Marieke van Iperen never planned to become a founder. That only changed after she became a mom and purpose became non-negotiable. She decided to use her lived experiences to do something simple and difficult at the same time. Make people feel at home when they move to a new country.
That belief is the foundation of Settly. And it shows why relocation is not just paperwork. It is identity, belonging, and the human side of moving teams across borders.
But our conversation covers much more. In 42 minutes we talk about immigration, scaling, team culture and safe spaces.
Listen on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or YouTube, or scroll down to learn more about the conversation.
3 Lessons From This Conversation
Marieke shares how her personal experience of moving and struggling to feel at home led her to found Settly. Settly’s core mission is to create a world where everyone feels at home. One thing that stands out in this conversation is how value-driven decisions can scale.
Growth and values can reinforce each other.
Belonging is not fluffy. It is rooted in design. Marieke shows that you can build a company that grows fast without losing sight of community, because growth and purpose are not opposites. They can reinforce each other when you make them part of how you operate.
The right capital is a tool, not the destination.
Bootstrapping first protected Settly’s values. Later, when it was time to scale, she chose impact investors because they understood the link between money and expansion. For her, the capital is not the point. The capital is the tool that unlocks more reach.
Belonging happens in culture, not in forms or packages.
Belonging is not something you solve with a form. It requires trust, curiosity and asking why more often. When people are encouraged to bring their full selves, you unlock a level of connection that actually makes relocation work.
This matters because belonging is often treated like a soft outcome. But this conversation makes it clear that it is the engine behind performance and growth.
Share this episode with someone who cares about making people feel at home in new places.
Or scroll down for magic moments.
And if you want more lessons like this? Follow the podcast or subscribe to updates for a weekly dose of female founder inspiration.
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 126 on Spotify, Apple, or YouTube
- Other ways to amplify the voices of Women Disrupting Tech
- About Marieke van Iperen
- About Settly
- Events that Women Disrupting Tech Must-Attend
- What I Want To Leave You With
Highlights and timestamps
| Time | Highlight |
|---|---|
| 03:00 | Journey to Becoming a CEO |
| 04:16 | Hippie Roots and Startup Culture |
| 05:36 | Bootstrapping and Values in Business |
| 06:51 | Cultural Intelligence in Hiring |
| 12:15 | Navigating COVID-19 Challenges |
| 15:16 | Geopolitical Challenges in Expansion |
| 17:16 | Overview of Settly and Its Services |
| 19:44 | Impact of Government Policies on Business |
| 24:59 | Changing Perspectives on Immigration |
| 28:38 | Creating Safe Spaces in Companies |
| 44:02 | Men’s Role in Inclusivity |
| 45:02 | New Features and Closing Thoughts |
3 Magic Moments In The Episode
One in three international moves fails. The stat shows what happens when companies focus on getting someone hired instead of helping them feel at home. And it shows the magic in the work that Marieke is doing with Settly. Here are three more magical moments from our conversation.
Turning negative events into opportunities.
Marieke grew up with scarcity. A single mom. Welfare. Hard moments. She learned to pause and look for the lesson before reacting. Over time, that coping mechanism became a source of strength. It helps her make choices rooted in optimism rather than fear.
When a Covid idea became a platform feature.
Settly started online community events during the pandemic. It began as a way to give stranded hires something to hold on to. That experiment became a core feature of the product. It shows how improvisation can unlock something lasting.
Tenant Hub makes belonging practical.
Tenant Hub helps newcomers find each other so they can increase their housing budget together. It is simple and free. And it shows that belonging is not just philosophy. It is product decisions that help people feel at home faster.
These moments matter because they show how belief becomes action. And how action becomes culture.
💬 What was your magic 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
Much of our conversation is about belonging. But when we talk about why she bootstrapped and what she learned from getting VCs on board, Marieke shares some great learnings that all founders could benefit from.
Structure helps you fast-track decisions
Getting investors involved forced more structure into the business. That structure helped Marieke and her team make better calls in less time. It shows that the right support at the right moment can help you skip unnecessary rework.
Learning is fun, but not always best for business
The early days of Settly were a lot about trial and error. Only when her investors started challenging her and her partner in board meetings did she discover that she could shorten her learning curve by borrowing patterns that already work.
Curiosity builds belonging
Never assume. Stay curious. Ask why. Take the time to understand someone’s background and needs. Belonging is not an abstract idea. It is the result of these small choices repeated every day.
These takeaways matter because founders often jump straight to execution. But belonging and business good outcomes both require structure and intention.
💬 Know a founder who should hear this? Use the share button below to tell them about the episode.
