Vertellen: From Zero to Product in Four Weeks.
Travel agencies send newsletters. 15% open rate. We thought: there's a better way. Four weeks later, Vertellen was live.
The Starting Point
Brumm Labs grew out of a collaboration with another group of founders. Together, we'd built an enterprise platform for audio-based learning — production-ready backend, AI pipelines, multi-tenant architecture. Hundreds of tests, dozens of API endpoints, proven technology.
The collaboration ended. The architecture stayed.
The question wasn't: Can we build something? It was: For whom?
The Idea
Travel agencies thrive on personal relationships. But between booking and departure — silence. The newsletter ends up in spam. The personal call doesn't scale. And nobody listens to their travel agent on Spotify.
Audio is personal, scalable, and measurable. When it runs on the right platform — not on Spotify, but under the travel agency's own branding, on their own domain.
That's how Vertellen was born. The name is Low German for "to tell stories".
What We Did
Before writing a single line of code, we analyzed the market. Tourism was uncharted territory for us. No network, no contacts, no prior knowledge.
We mapped competitors. White-label platforms, audio guide providers, podcast agencies — none of them combine platform, agency, and ready-made content catalog. We filled that gap.
Travel agencies and tour operators as the first segment
Not a CMS, not a podcast host. A customer lifecycle tool that accompanies travelers from first interest to rebooking
Platform + agency in one. AI-produced, editorially curated
Starting at 78 EUR per month. SMB-friendly, no enterprise price tag
Four Phases, One Goal
Vertellen accompanies a travel agency's customers through the entire travel lifecycle:
Inspire
Before booking. A podcast about the Greek islands, shared via WhatsApp. She listens. Two weeks later, she calls and books.
Anticipate
After booking, before departure. Seven episodes about the ports of a Mediterranean cruise. Evening, glass of red wine, her travel agency's voice in her ear.
Accompany
On location. A QR code in the cabin card. The tip for the cafe in the third alley on the right. Her advisor isn't there — and yet somehow is.
Connect
After the trip. Feedback, memories, a teaser for the next destination.
Inspire
Before booking. A podcast about the Greek islands, shared via WhatsApp. She listens. Two weeks later, she calls and books.
Anticipate
After booking, before departure. Seven episodes about the ports of a Mediterranean cruise. Evening, glass of red wine, her travel agency's voice in her ear.
Accompany
On location. A QR code in the cabin card. The tip for the cafe in the third alley on the right. Her advisor isn't there — and yet somehow is.
Connect
After the trip. Feedback, memories, a teaser for the next destination.
How We Built It
Two founders. Four weeks. AI-first.
15 epics. 36 stories. A WYSIWYG studio where travel agencies manage their content. A player that runs on the customer's own domain. A one-click publishing workflow. An analytics dashboard that shows which episode works, which channel converts, who's ready for the next conversation.
No agency hired. No pitch deck first. Build first, show later.
4 Weeks
Week 1
Concept & Market Analysis
Mapped the market, found the gap, defined positioning
Week 2
Architecture & Studio
Adapted backend, WYSIWYG editor, content modules
Week 3
Player & Publishing
Branded player, publishing workflow, layout system
Week 4
MVP Complete
Analytics, branding, 4-phase journey — all live
Where We Stand
The MVP is complete. Everything on vertellen.io works:
Starting at 78 EUR per month. Ready-made podcast packages, AI-produced, editorially curated.
What This Has to Do With Brumm Labs
Vertellen is our first own product. But the method behind it is what we do for our clients:
Analyze a new market. Understand the audience. Sharpen positioning. Develop messaging. Define business strategy. And then build — fast, AI-first, no overhead.
From an empty repository to a market-ready product in four weeks. With two people.
We did this for ourselves. We can do it for you.