End-of-life startup founder takes nationwide service Settld onto the global stage

• North East female founder takes centre stage at Lisbon Web Summit on Tuesday
• Settld ‘can be the global solution’ to a global problem

A pioneering North East company founder will take centre stage at the world’s biggest tech conference on Tuesday to shine a light on a hugely popular UK service which is helping to eradicate unnecessary admin stress for those dealing with the death of a loved one.

Tech entrepreneur Vicky Wilson, from Seaham, County Durham co-founded end-of-life admin service Settld, which launched its free service to the public earlier this year. The business is changing the way bereaved families handle end-of-life admin, by removing much of the unnecessary angst involved when multiple companies need to be individually notified of a death.

Wilson was invited to address the 20,000 attendees from the main stage at Web Summit in Lisbon, Portugal – which is billed as the world’s most influential tech event, and which Forbes describes as the “best technology conference on the planet”.

Settld’s free service allows members of the public in the UK to notify over 750 companies of a death in one go – from banks and insurers to energy firms, mobile providers, subscription services and others. It also allows users to close, transfer or amend accounts and obtain date of death balances..

Settld’s co-founder and CEO, Vicky Wilson, said: “There’s an enormous amount of unnecessary stress for bereaved individuals, not just in the UK but around the world, and particularly over the last 18 months of the pandemic. 

“I am convinced that Settld’s technology can be the global solution to a global end-of-life problem, and will help to alleviate stress for millions of grieving families worldwide.”

Wilson founded Settld after dealing with the admin nightmare of closing her grandmother’s accounts following her death in 2019. The young businesswoman also founded the Bereavement Standard campaign which has the support of more than 93,000 people and calls for better treatment for bereaved customers. 

Wilson, and Settld co-founder Julie Wilson, Vicky’s mother, are finalists at the Great British Entrepreneur Awards taking place later this month.