This Man Is Changing How We Remember Our Loved Ones Forever

Summary

Episode Summary: "This Man Is Changing How We Remember Our Loved Ones Forever"

Podcast: The Living Your Legacy Podcast
Host: Rudy Mawer
Guest: Manoak Swarup, Founder and CEO of Life Index Ltd
Release Date: March 4, 2025

In this compelling episode of The Living Your Legacy Podcast, host Rudy Mawer engages in an insightful conversation with Manoak Swarup, the visionary behind Life Index Ltd—a groundbreaking platform dedicated to preserving the legacies of departed loved ones. This episode delves deep into Manoak's personal journey, the inception and growth of Life Index, and the profound lessons learned along the way.

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1. Introduction to Life Index Ltd

Rudy Mawer opens the discussion by introducing Manoak Swarup and his innovative venture, Life Index Ltd. Manoak explains the platform's mission to honor deceased family members by providing a digital space for writing and sharing memorials, spanning 195 nations with 25 offices globally.

Manoak Swarup [02:09]: "Life Index is something we do is we preserve details and stories of deceased family members. We're the only platform in the world which does this."

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2. Inspiration Behind Life Index

Manoak shares the personal tragedy that spurred the creation of Life Index. After losing his mother to COVID-19 and cancer, he grappled with the question of how to ensure her legacy would endure beyond physical memorials like statues or benches, which often fade from collective memory.

Manoak Swarup [02:40]: "I wanted to make sure that my mom's details are remaining forever so that my next generations can get to know of them."

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3. Growth and Business Model

Discussing Life Index's expansion, Manoak reveals the challenges of launching a membership-based software platform. Initially developed independently, Life Index grew organically through personal interactions rather than traditional social media marketing.

Manoak Swarup [04:50]: "Nobody's out there in social media looking for death. So we start talking to people. Every individual I've been around."

With over 10,000 members rapidly increasing, Manoak emphasizes the importance of personal touch and international outreach in building the user base.

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4. Innovative Features of Life Index

Life Index distinguishes itself by eliminating traditional usernames and passwords, simplifying the onboarding process to encourage more users to preserve their loved ones' stories. For a minimal fee, users can create detailed profiles that are verified and made accessible for future generations.

Manoak Swarup [09:14]: "We have some people coming in the sales because we are recruiting people. As of today, our requirement is roughly about 100,000 people that we need to recruit on board."

He highlights the platform's focus on authenticity and emotional resonance, avoiding impersonal AI integrations to maintain the personal stories' integrity.

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5. Manoak’s Personal Journey and Entrepreneurial Spirit

Manoak narrates his diverse upbringing, having lived in 36 countries, which instilled in him a unique perspective on legacy and memory. His entrepreneurial spirit emerged early, having developed and sold his first software at 18 years old.

Manoak Swarup [06:02]: "I grew up across the world in 36 different countries. I went to school every year in a different country."

His ventures have spanned various industries, from hospitality to technology, with each experience contributing to his resilience and innovative mindset.

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6. Lessons on Building a Legacy

A central theme of the episode revolves around perseverance and uniqueness in creating something that stands out. Manoak advises aspiring entrepreneurs to innovate rather than replicate existing models, emphasizing the importance of offering something distinct in the marketplace.

Manoak Swarup [12:32]: "Come up with something more unique. There are loads of ideas out there."

He underscores that failure and success are intertwined, encouraging listeners to embrace challenges as stepping stones to lasting impact.

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7. Overcoming Fear and Taking Action

Manoak passionately advocates for immediate action when pursuing one's ideas, using the analogy of learning to swim—emphasizing that hesitation leads to stagnation or failure.

Manoak Swarup [14:08]: "Don't think about it. Jump into it. If you want to learn how to swim, get into the water."

He shares anecdotes from his ventures, such as introducing larger pizzas in India where the market was dominated by smaller sizes, illustrating how bold moves can disrupt established norms.

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8. Defining Legacy

When asked about what legacy means to him, Manoak articulates it as ensuring that one's contributions and stories are remembered and accessible for future generations, providing a lasting impact beyond one's lifetime.

Manoak Swarup [16:43]: "Legacy is something that you want to be remembered. What have you left behind. What have you done for the entire world."

