TEFL Heaven

What TEFL Heaven does

TEFL Heaven Limited is a privately held, founder-owned teacher placement service founded in 2007 by Mike Maitland and headquartered in Bangkok, Thailand, with a registered office in Coventry, England. The company places native and near-native English speakers — typically bachelor's-degree holders seeking TEFL certification — into teaching positions at vetted schools across 10 program locations spanning Southeast Asia (Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia), East Asia (Japan, South Korea), Europe (Barcelona, Madrid, Czechia), and Latin America (Costa Rica, Mexico). Its customer base is geographically dispersed, drawn primarily from the UK, US, Australia, Canada, Ireland, and South Africa.

The core product is a bundled teacher placement program that includes a 120-hour TEFL certification (delivered via a partner training provider), a guaranteed school introduction, full visa process guidance, pre-departure support, and in-country assistance throughout the teaching contract. Program fees are confirmed at the point of enrollment and are not publicly disclosed; payment is handled outside the website. Supporting assets include 26 country destination guides (covering salary data, visa routes, and life-in-country information), a Country Match Quiz for destination selection, a 14-lesson Creator Course taught by the founder, and a referral program paying $200 USD per booking. The company has no proprietary technology platform — it is a high-touch, sales-led service operation.

Commercially, TEFL Heaven operates a direct-to-consumer go-to-market with no resellers or third-party distribution, relying on organic SEO, destination-guide content, the quiz funnel, and the alumni referral community for demand generation. The company is bootstrapped with no external funding, runs a lean team of approximately 10 employees, and reports over 3,000 lifetime placements with 150+ video testimonials — the primary social proof asset underpinning its brand.

Name

TEFL Heaven

Legal name

TEFL Heaven Limited

Website

https://teflheaven.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2007

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

TEFL Heaven is a founder-owned, Bangkok-based teacher placement service that places English speakers into vetted teaching jobs across 10 countries, bundling TEFL certification, visa support, and in-country assistance for individual candidates from the UK, US, Australia, Canada, Ireland, and South Africa.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Teacher Placement Services

NAICS

Language Schools (611630), Educational Support Services (611710), Educational Support Services (61171)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro primary industry

English Language Schools (ESL/EFL) (EDAIAEAB)

akta.pro secondary industries

Language & Cross-Cultural Training (BPACANAL), Teacher Training & Professional Development for Adult ESL (TESOL/TEFL/CELTA for Adult Ed) (EDAAACAM)

Keywords

• Teacher placement services
• TEFL certification training
• Teaching abroad programs
• Overseas teaching placements
• English teacher recruitment

Headquarters

HQ city

Bangkok

HQ country

Thailand

HQ region

Asia

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Others

Revenue model

1. Teacher Placement Program Fees: TEFL Heaven charges program fees for its teacher placement services, which include TEFL certification training (delivered through a partner TEFL course provider), guaranteed school introductions with vetted partner schools, visa process guidance, pre-departure support, and in-country assistance during the placement. Fees are confirmed at the point of enrollment and payable per the payment schedule in the enrollment confirmation. The company does not process payments through its website — payment details are handled separately and securely.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

TEFL Heaven is a teacher placement service that places qualified English teachers in vetted schools across 10 program locations in Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia, Japan, South Korea, Costa Rica, Mexico, Barcelona, Madrid, and Czechia. Each placement bundles a guaranteed school introduction, full visa support, TEFL certification training (delivered through a partner TEFL course provider), pre-departure preparation, and in-country assistance throughout the teaching contract. The service is sold directly to individual aspiring teachers who submit enquiries via the website and are guided through enrollment by TEFL Heaven staff.

