full-time at UBS financial offices. EZ-Probate: A probate is the process of transferring assets to heirs after somebody passes away. It is necessary to “validate” the will, and many lawyers exploit this by charging nearly criminal rates to do the paperwork. EZ-Probate solves this issue by providing fast, inexpensive probate documentation, and doesn’t use expensive lawyers to help someone obtain the things they’re already entitled to. Right from the start, his website was functional and had some traffic, “… but nobody was using the service” Byron recalls. He’s grateful for receiving good advice during his proof of concept stage, helping him realize that EZ-Probate could be a highly viable product. “I put my nose to the grindstone and started processing cases” he says. EZ-P began having some very profitable months, and after some time, he decided to go all-in. BYRON & THE FUTURE: Byron was born in Guatemala, residing there until his family relocated to Philadelphia. He is predicting the Eagles will win back to back super bowls. “As far as probate, I have a clear vision of what I want EZ-Probate to be culturally, and I have the market figured out” he explains. “What is unclear to me is what kind of support system I will need to achieve that.” |
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Byron uses a Mike Tyson business plan, because “everybody has a plan until they get punched in the face.” He applies that quote entrepreneurially, and plans to build values first and let the details play out organically. BIGGEST WIN IN THE PAST YEAR: Byron is happy with major stepping stones in 2018. “I raised my round, 70-80 percent of which came from Launch VT connections specifically” Byron explains. “I didn’t really tap into my friends and family, and I thought that made it highly successful.” Byron also has seen the humanitarian part of helping people out, especially those who have recently lost someone. “A couple weeks ago I filmed customers for testimonials. To see them look at the camera and cry, saying how much it’s helped them… I mean there aren’t really any words for that.” HOW? “This sounds funny, but past failure” Byron explains. “I was very desperate to get out of the financial service world. I did it for almost 18 years.” After losing money in his ecommerce venture, Byron determined that whatever he did next had to follow these criteria:
Most people never have to go through probate, but helping the people who do is the answer for Byron. FUN: “I am the self proclaimed greatest Guatemalan ice climber in the world. I moved to VT for the mountains and the cold! I’ve got two boys, 15 and 12.” Byron currently lives in Williston, VT. Today is his birthday 🙂 |
