Imagine your CEO introducing himself like this during your new hire orientation: “Hi, I’m Matthijs. This is my boyfriend, and this is my dog, Beyoncé.”
That was how Matthijs Welle once opened Mews’ new hire orientation. A small but defining moment for people like Magali Elhage. Because when the CEO starts by being real, it signals that everyone else can be too.
In episode 125 of Women Disrupting Tech, we explore what happens when inclusion, psychological safety, and innovation are built into the heart of a company. And how Mews turned those values into business performance.
Scroll down to explore the lessons from this conversation, or listen to the full episode on Spotify, Apple, YouTube, or your favorite podcast app.
3 Lessons From This Conversation
If there is one thing I hope you take away from listening, it is that unsafe workplaces kill performance. Magali’s earlier career in traditional hospitality “killed her from the inside,” showing how much energy goes into hiding identity instead of performing. Her experience at Mews couldn’t have been more different. Because she felt safe, she could focus on what really matters: changing hospitality for the better.
Here are three more things you’ll learn by listening:
Diversity is a business advantage.
Everyone stays in hotels, so products must reflect everyone’s needs. A small group of white straight men simply can’t solve the problems for blind guests, neurodivergent travelers, or female travelers. When diversity becomes part of product design, inclusion stops being a side topic and starts driving business growth.
Culture is a leadership function, not an HR one
Matthijs used a Czech saying to describe it: “The fish stinks from the head.” Culture starts at the top, and at Mews it’s reinforced by leaders who model self-awareness and transparency. They constantly ask themselves where bias might be showing up and whether they’re addressing it in the right way. That kind of reflection makes inclusion part of daily practice, not a corporate statement.
Micromanagement rebranded to T-shaped leadership.
Matthijs believes good leaders know when to go deep and when to step back. He calls it being T-shaped: having depth in one area while understanding how it connects to the bigger picture. “We used to call it micromanagement, but today it’s a leadership skill.” True leadership means staying curious about the details without losing sight of the vision.
These lessons matter because they show that inclusion is not a side topic but a driver of performance and innovation. They remind us that leading with empathy and awareness creates space for people to do their best work.
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Or scroll down for magic moments.
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Or scroll down for magical moments, practical takeaways, and my own observations.
- 3 Lessons From This Conversation
- Highlights and timestamps
- 3 Magic Moments In The Episode
- Practical Takeaways for Founders
- The Quote From The Episode
- 3 Things That Changed The Way I Think
- A Question for You 🤔
- Coming Up On Women Disrupting Tech
- Listen to Episode 125 on Spotify, Apple, or YouTube
- Other ways to amplify the voices of Women Disrupting Tech
- About Magali Elhage
- About Matthijs Welle
- About Mews
- Events that Women Disrupting Tech Must-Attend
- What I Want To Leave You With
Highlights and timestamps
| Time | Highlight |
|---|---|
| 03:05 | Journey to Mews: Personal Stories of Transformation |
| 05:48 | Breaking Barriers: The Struggles of Diversity in Hospitality |
| 08:26 | From Traditional to Innovative: The Birth of Mews |
| 11:10 | Building a Tech-Driven Hospitality Future |
| 13:55 | Inclusion by Design: Creating a Culture of Belonging |
| 16:44 | Empowering Voices: The Role of Leadership in Diversity |
| 19:37 | The Importance of Storytelling in DEI Initiatives |
| 22:12 | Navigating Challenges: The Path to Inclusive Leadership |
| 25:07 | Creating Safe Spaces: The Mews Experience |
| 27:44 | The Role of Employee Resource Groups in Culture Building |
| 30:40 | Parental Leave and Support: Building for the Future |
| 33:50 | Addressing the Gender Pay Gap: A Long-Term Commitment |
| 36:40 | Leveraging AI for Growth and Learning |
| 39:40 | The Power of Allyship in Tech |
| 42:17 | Reflections on Personal Growth and Performance |
| 45:31 | Innovative Tools for Communication and Feedback |
| 48:19 | Facing Fears: Embracing Change in Leadership |
| 51:11 | Advice for Founders: Building an Inclusive Company |
| 54:19 | The Future of Mews: Vision and Strategy |
3 Magic Moments In The Episode
When Matthijs told the story of the first two women joining the office, I couldn’t help but smile. Almost overnight, the atmosphere changed. The men started cleaning up after themselves and became more aware of their behavior. No new policies, no training sessions, just the quiet power of diversity doing its work.
