upyield

History and Founding

upyield entered the performance marketing space in 2021, founded by three industry veterans: Jason Kilby, Thomas Richter, and Thomas Kothuis, with Juergen Thellmann also recognised as a co-founder. The company describes itself as “the next generation of global ad networks,” built around pure direct media buying, in‑house products, and exclusive partner relationships. Unlike many ad agencies that outsource media buying, upyield maintains an internal team of seven‑figure spenders who control campaign strategy, creative testing, and optimisation in‑house.

Business Model and Services

The company’s three core service lines are Lead Generation, Mobile App Installs (CPI), and Agency Services. In lead generation, upyield focuses on high‑intent, ready‑to‑buy leads for verticals such as home services, insurance, finance, and legal. For mobile apps, the agency delivers high‑quality, clean installs backed by advanced fraud controls and cohort analysis. The agency services arm combines strategic planning with hands‑on media buying, using agile weekly sprints and precise attribution to optimise campaigns.

Market Position and Clients

Geographically, upyield covers the DACH region, Western Europe, North America, and APAC. The company works with world‑renowned brands including Amazon, Starbucks, HBO Max, and Douglas. It reports generating over 20,000 qualified leads per month and having facilitated more than €50 million in partner revenue. The agency operates a lean, globally distributed team of roughly 22 industry experts, with a focus on transparency, fraud management, and GDPR‑compliant data handling.

Leadership and Team

The leadership team is lean, with Jason Kilby serving as Managing Director and Co‑founder—effectively the CEO equivalent, though no formal CEO title is used. Thomas Richter and Thomas Kothuis serve as co‑founders (Kothuis in a non‑executive capacity), and Juergen Thellmann is Director of Product and also a co‑founder. The company does not publicly list a Chief Technology Officer, Chief Commercial Officer, or Chief Operating Officer. Instead, functional heads cover business development, finance, account management, and publishing.

Overall, upyield is a focused, mid‑sized performance agency that competes by combining proprietary technology, in‑house buying expertise, and a strict quality‑first ethos. Its growth appears organic, driven by repeat business from large‑scale partners.