Tellja
Tellja GmbH operates a white-label B2B SaaS referral marketing platform used by 20+ DACH enterprises across telecom, insurance, energy, and banking to run customer-recommendation programs via embedded widgets, branded portals, and 30-day conversion tracking.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2009
- HeadquartersFrankfurt, Germany
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingSoftware
What Tellja does
Tellja GmbH is a Frankfurt am Main-based B2B SaaS company founded in 2009 that operates a white-label referral marketing platform serving enterprise customers across the DACH region (Germany, Switzerland, Austria). The company's core product enables enterprises in regulated consumer-service verticals — telecommunications, insurance, energy, banking, and municipal utilities — to launch and operate "customer-recommends-customer" (Kunden-werben-Kunden) programs without building in-house infrastructure. Tellja's technology stack consists of an embeddable web widget, cookie-based tracking with a 30-day conversion attribution window, branded partner portals (e.g., vodafone.tellja.eu, swm.tellja.eu), a unified Champions referrer identity system, and a browser extension (Tellja-Button) for off-catalog recommendations.
The platform is monetized through recurring SaaS subscriptions from enterprise partners, who in turn distribute monetary rewards (typically €80–€450 per successful referral depending on product value) to individual consumer recommenders. Named enterprise customers include Vodafone, CosmosDirekt, Hannoversche Versicherung, ADAC Versicherung, R+V Versicherung, Verivox, Berliner Volksbank, M-net, NetCologne, Mainova, SWM Stadtwerke München, Stadtwerke Düsseldorf, eprimo, MAXENERGY, NetAachen, Provinzial, and Sunrise — totaling 20+ white-label deployments. The company operates with 11–50 employees and is founder-managed by Managing Director Jens Rode (with CTOS Michael Stoehr). Tellja received early-stage institutional backing from Creathor Ventures and Neuhaus Partners in 2009 and 2011, but has not announced further funding events and generates undisclosed but likely modest recurring revenue. Distribution is almost entirely through embedded partner websites and white-label portals, with the company effectively invisible to end-consumers who interact only with the partner brand surface.
Tellja firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Tellja
- Legal name
- Tellja GmbH
- Website
- https://tellja.de
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2009
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- Tellja GmbH operates a white-label B2B SaaS referral marketing platform used by 20+ DACH enterprises across telecom, insurance, energy, and banking to run customer-recommendation programs via embedded widgets, branded portals, and 30-day conversion tracking.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Tellja industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Referral Marketing Software
- NAICS
- Custom Computer Programming Services (541511)
- akta.pro primary industry
- B2B Demand Generation & Lead Nurture Agencies (BPAFAKAA)
Keywords
Where Tellja is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Frankfurt
- HQ country
- Germany
- HQ region
- Europe
Offices1 record
Markets served
Tellja business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Software
- Cost components
- Personnel, Technology or R&D, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure
Revenue model
- Referral Program Platform Fees: Tellja provides its white-label referral marketing platform to partner companies (telecom, insurance, energy providers) who pay for the service to enable customer-to-customer recommendations. The company handles the technology, tracking, and reward distribution.
Distribution channels1 record
Marketing channels1 record
Tellja product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Tellja operates a white-label B2B SaaS referral marketing platform that enables enterprise companies in telecom, insurance, energy, and banking to run customer referral programs. The platform provides an embedded widget, branded partner portals, a 30-day referral tracking window, and automated reward/Prämie distribution. Individual consumers (Champions) use the platform to recommend partner products to friends and earn monetary rewards upon successful conversion.
Product overview
Tellja is a referral marketing SaaS platform that provides white-label solutions for businesses to run customer referral programs. The core offering consists of the Empfehlerportal (recommender portal) for individuals to track and manage their referrals, the Tellja Widget for embedding recommendation functionality, and the Tellja-Button browser extension for quick web-wide referrals. For business clients, Tellja offers customizable B2B solutions that include partner-specific white-label portals (such as for Vodafone, SWM, Verivox, Berliner Volksbank, CosmosDirekt, Hannoversche, eprimo, M-net, Mainova, NetCologne, NetAachen, R+V, ADAC Versicherung, Sunrise, and MAXENERGY) and dedicated cashback platforms. The platform facilitates the three-step referral process of recommending products, waiting for friend conversion within 30 days, and receiving prize rewards.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Tellja Empfehlerportal (Champions Portal) White-label recommender portal where individual referrers (Champions) can track their recommendations, view earned rewards, and manage their referral activities across partner companies on the Tellja platform.
- Tellja Widget Embedded widget that allows users to select products, fill in recipient details, and send personalized product recommendations to friends directly from partner company websites.
- Tellja-Button Browser extension enabling users to quickly recommend products or offers they encounter while browsing the web, with automatic prize selection and recipient input.
- Partner-Cashback-Portal White-label cashback portal where recommenders can generate cashback links and track their cashback earnings for partner companies such as Vodafone.
- Unternehmen Lösungen (B2B Referral Platform) B2B referral marketing platform enabling enterprise companies to create and manage customer referral programs with customizable workflows, tracking, white-label branded portals, and automated reward distribution.
Companies that use Tellja
Customer profileNamed customers17 records
Segments2 records
Ideal customer profiles2 records
Tellja technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature3 records
Tellja partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
17 partnerships are on record, tiered core.
- VodafonecoreVodafone uses Tellja's referral marketing platform to enable its customers to recommend DSL, TV, and mobile services. Partners receive branded portal pages and reward distribution for successful referrals up to €450.
- CosmosDirektcoreCosmosDirekt, a direct insurance provider, uses Tellja's platform for its recommendation program. Customers can recommend insurance products and earn rewards up to €150 per successful referral.