Product overview

TEFL Heaven is a teacher placement company founded in 2007 in Bangkok that operates as a single, unified service offering — placing teachers abroad in 10 program locations across Southeast Asia, Europe, and Latin America. The core product is its teacher placement program, which bundles guaranteed school introductions, visa support, TEFL certification training (via a partner provider), and in-country assistance. Additional offerings include a Country Match Quiz to help applicants choose destinations, a 14-lesson Creator Course for content creation, a referral program paying $200 per booking, and comprehensive country teaching guides covering 26 destination countries.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Teacher Placement Programs TEFL Heaven's core service placing qualified English teachers in vetted schools across 10 program locations. Includes guaranteed school introductions, visa support, pre-departure preparation, and in-country assistance throughout the teaching contract. Designed for individual aspiring English teachers who hold a bachelor's degree and a TEFL certificate.
• Country Match Quiz A 2-minute interactive quiz that helps prospective teachers identify the best destination country for their teaching abroad goals based on their preferences and profile. Designed as a funnel tool for prospective teachers researching destinations.
• Creator Course A 14-lesson content creation and storytelling course covering audience-building and the viral blueprint, taught by founder Mike Maitland. Included free for all enrolled teachers as part of the referral program. Aimed at teachers who want to share their year abroad through content.
• Referral Program Teachers receive a personal referral link and earn $200 USD for every friend who books a TEFL Heaven program through it. Includes access to a teacher-creator community for content collaboration. Targets enrolled teachers and their networks.
• TEFL Certification Training 120-hour TEFL certificate delivered through TEFL Heaven's partner TEFL course provider, available as part of enrollment in teacher placement programs. The specific course, accreditation, and delivery method are confirmed at enrollment.
• Country Teaching Guides Comprehensive destination guides for 26 countries covering salary data, visa routes, job types, requirements, cost of living, and what life as a teacher is actually like in each country. Free public content used to support research-stage prospective teachers.

Quantifiable outcome

• 3,000+ teachers placed abroad since 2007
• +2 more outcomes

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Partner TEFL Training ProvidercoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerTEFL certification is delivered through TEFL Heaven's partner TEFL course provider. The specific course, accreditation, and delivery method are confirmed at enrollment. This partnership allows TEFL Heaven to offer a bundled TEFL certification + placement service to its customers.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Teaching Nomad: International teacher recruitment firm focused on placements in Asia and the Middle East, sharing several overlapping destinations with TEFL Heaven. Comparable as a teacher placement specialist with similar customer profile and geography.
• GoOverseas: Marketplace and content platform connecting prospective teachers with teach abroad programs and TEFL courses globally. Comparable audience and SEO-driven content strategy to TEFL Heaven's destination guides, functioning as a discovery layer for similar providers.
• The TEFL Academy: UK-based TEFL certification provider offering online courses with job placement support, sharing TEFL Heaven's UK roots and target customer segment. Comparable in the bundled TEFL certification + placement category, though more certification-led than placement-led.
• TeachAway: International teacher recruitment and placement platform operating across multiple countries, including many overlapping destinations with TEFL Heaven. Comparable as a direct teacher-placement marketplace with school partnerships abroad.
• LoveTEFL: Online TEFL certification brand offering courses paired with international job placement support. Comparable in the TEFL training + placement bundle category, operating a more digitally-led version of TEFL Heaven's service offering.
• CIEE Teach Abroad: Non-profit international education organization running teach abroad programs with placement, visa, and in-country support. Highly comparable service bundle and customer segment to TEFL Heaven, though with broader study abroad portfolio.
• ITTT (International TEFL and TESOL Training): Large online TEFL certification course provider offering job placement guidance and a global alumni network. Directly comparable in the TEFL training + placement category, though operating at significantly larger scale via an online-led model.
• International TEFL Academy: US-based TEFL certification provider that pairs its training programs with guaranteed job placement assistance abroad. Highly comparable to TEFL Heaven's bundled TEFL training + placement model, though serving primarily North American customers.

Broad incumbents

• Preply: Large online language-learning marketplace connecting students with tutors globally. Adjacent rather than directly competitive, but operates in the same ESL/EFL ecosystem with a tech-enabled platform that contrasts with TEFL Heaven's service-led model.

Others

• ESL Authority: TEFL course directory and comparison platform publishing reviews and rankings of TEFL certification providers. Adjacent ecosystem participant that influences buyer research alongside TEFL Heaven's destination guides, with overlapping SEO and content-driven discovery.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/tefl-heaven

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about TEFL Heaven