A small team with a huge dream

Zelos is a European software company with one single product — a very simple signup app. Founded in Estonia in 2018.

Johanna-Mai Riisma and Viktor Lillemäe, founders of Zelos

How Zelos started

Zelos was founded in early 2018 by Johanna-Mai Riisma and Viktor Lillemäe in Tallinn, Estonia. They set out to solve a specific problem: how to quickly mobilize large teams and turn that mobilization into productive results.

Since then, Zelos has been used by organizations across many industries in dozens of countries, and has won multiple awards for the large-scale community projects it has supported.

The app has helped mobilize thousands of volunteers in crisis situations — from the COVIDhelp response to coordinating support for refugees. We're a small team, and we're proud of the role our software has played in those moments.

The founders

Johanna-Mai Riisma

Founder and CEO

"Building software for lots of people at once — this is a challenge of a different level. We're building an app that needs to be rolled out to thousands of people in a matter of days — and successfully instruct them to take up useful activities. I love it that we've been up for this challenge."

Viktor Lillemäe

Founder and CTO

"Building software for lots of people at once — this is a challenge of a different level. We're building an app that needs to be rolled out to thousands of people in a matter of days — and successfully instruct them to take up useful activities. I love it that we've been up for this challenge."

What we believe

People over algorithms

No automation assigns work in Zelos. People know their own capabilities better than software ever will.

Simple by design

Handle 10 or 10,000 people with the same process. Growth should never require a system overhaul.

Private by default

Built under the EU General Data Protection Regulation. Team members never see each other's contact information.

Made with ❤️ in Estonia

Zelos is built in Tallinn, one of Europe's most digital-first capitals. Estonia is the birthplace of Skype, Wise, and Bolt — and a country where 99% of public services are available online.