Settly, an HR platform for employee relocation, has secured €6 million in seed funding to continue its growth. The Amsterdam-based company’s funding from the French ’2050’ evergreen impact fund and the Belgian Mediahuis Ventures, reflecting its international purpose. Having bootstrapped since its foundation in 2019, Settly has already grown to 50 employees across seven European countries and will use the funding to fuel its growth as it helps businesses with the millions of workers work internationally.

Navigating the complexities of international moves

Although working internationally is increasingly common, and for many a positive aspect of their work, it is not always straightforward. Moving to a new country brings with it a host of changes and challenges. From navigating a bureaucracy to negotiating and new culture, the transition puts pressure on the employee, and in turn, the employer who must support them. And with three-quarters of companies looking overseas to because of talent shortages, it’s a growing problem, the number of people working outside their country of birth is expected to grow by 70 million in the next few years.

Settly helps by offering support at every level. Helping through immigration and tax, up to taking a holistic approach to help people feel at home in their new country. “Our mission is to transform the future of work,” says co-founder and CEO Marieke van Iperen. “It no longer matters where you come from, but where you feel at home.”

To help with this, Settly has a truly diverse team. “Diversity, equality and inclusion are in our DNA,” van Iperen said. “Starting with our own team of 55 who we’re proud to say is majority female across all levels with the LGTBQIA+ community well represented, and consists of 33 nationalities.”

Satisfying clients in a difficult sector

Settly’s approach of offering a personal approach that goes beyond just relocation, backed up with teams based in every country it operates, has helped it meet with considerable success in a sector which sees about 40% of international moves encounter difficulties that result in expense for employers, unhappy employees and even failed hires. Settly, however, have seen growth of 350% in the past year, and satisfaction rates of 9.2/10. It was named in the top five bootstrapped startups in the world by Dealroom last year, and this year was a finalised in KPMG’s Tech Innovator of the Year award.

The platform aims to give its clients a competitive edge. Working seamlessly with their HR processes to support new hires and internal relocations, it automates many of the admin tasks that were traditionally undertaken by HR, allowing their professionals to carry out functions that have more impact. And, because of the support it offers employers, it improves engagement and satisfaction. 2050 founder, Marie Ekeland, said, “Settly’s satisfaction score of 9.2 shows a strong need for a personalised approach in a market worth $58 billion among larger multinationals alone.”

Having met with significant success as a bootstrapped startup, Settly plans to use the investment to continue that success, and is looking to cement its position in the key markets it already operates in, while extending its product offer and expanding into other global markets.