&Open co-founder, Mark Legge, launches new company The Solace – redefining how we grieve in the digital age

The Solace, an innovative digital space dedicated to grief and remembrance, has officially launched in Ireland. Founded by serial entrepreneur Mark Legge (previously co-founder of &Open), The Solace is designed to support not just those grieving, but also funeral professionals and the wider community impacted by death. By bridging care, connection, and innovation, The Solace offers a streamlined approach to memorialisation and funeral coordination, ensuring that those experiencing grief are supported with sensitivity and ease.

Unlike traditional obituary services and death notice sites, The Solace is built as a fully realised space for grief. The platform allows families to create digital memorials with photographs, videos, and shared stories, ensuring that a loved one’s legacy is preserved and accessible. For funeral directors, The Solace addresses key pain points and simplifies logistical processes, offering tools for publishing death notices, managing RSVPs, coordinating charity donations, and streamlining communication. Bringing a fully comprehensive experience under one roof, The Solace has sourced from trusted vendors to offer a curated selection of mementoes and gifts, such as sympathy cards, candles, books and urns.

Bringing years of experience in designing innovative solutions, Mark Legge co-founded &Open, a company that redefined corporate gifting by replacing impersonal options with curated, meaningful gestures. Now, with The Solace, he applies this same ethos of a human-first, thoughtfully designed approach to grieving and funeral planning.

CEO Mark Legge said on the launch: “When my father died, it was one of the most challenging experiences of my life, in terms of both loneliness and the complexities – not only in the immediate after, but the months and years that followed. In Ireland, we take pride in ‘doing death well,’ yet many traditional services no longer reflect the way we live today. The need for something different is clear. Many people who have experienced grief share that traditional services can often feel disconnected or limited. I wanted to create a space where remembrance felt personal and accessible. The Solace is built to offer that.”

While death is inevitable, the way we honour and remember our loved ones is evolving, catalysed by changing societal and technological trends. Notably global cremation rates reached 61.9% in 2024, with traditional gravestones giving way to the need for lasting digital legacies. Further to this, the rise of forum-style social media platforms, such as Reddit, demonstrates that people are increasingly seeking digital spaces to share experiences and engage within communities. Despite being a growing $62 billion industry as of 2023, the funeral sector is currently underserved by low-engagement, content-poor options. The Solace is at the forefront of this evolution of the industry, driven by such shifts.

With global ambitions, Mark looks to replicate the success of his previous companies in this new project, bringing both his expertise in creative thinking and experience scaling a business internationally. Recognising the need for a more accessible and thoughtful way to support grievers and the extended community of the deceased, Mark leveraged this passion for creating human-centred digital experiences to transform an industry that had remained largely unchanged for decades.

Legge added, “This is a sector that has not seen a huge amount of innovation over the years; from my previous ventures I knew that a thoughtful and experience-driven approach would be of value to funeral directors and grievers alike. There is a growing desire for a more engaging, experiential approach; over the last 12 months, working with a small team to build The Solace, we have spoken with families, funeral directors and communities to shape a space that meets the demands of the modern market.”

With an understanding beyond digital, The Solace also provides tangible ways to express remembrance. Mark has worked directly with Irish and international brands such as Superfolk, Domino Whisker, Mourne Textiles, Michael Murphy, Loop Biotech, Brookfield Farm, Wax Atelier, Hometree, Ground Wellness to provide visitors to the site with options of sending thoughtful gestures and gifts directly to the families of the deceased. Additionally, The Solace has worked with industry experts to create a comprehensive resource section, offering guidance on all aspects of death and grieving. To further its mission of support, The Solace has partnered with iDonate, allowing for seamless donations to over 6000 Irish charities.

The Solace is available on a tiered basis, with a free membership ensuring accessibility for all. As the world becomes increasingly digital and fragmented, The Solace ensures that grief and remembrance remain steadfast, creating a space where memories endure and grievers find solace.

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