Here are three more moments that stayed with me:
Fear as fuel
Matthijs said something every founder can relate to: “Even if it’s crippling me with fear or anxiety, I jump into it to learn more about it.” When AI first appeared on the scene, he feared it could destroy his company. But instead of stepping back, he leaned in. It’s a mindset that turns fear into curiosity, and curiosity into leadership.
Safety as freedom
Around the 40-minute mark, Magali describes what it feels like to work in an unsafe environment: the self-censorship, the exhaustion of pretending, the constant effort to hide who you are. Then she contrasts it with her first new hire orientation at Mews, when Matthijs introduced his boyfriend and his dog. In that moment, she realized she could finally be herself. The shift from hiding to belonging changed how she performed and how she led others.
Role models matter
A bit later, Magali shares what having Matthijs as a role model did to her own ambitions. Her reflection that “If you can make it to C-level being who you are, it means my career isn’t stuck because of who I am,” captures the impact of seeing someone like you lead authentically. Representation isn’t about tokenism or quotas. It’s about showing others what’s possible when you stop conforming and start leading from who you really are.
These moments matter because they show that inclusion is built on real people and actions, not slogans on a website. They remind us that when people feel safe enough to be themselves, they start doing their best work as their best selves.
💬 What was your favorite moment from the episode? Let me know in the comments.
Or scroll down for practical tips that will fuel your founder journey.
Practical Takeaways for Founders
Mews wasn’t designed to be inclusive from day one. Inclusion grew from small, authentic choices like Matthijs being openly gay and using English internally. Those decisions didn’t come from strategy decks or slogans. They came from being real, paying attention, and learning along the way.
Here are three practical insights you can apply to your own company:
Lead by example and make action visible.
When AI first appeared on the scene, Matthijs feared it could destroy his company. Instead of stepping back, he decided to learn his way through the fear. He built a bot himself, filmed the process, shared it online, and asked his leadership team to do the same before attending the offsite. It was a simple but powerful way to turn talk into accountability. By embracing what scares you and showing others how you learn, you make curiosity part of the culture.
Build through small experiments.
Inclusion and innovation rarely start with big declarations. They grow from many small experiments that evolve as the company learns. At Mews, progress happens through iteration: testing new policies, adjusting when things don’t work, and keeping inclusion alive as an everyday practice. Building a truly inclusive company is a slow, deliberate process of many small decisions that, over time, shape the culture and the business.
Support every stage of life.
Mews also looks at inclusion beyond work performance. They support primary and secondary caregivers through fair parental-leave policies, helping parents return to work without losing career momentum. That same attention helps close the gender pay gap and shows that inclusion doesn’t end at the office door. It extends to how you treat people in every chapter of their lives. These takeaways matter because they show that inclusion and performance are built the same way: through consistent, visible actions. They remind us that culture is created by what leaders do, not what they say.
💬 Know a founder who should know about these? Share the episode with them using the buttons below.
Or scroll down to discover an inspiring quote and learn about my own takeaways.
Next, I’ll share the moments from this conversation that shifted how I think about building inclusive companies.
The Quote From The Episode
Towards the end of the episode, Magali, Matthijs and I talk about the role of men in the DEI conversation. It’s a topic that often feels loaded and a left-wing hobby, but Matthijs frames it in a way that cuts through the noise and gets to the heart of what allyship really means.
“I think the word ally, it’s not a noun, it’s a verb… What are you doing to lean into that conversation.”
Matthijs Welle, CEO of Mews
3 Things That Changed The Way I Think
When I checked into a hotel during my recent holiday, I instantly remembered Matthijs’s story about manual hotel processes. What Matthijs and his team are building at Mews isn’t just software. It’s a system that removes friction, giving both guests and employees the space to focus on what really matters.
It’s one of those moments from this episode that changed how I look at leadership, growth, and privilege. Here are the others.
Freedom to grow
Both Magali and Matthijs joined Mews to escape ceilings that limited their growth. For both, the company became a form of liberation. A place where they could finally be their best selves and help reshape an industry they once felt excluded from.
(P)Reaching beyond the converted
At one point, Matthijs mentioned that this podcast “preaches to the converted.” It made me rethink my own audience and how to reach the middle group: people who may not identify with DEI labels but are still open to listening, learning, and changing how they lead. That’s where real progress happens.
Privilege and perspective
Hearing both Magali and Matthijs describe hiding parts of themselves made me aware of my own privilege. As a white heterosexual man, I’ve always had the safety they had to fight for. Producing this episode reminded me how much of a privilege it is to host these conversations and to be trusted with stories that challenge me to look deeper.
And Magali’s story about building her own AI coach planted the seed for the AI Coach I now want to build myself.
What changed your thinking? I’d love to hear from you in the comments.