- Hannoversche VersicherungcoreHannoversche uses Tellja's platform for its 'Freunde werben Freunde' (friends recommend friends) program. Specializes in disability and term life insurance referrals at €150 per successful recommendation.
- ADAC VersicherungcoreADAC Versicherung operates a referral program powered by Tellja for its insurance products, accessible through the adac-versicherung.tellja.eu portal.
- R+V Allgemeine Versicherung AGcoreR+V Versicherung uses Tellja's referral marketing platform accessible at ruv.tellja.eu for customer referral programs.
- MAXENERGYcoreMAXENERGY, an Austrian energy provider, uses Tellja's platform for its 'MAX Friends' referral program. Customers recommending electricity and gas plans can earn up to €80 in rewards.
- eprimocoreeprimo, an energy provider, operates a referral program through Tellja's platform accessible at eprimo.tellja.eu.
- MainovacoreMainova, a Frankfurt-based energy provider, uses Tellja's platform for customer referrals to its energy services.
- M-netcoreM-net, a Bavarian telecommunications provider, uses Tellja's platform for its referral marketing program accessible at m-net.tellja.eu.
- NetAachencoreNetAachen, a regional telecommunications provider in Aachen, uses Tellja's platform for local customer referral programs.
- NetColognecoreNetCologne, a Cologne-based telecommunications company, operates a referral program through Tellja's platform accessible at netcologne.tellja.eu.
- Berliner VolksbankcoreBerliner Volksbank uses Tellja's platform for banking product referrals, accessible through the Berliner Volksbank branded portal.
- SWM - Stadtwerke MünchencoreStadtwerke München (SWM), a major municipal utility, uses Tellja's platform for customer referrals to energy and telecommunications services.
- VerivoxcoreVerivox, a German comparison platform for energy and telecommunications, uses Tellja's referral marketing platform accessible at verivox.tellja.eu.
- ProvinzialcoreProvinzial, an insurance provider, operates a referral program through Tellja's platform accessible at provincial.tellja.eu.
- SunrisecoreSunrise, a Swiss telecommunications provider, uses Tellja's platform for its German and Swiss customer referral programs.
- Stadtwerke DüsseldorfcoreStadtwerke Düsseldorf (SWD), a municipal utility provider, uses Tellja's platform for customer referrals to energy services.
Scale indicators1 record
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights4 records
Tellja competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Friendbuy: US-based referral and loyalty marketing platform for enterprise brands. Directly comparable on white-label referral SaaS mechanics and enterprise customer acquisition focus.
- Extole: Enterprise referral marketing platform providing SaaS tools for branded advocate programs. Direct competitor on B2B referral SaaS model serving large consumer brands.
- Mention Me: UK-headquartered referral marketing platform offering branded referral programs for enterprise clients in telecom, financial services and retail. Closest direct competitor by product (white-label referral SaaS) and customer base (large regulated enterprises).
- ReferralCandy: Referral marketing SaaS primarily focused on e-commerce and DTC brands. Partial overlap with Tellja's white-label referral mechanics, though Tellja's verticals (telecom, insurance, energy) are heavier on regulated enterprise than ReferralCandy's SMB/DTC base.
- SaaSquatch: Referral and affiliate program platform with white-label SaaS tooling for partner-branded programs. Direct competitor in referral platform mechanics for B2B2C use cases.
- Ambassador (by Fiverr): Referral, affiliate and influencer marketing platform offering white-label SaaS for enterprise partner programs. Comparable on B2B referral SaaS delivery and enterprise customer profile.
Broad incumbents
- Impact: Global partnership management platform covering affiliate, influencer and referral programs at enterprise scale. Overlaps with Tellja's referral SaaS but operates a much broader partnership automation suite.
- Yotpo: Larger marketing platform offering reviews, loyalty and referral marketing as part of a broader D2C commerce suite. Overlaps with Tellja's referral product but as part of a much wider portfolio.
Emerging players
- Talkable: Referral marketing SaaS originally built for e-commerce, with white-label referral program tooling for enterprise brands. Comparable on referral mechanics and SaaS delivery model.
Others
- Mention (by Mention Solutions): Media monitoring and brand advocacy toolset; adjacent rather than directly competitive, included as an ecosystem participant in brand/advocacy marketing where Tellja also operates.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
Tellja social profiles
Digital presenceTellja financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Tellja leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles4 records
Tellja funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds2 records
Investors2 records
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Tellja M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Tellja
What does Tellja do?
Tellja operates a white-label B2B SaaS referral marketing platform that enables enterprise companies in telecom, insurance, energy, and banking to run customer referral programs. The platform provides an embedded widget, branded partner portals, a 30-day referral tracking window, and automated reward/Prämie distribution. Individual consumers (Champions) use the platform to recommend partner products to friends and earn monetary rewards upon successful conversion.
Is Tellja a public or private company?
Tellja is a private company. It is classified as venture growth investor backed and is currently operating.
When was Tellja founded?
Tellja was founded in 2009. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is Tellja based?
Tellja is headquartered in Frankfurt, Germany, in the Europe region.
How does Tellja make money?
One revenue line is on record: referral Program Platform Fees.
Who are Tellja's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Friendbuy, Extole, Mention Me, ReferralCandy, SaaSquatch and Ambassador (by Fiverr). Broad incumbents are Impact and Yotpo. Talkable is listed as an emerging player. Mention (by Mention Solutions) is listed as an others.
Does Tellja have an API?
No public API is recorded for Tellja.
What industry is Tellja in?
Tellja's product category is Referral Marketing Software. Its primary akta.pro industry code is BPAFAKAA, B2B Demand Generation & Lead Nurture Agencies. Its NAICS code is 541511.