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
I mentioned Marieke’s ability to reframe negative situations into an opportunity. And I think it is one of her really strong points. This quote captures the essence of what it is about.
“With every downside there is always an opportunity to come out stronger if you pause, reflect and try to take the learnings out.”
Marieke van Iperen, CEO and cofounder of Settly
3 Things That Changed The Way I Think
This episode is slightly different from most other episodes in the sense that we go deep on Marieke’s personal observations. Here’s what our conversation taught me.
One in three moves fails
I knew belonging mattered. But the 1 in 3 failure rate for hires involving relocations surprised me. It shows how often we optimize for hiring instead of human landing. And that we shouldn’t see belonging as a nice-to-have, but as a cost driver.
Different cultures respond differently to stress
When Marieke talked about her own team after the 2023 election, I realized how much background shapes emotional safety. The same uncertainty can trigger fear in one person and curiosity in another.
Angel investors earlier, not VCs earlier
I found this refreshing. We often think “just raise sooner”. But Marieke makes a case that some learning can only happen when you build your own pattern first. That nuance shifted the way I look at funding advice.
These reflections matter because they force me to look at belonging not only as a founder topic, but as a personal one.
What changed your thinking? I would love to hear from you in the comments.
A Question for You 🤔
💬 What was the biggest eye-opener of the episode for you? Was it that 1 in 3 moves fail? Or that we really need the talents to come to the Netherlands and feel at home? Or that the housing crisis plays a role in the debate around immigration?
👇 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’ll move back to ally territory. In episode 128, Salmaan Sana teaches us how leadership, emotional health and compassion help us to be better allies.
And talking about allyship, Salmaan has some opinions about what is needed to create a more equal society. Like the need to overcompensate people who so far have been undercompensated.
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 126 on Spotify, Apple, or YouTube
How to Use Relocation to Build Inclusive Teams with Settly CEO Marieke van Iperen | Ep. 127 – 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
Follow the podcast on your favorite platform. Every follow brings these stories to more people.
Give the show a rating or review on Spotify or Apple.
It only takes a moment, but it tells others this podcast is worth listening to. And helps the voices of my guests carry further.
Share the stories that move you.
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.
So when you know someone who should hear it, pass it on when you’re done.
About Marieke van Iperen
Marieke van Iperen is the CEO and co-founder of Settly. Before she became a founder she spent more than a decade leading HR and Reward teams at global companies like Uber, PwC, Nike, Starbucks, and Manpower. She saw how difficult it can be for talent to move to a new country, and that experience became the starting point for Settly. Her mission is simple. Create a world where everyone feels at home.
Settly helps companies relocate people in a way that saves time and money while increasing belonging. The platform integrates with HR systems, gives clear insight into budgets, and offers support for housing, immigration, tax, moving goods, schooling, spouse support, and cultural transition. With a diverse, value-driven team and thousands of successful moves, Settly shows that relocation is not just about logistics. It is about helping talent land well so they can contribute, grow, and stay.
You can connect with Marieke on LinkedIn.
About Settly
Settly is a values-driven HR tech company on a mission to create a world where everyone feels at home. Founded by Marieke van Iperen and Kimo Paula in 2019, the startup emerged from real experience: Marieke’s years in global HR and Kimo’s expertise in destination services revealed a stark gap in how companies support relocating talent. Settly’s all-in-one platform brings together support for housing, immigration, tax, moving goods, schooling, spouse integration and cultural transition — all integrated with core HR systems to help companies attract, engage and retain global talent efficiently.
From day one, Settly has made community and inclusion part of its business model. The team boasts wide national and cultural diversity and early recognition, such as being named a Top 200 Inspiring & Diverse Start-Up. Backed by a 9.2 CSAT and over 5,000 successful moves, Settly stands as proof that relocation is more than logistics: it is identity work. By helping people truly feel at home, Settly helps companies unlock performance, reduce cost and enable sustainable growth.
You can learn more about the company and about Tenant Hub on the Settly website and by following Settly 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.
Featured event: 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. So buy your tickets 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.
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?
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.
What I Want To Leave You With
We often talk about talent and innovation like they are separate domains. But this episode showed me that the future of our tech ecosystem will not only be shaped by who we manage to hire. It will be shaped by how we make talent feel that they belong.
Because belonging is not a perk. It is a human right and an economic necessity. The Netherlands needs new talent to keep building and competing. And we need to stop treating relocation as logistics and start treating it as identity work. That is where growth lives.
Listen to the episode on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or YouTube, and discover how Settly transforms relocation into belonging.
Women Disrupting Tech | The Podcast 