Uptrust
The business, the turning points, and the decisions behind them.
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Sections to complete：02 · 05
01 / WHAT IT BUILT
What the company did
Uptrust was a San Francisco legal-tech startup founded in 2015 by Jacob Sills and Elijah Gwynn that built a communication platform to keep people out of jail. Its mobile app sent text reminders to defendants about court dates and enabled two-way communication between defendants and public defenders, aiming to cut failure-to-appear violations and prevent incarceration for missed court dates, later expanding into probation and parole check-ins.
02 / FAILURE REASONS
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03 / EVENT HISTORY
Events in the structured record
- Founded
Uptrust was founded in San Francisco by Jacob Sills and Elijah Gwynn to reduce incarceration caused by missed court appearances, launching with public defender offices including Contra Costa County, California.
- Seed round and expansion
The company raised $2 million to expand beyond court-date reminders into probation and parole, enabling mobile check-ins and two-way communication, and ran pilot tests in Iowa and California.
- Acquired by FieldWare
Uptrust was acquired by FieldWare, a corrections and justice software company, with the terms undisclosed.
04 / CONTEMPORARY REBUILD ASSESSMENT
Difficulty of rebuilding this project today
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Overall assessment: Not completed
05 / CAUSAL CHAIN / AFTERMATH
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