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9. Final Words of Wisdom

In closing, Manoak offers practical advice to listeners hesitant to pursue their own legacies. He emphasizes the inevitability of failure in the journey toward success and encourages a mindset that prioritizes action over fear.

Manoak Swarup [17:24]: "Get up from that. Move your bum. You've got only one life and if you want to be successful or you want to leave a legacy, just go ahead and do it."

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10. How to Join Life Index

For listeners inspired to preserve their loved ones' legacies, Manoak provides a simple onboarding process:

1. Visit lifeindex.com.
2. Enter your first name, last name, and email address.
3. Make a payment of £7 or $9.
4. Fill out the details of the deceased loved one.
5. Upon verification, the profile goes live, allowing family and friends to contribute stories and memories.

Manoak Swarup [18:01]: "Once that's verified, you'll receive an email stating that this has gone live. You can send the link to family members or friends to add their stories."

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Key Takeaways

• Personal Legacy Preservation: Life Index offers a unique platform for documenting and sharing the stories of departed loved ones, ensuring their memories endure.
• Entrepreneurial Resilience: Manoak's journey underscores the importance of perseverance, innovation, and embracing failure as part of the path to success.
• Action-Oriented Mindset: Taking immediate action on ideas is crucial for creating meaningful and lasting impacts.
• Global Reach with Local Touch: Effective growth through personal interactions and understanding diverse cultural contexts.

This episode is a profound exploration of how technology can intersect with personal legacy, offering listeners both inspiration and practical tools to leave their own lasting imprint on the world.

Transcript

[A]

In India every day, 26,650 people dying every day over a month. That's 800,000 people. Yeah, 800,000 people. How do we get to every household? Yeah, and not only that, in the past several years, 50 years, you've lost about five family members each. But we're trying to get everybody on board so that the next generations don't have to suffer. Manoak Swarup is the founder and CEO of Life Index Ltd. An innovative online platform that aims to honor the lives of our department loved ones by providing a lasting digital space for writing and sharing memorials. I want to be remembered as somebody who made sure that everybody's legacy is left behind.

[B]

Starting any sort of software or membership is very difficult. Already grown to over 10,000 members. How did you do that?

[A]

The entire thing was more about it spans the globe like a super highest cold Internet Elvis. Brandon, today Apple is going to reinvent the phone. It's not over until I win. The Living youg Legacy podcast for those who live to leave a legacy that's extraordinary.

[B]

The impossible has been.

[A]

Oh, that is sensational. Jordan Open Chicago with the lead Usain Paul is the fastest man on the planet. You can live your dream.

[B]

Hello and welcome back to another episode on our Legacy Makers podcast. Today we're diving into the aspect of preserving one's legacy and keeping it alive, which is really fascinating. Joining me today is the founder of Life Index, fascinating business model which I really love. Super affordable and really impactful to hopefully millions of people out there. Welcome to the show, buddy.

[A]

Thank you very much. It's lovely to be here.

[B]

So I know you've flown a long way from my homeland England, right?

[A]

Yes.

[B]

And sadly the sun isn't any better here in Miami for you. But welcome to the show and thanks for being here. Anyone watching that doesn't maybe know who you are. Do you mind just giving a quick intro?

[A]

Sure. My name's Manoad Saroup. I'm the founder and CEO of Life Index. Now Life Index is something we do is we preserve details and stories of deceased family members. We're the only platform in the world which does this. And this is across 195 nations.

[B]

195 nations. I know you're approaching quickly about 25 offices around the world, Correct? Right. And keep expanding because the idea is to impact every family, right? Yes, it is. That data, where did this idea come about?

[A]

Right. So I lost my mother four years ago to Covid and cancer. And that's where I started pondering upon what do we do now? She's gone. She's done so much for me for 40 years. What am I giving her in return? Taking care of her while she was going through that cancer and Covid, I thought it was enough. So I came back and I said, let's put up a statue in a town where she grew up. And I said, but then over a period of time, generations will pass by. Will they ever know or will they ever get to know our story? We scraped the idea and I said, let's put up a bench. And let's put up a bench in the UK in a park. But then you have a name out there. How many people really read that name? So I said, no, we're not doing that. Then I thought, let's do something very unique. You see the rich and famous kings and the queens and the president, prime ministers, they're always remembered, even after their death. And you can find information. I wanted to make sure that my mom's details are remaining forever so that my next generations can get to know of them. It was not about the world, it was more about my next generations. So I just wanted to make sure that my mom's remembered.

