In this value-packed episode, Eunicia Peret speaks with Renee Fry, CEO and co-founder of Gentreo, the award-winning online estate and life planning platform. With a career spanning government, tech startups, and now fintech, Renee shares how personal experience and professional expertise converged to create a mission-driven company solving a huge gap in estate planning. They dive deep into why planning isn't just for the wealthy, how families can avoid massive legal battles, and the real-life inflection points that demand attention—and action. Renee also offers insight into leading with integrity, the risks of unchecked AI content, and the power of simplifying complex systems for everyday people.

Key Takeaways:

Estate planning is for everyone: It's not just for the wealthy—everyday families need to prepare for health issues, caretaking, and asset protection.

Life moments drive action: Major life events—like births, deaths, illness, or moving—are often when people need to update or start estate planning.

Affordability is key to access: Gentreo’s pricing model is built to remove barriers and empower families with complete, affordable legal protection.

State-specific laws matter: Estate planning must be tailored to your state’s laws, which frequently change and affect healthcare proxies, wills, and POAs.

Digital access saves lives: If no one can find your will or healthcare proxy, it’s as if it doesn’t exist. Secure, shareable access is essential.

AI must be fact-checked: While AI can enhance productivity, using it without oversight can disrupt workflows or lead to costly misinformation.

Leadership sets the tone: Ethical, thoughtful leadership influences not just your team’s productivity, but their behavior, morale, and culture.

Small business owners must lead the way: By ensuring their own estate plans are in place, leaders can guide employees and loved ones to do the same.

Timeline Summary:

[00:00:00 ] Introduction to Renee Fry and the founding of Gentreo

[00:03:00 ] Personal stories that inspired a mission to make estate planning accessible

[00:05:00 ] The misunderstanding that estate planning is only for the wealthy

[00:06:30 ] Estate planning’s connection to Alzheimer’s, aging, and family inflection points

[00:08:00 ] How legal battles start when families don’t have documents in place

[00:09:00 ] Top life events that trigger the need for planning

[00:11:00 ] Gentreo’s model for ongoing document updates as life changes

[00:13:00 ] The cost breakdown and how Gentreo is more accessible than attorneys

[00:15:00 ] Importance of digital access and storing documents securely

[00:17:00 ] Creating a full “family plan” that includes children, spouses, and aging parents

[00:19:00 ] Estate planning tips: frequency of review, accessibility, and documentation

[00:20:30 ] Emergency access buttons and real-life caregiver stories

[00:22:00 ] Business lessons from working in government and respecting historical context

[00:24:00 ] Gentreo’s female leadership team built from previous government colleagues

[00:25:00 ] Teaching executive productivity with AI at MIT

[00:27:00 ] Using AI to align meetings and tasks with real goals

[00:29:00 ] Pitfalls of unverified AI content and the ripple effects of poor implementation

[00:31:00 ] Leaders must fact-check and take responsibility for the tools they use

[00:33:00 ] Closing thoughts on ethical leadership and modeling excellence for your team

Links & Resources:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/renee-fry-a4ab133/