A Question for You 🤔
💬 What’s one small action you can take to make your team feel safer and more included?
👇 Share your thoughts in the comments. Let’s keep this conversation going and make inclusion the new normal in tech.
Coming Up On Women Disrupting Tech
Next week, we continue our journey with another female founder who bootstrapped. Freshtable founder and CEO Yasmina Khababi shares how she built Freshtable as a platform where food connects climate, migration, and human dignity.
The second part of our conversation is a masterclass on mental health. Here’s a clip where she explains why she treats her mind as a sanctuary and how discipline, reflection, and rest help her lead with purpose.
So stay tuned for more Women Disrupting Tech. And until the next episode, as always, Keep Being Awesome!
Dirkjan
PS If you fear missing out, subscribe to updates or follow the show on Spotify, Apple Podcasts or YouTube.
Listen to Episode 125 on Spotify, Apple, or YouTube
How Mews Builds Inclusive Cultures in Hospitality with Magali Elhage and Matthijs Welle | Ep. 125 – Women Disrupting Tech
Other ways to amplify the voices of Women Disrupting Tech
Want to make inclusion in tech the new normal by 2032? Here’s how you can help:
Follow the Women Disrupting Tech Podcast
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Send this episode to a friend, a colleague, or someone who needs to hear it. Every share helps to build a more inclusive tech future and supports my guests in getting the stage they deserve.
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About Magali Elhage
Magali Elhage is a former hotel-operations specialist who now leads guest-experience strategy at Mews. Early in her career she worked on the frontline of hospitality and witnessed the friction of manual processes and outdated systems. At Mews she uses that insight to help hoteliers deliver more personal, efficient service with technology. She believes hospitality tech is the way forward to redefine industry standards and put people (not paperwork) first.
You can connect with Magali on LinkedIn.
About Matthijs Welle
Matthijs Welle is CEO of Mews and a former hotel manager turned tech-leader. He joined the company in its early days to help replace the systems that held the industry back, rather than just patch them. Under his leadership, Mews has grown into a global cloud platform for hospitality operations. He sees culture, inclusion and innovation as inseparable and leads from the front to turn those values into performance.
You can connect with Matthijs on LinkedIn.
About Mews
Mews was founded in 2012 by ex-hoteliers who knew all too well how outdated systems slowed down service and innovation. Today, it’s a cloud platform used by thousands of properties worldwide to automate tasks, personalise guest experiences and free staff to focus on people. At Mews, building the right culture is as important as building the right product, because when teams feel safe, customers notice.
To learn more about this Dutch Unicorn, visit their website and (like 86 thousand other people) follow them on LinkedIn.
Events that Women Disrupting Tech Must-Attend
The fall is loaded with great events, and I’ve found some cool ones. Below is one event you definitely want to check out. For a full overview of all events, including links to buy tickets, please check the events page.
Diverse Leaders in Tech Events
If you like being in the know about what is happening in the DEI space, Diverse Leaders in Tech is the place to be.
Every last Thursday of the month, they have monthly in-person meetups for tech people, HR leaders and supporters of diversity to exchange insights, tackle challenges, and take action. It’s a vibrant, safe space where diversity is celebrated.
You can register for events on the DLiT website. Did I mention that joining your first event is free?
Understanding Women’s Health – 3 December 2025
During this final 3mbrace Health event of 2025, you’re invited to better understand the importance of women’s health and the powerful role it plays in our personal, professional, and societal well-being. Men are expressly invited to join. And yes, I will be there too. More info and tickets can be found here.
Equals Events
Equals is on a mission to shape a society where women and men stand on equal footing. At their home base in Amsterdam, they regularly organize events, but you can organize yours there too (like the 3mbrace Health events). You can find the events on Luma.
That’s What She Said
Looking for an event to start your new year off right? Well, Impowr and Boom Chicago have got your back. They’re starting on 14 January with an event where networking meets comedy. You can get your early-bird ticket (a €10 discount until 30 November) on the Boom Chicago website.
What I Want To Leave You With
One reason I love having Magali and Matthijs on the show is that Mews treats inclusion as part of the business, not a side project. Employee Resource Groups (ERGs) are a big part of that. They serve as safe spaces where people can find role models, mentors, and community.
Matthijs used to think of them as ‘corporate mumbo jumbo,’ but when he saw how they operate at Mews, he turned around. Now, Mews compensates ERG leaders with equity shares, recognizing that building culture and diversifying the employee base is real work and it deserves to be valued as such.
It’s a reminder that when inclusion is rewarded, it scales. That’s how small cultural actions turn into lasting change.
Listen to the episode on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or YouTube.
Women Disrupting Tech | The Podcast 