[B]

Yeah, I think it's great because like you said, if you're famous, you get a Wikipedia page or whatever. It lives in the history books, but no one else does. And yeah, I mean, if I want to ask about my great great grandparents, I have to ask my mom. And she barely remembers past two generations. Right. And then when she's gone, I won't remember two generations beyond. So it's fascinating idea. And I mean, with technology, it's allowing us to do these interesting things. Right. Versus old paper records. And that's really all we had. So I love that. And I know it's growing fast.

[A]

Yes.

[B]

You mentioned that you're pretty new, but already grown to over 15,000 people and you're adding thousands more a month now.

[A]

Yes.

[B]

So hopefully we can get the whole world on this platform. Talk a little about. I would love you to talk about the business model side, how you got it off the ground, because starting any sort of software or membership is very difficult. Already grown to over 10,000 members. How did you do that?

[A]

So the entire thing was more about getting the platform up and running.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

So I threw a very basic thing to begin with. I made it on my own. Once I got that up and running, and I went out to people talking to them about it. Once they got on board, I realized there's a lot of market for it. And then we thought we had a lot of people come back and said, try doing it in social media. But we realized one thing. Nobody's out there in social media looking for death. So we start talking to people. Every individual. I've been around. I travel a lot at every airport. I must have spoken to 30 people every time. And I've had people come back and say, I want to sign up. I've gone to another country and people say, yes. I love the idea. People come back. That's where we got more people coming on board because of touching lives, because of talking to people.

[B]

Yeah. A lot of the networks, and that's why you're building the offices and the sales teams around the world. Great. So, you know, I'd love to transition a little. That's the business model side. But, you know, diving into your episode, we're talking way beyond just this business model. Right. About your life, your story, your failures, your successes, and where, you know, the legacy part plays in. So do you mind summarizing a couple of things people will get from your episode if they watch?

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

So I think life for everyone is a little different. For me, it was a lot different as well. I grew up across the world in 36 different countries. I went to school every year in different country. And it was fascinating because never had any friends. The only friends that I had were my two brothers and my dad and mom.

[B]

Because you're moving. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.

[A]

Every year. So from there, but landed in New York. I made my first software at the age of 18 and sold it off for $75,000 just being a sophomore college student and knew nothing about C C. But went into an organization, made that software. And that's where I realized, no, I've got that neck.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

My dad wanted me to become. Get into more of it or get into being a doctor, because both my brothers are doctors.

[B]

Okay.

[A]

I said, no, I can't. I think I'm okay with blood. But it was never about, I don't want to earn. I want to make something different. And that's where I started my journey been. I've done all kinds of jobs. I've worked with hotels. I've worked with being a salesman. I've trained people across the world in different. And then eventually started about. I had a restaurant as well back in India. So I had that sold it off and I said, fine. What do I want to do next? Made a dating app, didn't work. Said sheltered and said, fine. What now? And when my mom went away, this is when life index really happened. And yes, we did have those little failures when people would come back and say, no, it won't work. I said, why would it not work? You've got Facebook. Facebook worked. This person who spoke about Facebook, he went from college to college talking to people, and that's how it worked. And today, people don't have to talk. They don't even have to advertise. People. Come on.

[B]

Yeah, you created a snowball of this eventually.

[A]

And that's where we are in the same stages that we are talking about life index to individuals, to people. And people are using the platform because they realize the importance of what they've lost. And what are they going to lose in the next 30, 40 years?

[B]

Are you starting to see that snowball effect yet? Now that you've got 10, over 10,000 members, people are referring and you're getting random signups and you're like, not yet.

[A]

We're getting there because we've got some people coming in the sales because we are recruiting people. So as of today, our requirement is roughly about 100,000 people that we need to recruit on board.

[B]

Wow.

[A]

We're recruiting people all across. And right now, our motive is by the end of this year, we need to have at least 100,000 just in Asia.

[B]

Wow.

[A]

You know how many people die in just one part of the world in India every day? 26,650 people dying every day over a month. That's 800,000 people. Yeah, yeah, 800,000 people. How do we get to every household?

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

And not only that, in the past several years, 50 years, you've lost about five family members each. But we're trying to get everybody on board so that the next generations don't have to suffer. They don't have to say, you know what, who my ancestors were, who my great grandparents were.

