Entrepreneur Justin Crowe first thought about Parting Stones after his grandfather died back in 2014. He started the business in 2019. Parting Stones offers families who’ve lost a loved one an alternative to cremation. They take people’s ashes and turn them into smooth stones, like you might find at the beach. They look a lot more attractive than a cumbersome urn on a shelf.
Crowe previously tried making a go of a business that turned ashes into pottery glaze back in 2016, but it never got any traction. Historically speaking, people tend to stash ashes in closets or garages. Many don’t feel a sense of connection to ashes, but Parting Stones can be carried in a pocket or displayed in a bowl. They offer the service for people and pets.
Crowe developed the process with a grant from Los Alamos Labs. They take the ashes, clear out impurities and bone fragments and turn it into a cermic like paste. Then they press them into stones, polish them and send them off to you. They work directly with crematoriums and funeral homes or you can ship your ashes to the company directly. Parting Stones from human ashes cost $2495, for dogs it’s $995 and cats are $795. Ashes from a 100 pound person or pet yield around 25 stones. Crowe is likely looking for a Shark’s help with marketing.
My Take on Parting Stones
I think this is a cool and thoughtful idea. When I die, I plan on being crematedand I’d love it for each of my kids to keep a piece of me. I don’t like the whole “bury a corpse in a casket thing” that traditional funerals offer. It’s morbid and expensive. Funeral Directors are some of the slickest salesmen on the planet and they steer grieving customers towards expensive, and ultimately worthless, caskets.
I think this is a better option.
Do Sharks Like These Stones?
Back in season 11, Mark invested $600,000 for 9% of Eterneva, a company that turns ashes into diamonds. Parting Stones conflicts with that business, so he’s not likely to bid. As for the other Sharks, any one of them could make an offer.
My sense is one of the “lady Sharks” will be bidding on this. I don’t think Kevin would be crass enough to offer a royalty deal on human remains, but you never know!
Entrepreneur, auteur, raconteur. Rob Merlino is a blogger and writer who enjoys the Shark Tank TV show and Hot Dogs. A father of five who freelances in a variety of publications, Rob has a stable of websites including Shark Tank Blog, Hot Dog Stories, Rob Merlino.com and more.
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