Prismm, a startup founded in 2020 by sisters Martha Underwood and Shella Sylla, is presenting its mission on the Startup Battlefield stage at TechCrunch Disrupt 2026. The company builds beneficiary and estate planning into bank accounts from day one, aiming to make the transfer of assets to heirs less complicated.
With Prismm, account holders can give designated family members access to their accounts and documents ahead of time. When the account holder dies, the designated person can log in, see the assets and documents in one place, and start eligible beneficiary transfers digitally. Because identity, consent and supporting documents are already on file, the process can be completed remotely, even when family members live in different states.
The company has two central products, with a third in development. Prismm Designate lets banks offer customers a digital way to update their own beneficiaries. Prismm Anchor gives account holders a secure place to track accounts, documents, property and other assets across multiple institutions, with controlled access for designated people. Prismm Continuity, coming soon, will guide staff and families through the transfer process step by step.
Underwood and Sylla describe Prismm as infrastructure that helps banks handle what happens when a customer dies. They say financial institutions lose billions in deposits to estate attrition every year, which is when heirs move inherited money to other institutions because banks have no system for managing the transition of accounts after a death.
Underwood said in an interview with TechCrunch that the idea took shape when she was working at a bank during the COVID-19 pandemic and saw families come in after a loved one had died, scrambling to find accounts and understand bills. "That's when it hit us that this is an infrastructure problem," she said. "We've created all of these platforms for wealth growth and tracking, but almost nothing for transition."