[B]

So imagine I go there, I sign up. How do you onboard take all the information? How have you made that process?

[A]

So it's very simple. One thing that we've got rid of is usernames and passwords. And that's one thing, if you look at any platform is suffering today is because of usernames and passwords. Because I can go and create an email, I can create another one, I can create a account, and what happens? I have scams happening, I've got stealing of data and things like that. We said, what do we do so different that people don't have to suffer with that? We said, let's get rid of usernames and passwords. Now you just go in, put in Your first name, put in your last name, put in your email address. The form opens up. Once you've made the payment of £7 or $9, the form opens up. You fill the details in the form. Once those details are filled, they come back to us in the back end. Now we go back and check now, anything before 1980s, because everybody wasn't provided with a death certificate. Anything before that, we will take a word of mouth and say, okay, fine, we'll work with this. Anything after 1990s, we will not go ahead and do that.

[B]

Why?

[A]

Because these are recent debts and every. Most of the countries have started issuing death certificates. So we know where to go and check. Once that has been verified, then these.

[B]

Profiles go live and they provide like their pro bio, whatever they, you know.

[A]

So these people who come onto a platform, they provide those details because there's nowhere we can go out there and look for those. There's nothing out there.

[B]

Yeah, yeah, yeah. But I guess one day you can almost like integrate with AI where it can pull from, like the online databases.

[A]

We can, we can, however, being a very personal thing, being a very, you know, emotional thing. We don't want to integrate AI and we don't want, you know, another AI talking about your parents.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

Or about your great grandparents.

[B]

So. So it would be more the. The son or the daughters writing it for the grandparents. The parents.

[A]

The parents, the grandparents, whoever.

[B]

Yeah, okay, got it.

[A]

I'll take my own story. My grandmother's still alive.

[B]

Wow.

[A]

So I went back to her and I spoke to her. So we found out details about my great grandfather.

[B]

Yeah, it's great. Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[A]

So if somebody who's older in the family is still alive, you can at least get about two generations out there.

[B]

Yeah, that's great.

[A]

But if you lose them, which means you've lost two generations, automatically.

[B]

Yeah, yeah. Love it. Love it. So, you know, let's talk a little more now. We talked a lot about the business. We talked a little about the episode. What are some other takeaways from the episode? Whether they're wins and life lessons you've learned doing all of these great things or failures. Now, what are some lessons from the episode?

[A]

I think there's failure. There's success everywhere. When I go around the world taking awards, that's one of the biggest things that I'm achieving today, is getting those awards. Maybe the other businesses that I open. When you go out there and you create something which is already running, the competition is very high. However, when you come up with something very unique, like life Index, which is very unique, and nobody else is doing it. You've got a market for it. So I would suggest people that, you know, don't come up with the same thing as somebody who's done it in America, somebody's doing it back in China, so on and so on. You're repeating the same thing. Yeah, but to a different country. Come up with something more unique. I'm sure there are loads of ideas out there, and that's what I talk to people and tell them. Let's create something different, something unique.

[B]

Yeah, okay. Love it. The innovation side, right? Yeah. Yeah. I think it's, you know, it's definitely fascinating. I've grown a lot of companies, and what I always try and teach is there's a lot of great businesses out there that you can start, but always try and find a successful model. And then I say take a step to the right or left, into its own vertical where it stands out. And you're still building on foundations of a marketplace and, you know, stuff that, you know, people want or desire, but you take a step to the right or the left because there are other companies out there that do, like you said, they can go back and maybe get some data, but you've made it way more unique where people can add personal stories and really that personal element. Right. So talking about the episode and the legacy side, now, obviously your whole business model is about the legacy side, which is awesome. But more about your legacy. Right. And I imagine it is around this, but what do you want to be remembered for?

[A]

Well, I want to be remembered as somebody who made sure that everybody's legacy is left behind.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

I want to be known as, you know, I've been known in the circle. I am somebody who smiles the minute you come across, and I want to leave that smile. I want that smile to infect other people.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

Rather than anything else.

[B]

Yeah, love that. And when we talk about legacy, a lot of people, you know, they say they want to be remembered for good and great and all those things. What would you give some tips to other people out there about building something impactful. Right. And actually doing something that can create a legacy.

