When Irene Klemm and Franziska Meyer talk about the journey on the way to founding their company Edurino, it doesn’t take long before they mention the word “hybrid.” 

“We founded Edurino in 2019 while working from home and it stayed that way.  We see it as the future of work and that has brought huge advantages. We were able to build the team independent of location, even though Franziska and I are based in Munich. And that offered us a wider pool of talent, so we’ve been a hybrid company from the get go,” according to Irene.

Edurino’s product is at its core also hybrid - the company offers a learning app for children that can be operated with an ergonomic pen and haptic figures together with a tablet. The idea is not just to take traditional skills like reading, writing and arithmetic and place them on a digital interface, but also to teach kids digital skills, as well as emotional and social skills that break down classic gender stereotypes, while the haptic elements allow children to engage with the product, more like a traditional toy.

“When we took a closer look at the market for digital education, what surprised us most was how few good solutions there were in such an important area of growth for a child. There wasn’t anyone taking a systematic approach and the German education system in general has been very far behind in introducing digital learning methods,” says Franziska.

The founders worked with experts and practitioners in German kindergartens to develop their first product, which was focused on preschoolers aged four to six. The offering includes classical preschool material as well as problem solving, logical thinking, and creativity exercises, such as drawing and coding.

“We were pleasantly surprised by how many people jumped at the chance to rethink education. Not only parents, kindergarten teachers, and educators, but also our own team, who really identify with the mission and want to make a difference in the world with their work,” says Irene.

What they discovered in partnering with practitioners was the importance of the “fun factor” on the one hand - kids learn best and stay engaged if they are having fun, and personalization on the other hand - each child learns at their own individual pace.

“That’s really where we see the promise of technology: in the interactivity, connectivity and hyper-personalization potential  - we’ve created a product that not only takes advantage of digital media but can be high individualized to the specific needs of a child while also being connected to their parents and educators so that they can monitor progress and screen time.”

Early Market Traction and International Expansion

Irene and Franziska are definitely onto something with Edurino. Their products have been lauded by leading educators in Germany and received numerous awards such as the Startup of the Year in 2023 awarded by the German Ministry for Commerce, the German Founder’s Prize as Startup of the Year in 2023, Tommi Children’s Software Prize for Preschool and Kindergarten 2022, the Comenius EduMedia Award from the German Society for Media and Pedagogy, a respected nonprofit. To date they have sold over 200,000 units since launching in early 2021 and are available in over 500 brick-and-mortar retailers as well as being available online in the German-speaking market. 

Edurino’s strategy is decidedly omni-channel, also a hybrid approach one could say, that combines online and retail sales to maximize the reach of a product that is both digital and haptic and taps into a desire to feel a product, something especially important with children.

"Our distribution strategy is centered around ensuring top-notch quality. Our retail team interacts with retailers to guarantee the best possible presentation at points of sale, be it on shelves or through thoughtfully designed displays. To enhance the quality of advice provided, we offer free training sessions, available either digitally or in person upon request. Adding a final flourish to the Edurino experience, we provide high-quality Edurino experience stations to our retail partners on demand. This not only allows customers to trial our products but also provides them with an immersive on-site understanding.”

One of Germany’s most famous department stores, the lauded Kaufhaus des Westens or KaDeWe, placed Edurino’s product in their storefront windows in Berlin and Munich this past summer as part of its series featuring toys that the store’s educational department found particularly relevant and timely.

“As a founder, there are always ups and downs and some milestones you are particularly proud of - this was certainly one of them. We never thought our products would end up in such beautiful shop windows in the most beautiful department stores in Germany.” says Irene. 

In October 2023 the company launched in the United Kingdom, bringing their product to the English-speaking world. 

“We did a lot of consumer research, which indicated how pervasive digital media already is for young families in the UK: over 86 percent of preschool-age children have their own tablet or smartphone. Of these, over half are allowed to play more than four times a week. 50 percent of these children spend up to 60 minutes per day on digital devices. These figures made clear to us at Edurino how urgent it is to make children's screen time educationally valuable,” says Irene.  

The orchestration required for developing a hybrid product is also more complex, requiring a team structure that is set to reach goals for both software and hardware components. Hardware requires considerably more lead time and planning, while the software component is more flexible with a focus on agility.

"Balancing the intricacies of software and hardware planning for a hybrid product demands effective team collaboration. With a diverse team of over 70 professionals from 14 nations, including a 50% female workforce, maintaining clear communication is key.”

The Importance of Communication

Franziska and Irene stress the importance of communication as founders - both to convincingly present the company’s vision to the outside world and to create a positive company culture, especially in a hybrid environment where many are working together remotely.

“Founders should always be very thoughtful and clear in their communications with the team. A successful company hinges upon its employees, first and foremost. Especially in a hybrid environment, where creating a positive company culture is a bit more challenging, you need to create formats to keep them engaged and offer opportunities for continuous development,” says Franziska.

Both founders say they have also found a source of strength and inspiration in female role models that have helped shape their path.

“One of our great role models has been our investor Verena Pausder. She is an extremely strong woman with clear positions and goals and has been on board with EDURINO since the beginning.” says Irene. 

“We are also very inspired by founders like Melanie Perkins - founder of the graphics software Canva-  or Kati Ernst and Kristine Zeller - the founders of Ooia. The latter, for example, have shared their founding stories very openly, giving practical tips that were especially valuable in our initial phase.“

Beyond founders in the tech ecosystem, Irene and Franziska also believe their own families have been an important source of inspiration.

“My grandmother, for example, was very progressive in her thinking for the time and took entrepreneurial risks. Irene's mother has a degree in social work and volunteers at an elementary school, so the interest in education already runs deep in the family,” says Franziska. 

After a little more than a year on the market, the company raised a stellar financing round with DN Capital leading a €10.5 million Series A, as well as our continued backing at b2venture and that of b2venture business angels such as Verena Pausder and Wooga founder Jens Begemann.