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As of 2026
Business & Operations
Revenue: $10M-$25M ARR
The real-time feedback and coaching platform that turns contact centers into 'experience hubs'.
Overview
Stella Connect (now Medallia Agent Connect) is a leading performance management platform designed for frontline customer service teams. It replaces traditional, slow quality assurance processes with real-time customer feedback and integrated coaching workflows. By allowing customers to rate agents immediately after an interaction and suggest rewards, Stella Connect boosts agent engagement, reduces turnover, and improves the overall customer experience.
Founded year: 2010
Founder: Jordy Leiser, John Ernsberger
Team size: 51-200
Popularity: The industry standard for agent-centric feedback in high-end contact centers.
HQ: New York, New York, USA
Status: Acquired
Funding status: Acquired
Revenue source: Subscriptions
Customer type: B2B
Funding: Acquired (by Medallia for $100M)
Pricing: Subscription
Tech stack: React, Ruby on Rails, AWS, PostgreSQL
Platform: Web
Integrations: Zendesk, Salesforce, Medallia Experience Cloud, Slack, Snappy Gifts
Founder story
Founded in 2010 by Jordy Leiser and John Ernsberger in New York (originally as StellaService). Jordy and John realized that while companies tracked delivery speed, they had no visibility into the *human* quality of support. They built Stella Connect to give frontline workers the visibility and recognition they deserve, leading to its acquisition by Medallia.
What it does
- Captures agent-level customer feedback in real-time across phone, email, and chat
- Provides a transparent leaderboard to motivate agents with 'kudos' and rewards
- Automates the QA process by selecting high-impact interactions for review
- Includes built-in coaching tools for 1: 1 sessions and performance tracking
- Integrates feedback data into CRM profiles to provide a 360-degree view of the customer.
Who it's for
- Customer Support Managers
- Contact Center VPs
- HR & Talent Leaders
- CX Operations Teams
Why it works
- Authenticity: Feedback comes directly from the customer, making it more actionable and fair for agents
- Speed: Moves from monthly reviews to daily micro-coaching, allowing for rapid performance improvement
- Retention: Empowering agents with positive recognition significantly lowers industry-high turnover rates
- Fidelity: Reaches response rates 5-10x higher than traditional NPS surveys.
Growth strategies
- Targeted 'Experience- First' brands like Lululemon and Lemonade to establish a premium market position.
- Used a performance- driven narrative: 'Empower your frontline to drive customer loyalty'.
- Raised nearly $40M in VC funding before a successful $100M acquisition by Medallia in 2020.
- Leveraged deep integrations with Zendesk and Salesforce to become a core part of the support stack.
Alternatives
Comparison overview
- MaestroQA: Strong on technical QA; Stella Connect is the superior specialist for *agent engagement* and customer-driven rewards.
- Playvox: Broader suite; Stella Connect is often preferred for its higher-fidelity UI and deeper integration with Medallia.
- Stella Connect is the go-to for support teams that want to treat their agents like the face of the brand.