[A]

I think one thing comes back to me is don't give up. And one thing that you need to do is if you've got something, if you have an idea, go and work on it. Don't think about it. A lot of people that I meet every day, they podcast, mate. They keep thinking, can I do it? Do I want to do it? Stop doing that. Jump into it, as they say. You know, if you want to learn how to swim, if you can stand on the shore and keep thinking, I'm going to throw my arms like this. I'm going to throw my legs like this. It's not going to work. Get into the water. There are two ways only either you'll die, you'll survive if you survive, you're a survivor if you die, which means you're never meant to be here for too long.

[B]

I think when I started a lot of my businesses, I used to. I was a scientist and very, like, a chess champion. So very analytical and strategic. So I used to take months or years to, like, actually launch something because I would just overanalyze it. Whereas now we're very. We're much faster. We're much more like, okay, idea concept. Build the base model and then start testing it and getting it out there and then building off momentum. Right. Like, how can we, you know, build quicker? So I really like that. Next question. Around the episode and your episode and story, give. Give the audience one fascinating fact or lesson about you that they're going to learn through the episode.

[A]

Well, one thing that I do is if something comes to my head, I don't wait another minute. I just sit down and start working on it. Every other business idea would just come to me.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

Let's go back to my, you know, the restaurant now, India has only seen smallest pizzas. I said, you know, what do I want to do? So unique. That would be different.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

And I thought of it, and I started doing it the next day. I got my own ovens and everything where India was eating. The largest pizza was 14 inches. My smallest pizza was 14 inches, and the largest pizza was 21 inches.

[B]

The real American, we have some on Miami Beats.

[A]

That's where I made the difference, and that's where I knocked the market and people were buying it off.

[B]

Yeah. That's crazy. That's good. Yeah. And I think that comes back to what we said about the business model. Sidestep to the left or right. Correct. I try and teach. Right. Pisa was have been around and they were selling in India.

[A]

True.

[B]

But you took just a slightly different spin, and it probably was way more successful than just a normal pizza chain. True. That you could open. Right, Good. So last couple of questions. You know, when we talk about legacy, you know, you said what you want to be remembered for, but what does the word legacy really mean to you?

[A]

It is something that you want to be remembered. Once again, the same thing that you say is remembered for. And what have you Left behind. What have you done for the entire world? You know, as I wanted to leave my mom's legacy because I want the love to be remembered. I want her to be remembered by next generation. And that's what legacy means to me, over and over.

[B]

Great. So, last question. You know, your whole business model and your whole venture and goal is you know all about legacy, right? So you are a true legacy maker because you're out there doing it. Just give one tip to finish. Anyone that's maybe got fear or doubt in pursuing their own legacy, what would you say to them?

[A]

Hey, get up from that. Move your bum, bum. That's what I would say and that's what I tell my daughter as well. Because you know, you've got only one life and if you want to be successful or you want to leave a legacy, just go ahead and do it.

[B]

Love it.

[A]

Chances of failure are always there. There's no businessman out there who hasn't failed. Everybody's failed, failed three, four or five times before they can be successful. So don't worry about failures. If you will worry about failures, you'll never be successful.

[B]

Love it. And last question. People love the idea. They want to sign up. Can you just tell them how they go about signing up?

[A]

All they have to do is go on to life index.com as l y f d I n d e x dot com. You go in there, put in your first name, put in your last name, put in your email address, pay £7 or $9. Once you've done that, put in the details of the deceased, family member, whatever you have, whatever's available to you, put that in. Once that comes back to us, we will verify those details. Once those details are verified, you'll receive an email stating that this has gone live. Once that's going live, we can start looking at it. Not only that, you can take that link and send it out to family members or friends and they can come back and write stories about these. And those are the last words for these people. If you realize one thing, we have funerals. Every day people come to the funerals and they say something unique, something different.

[B]

Yeah, yeah.

[A]

But those don't get documented.

[B]

Or a car. Yes.

[A]

And then they never get documented. Once they don't get documented, we've lost amazing stories and legacies are lost. Like that.

[B]

Yeah. Love it. Well, there you have it. Everyone you can help leave legacies, write legacies. All for less than a slice of a pizza. So check it out. This is really what it's all about here. Leaving a legacy, building things that impact lives. And I think this is a big one. So super excited to dive into your episode. Keep crushing it. I'll see you guys soon. Keep leaving, Legacies. Take care.