How Edurino Built Europe’s Hybrid Learning Revolution
- Jörn Menninger
- Nov 6, 2025
- 34 min read
Updated: Apr 30
What Is This About?
Edurino built Europe's hybrid learning revolution by combining physical figurines with digital educational content for children. The Munich-based EdTech startup created a product that bridges screen time and hands-on play — proving that the best learning happens when digital and physical worlds merge.
Introduction
Irene Klemm of Edurino explains how her startup turns screen time into productive learning time by combining physical figurines with digital content in a hybrid learning approach. This interview covers how Edurino scaled across Europe, won parental trust in a market deeply skeptical of children's screen use, and built an education technology product that kids actually want to use repeatedly.
Edurino's hybrid learning model combines physical figurines with digital content to transform children's screen time into productive learning time. The approach won parental trust in a market deeply skeptical of technology for young children by making the physical component essential to the experience. Irene Klemm describes scaling across European markets while maintaining educational quality and cultural relevance. The company's retention metrics show that children voluntarily return to the product — the strongest indicator of genuine educational engagement.
Irene Klemm of Edurino explains how hybrid learning turns screen time into learning time, scaling across Europe and winning parental trust in the process.
Irene Klemm of Edurino explains how hybrid learning turns screen time into learning time, scaling across Europe and winning parental trust in the process. Startuprad.io brings you independent coverage of the key developments shaping the startup and venture capital landscape across Germany, Austria, and Switzerland.
This founder interview is part of our ongoing coverage of Scaleup Founder Interviews from Germany, Austria, and Switzerland.
Pain · Promise · Proof · Power Word
When screens became babysitters, one German founder turned them into teachers.
Hybrid learning for kids is reshaping how Europe educates the next generation — and Edurino leads the charge.
Management Summary
Hybrid learning isn’t a buzzword anymore — it’s a lifeline for parents, teachers, and children navigating a digital-first world.This piece explores how Irene Klemm, co-founder and co-CEO of Edurino, transformed lockdown chaos into a scalable European edtech model that balances tactile play with digital curiosity.
You’ll learn:
Why parents trust hybrid learning more than pure screen time
The startup playbook that convinced investors to fund €30 million + in a traditionally under-funded sector
How Europe’s edtech founders can adapt this model to scale responsibly
Our Sponsor
Quick break for something every founder should hear. One leak on the dark web can mean account takeovers, impersonation, or a board-level crisis. That’s why we partnered with NordStellar — a business-grade threat-exposure platform from the team behind NordVPN. It gives you early signals before attackers escalate — with data-breach and dark-web monitoring, attack-surface discovery, and cybersquatting detection. You’ll spot exposed credentials, shadow IT, and fake domains fast.
Startuprad listeners get an exclusive 20% Black Friday discount — go to nordstellar.com/startupradio and use code blackfriday20 before December 10, 2025. Don’t wait until your data shows up for sale — visit nordstellar.com/startupradio, code blackfriday20.
Table of Contents
Hybrid Learning for Kids: From Pandemic Pain to Global Promise
The Problem Edurino Set Out to Solve
Building Parental Trust in the Age of YouTube Kids
The Founders’ Playbook: Design, Trust, Partners
Scaling Across Europe — What Worked, What Didn’t
Investors, Empathy, and Evidence: Convincing a Skeptical Market
The Future: AI-Personalized, Play-Powered Learning
Key Takeaways · Pro Tips · Market Lens
Explore More from Startuprad.io
Hybrid Learning for Kids: From Pandemic Pain to Global Promise
In 2020, when kindergartens shut their doors and parents became accidental teachers, Irene Klemm saw a gap no one else dared to touch.
Most families faced two extremes: no screens at all or full surrender to the tablet. Neither taught digital literacy — both taught frustration.
Edurino’s answer was bold: merge physical toys with digital storytelling apps for ages 4 to 8 — so that screen time becomes learning time.
“Technology, if designed right, should spark curiosity, not kill it,” Irene told me.
That belief birthed Europe’s fastest-scaling hybrid learning platform.
The Problem Edurino Set Out to Solve
Before COVID-19, only 25 % of German schools had Wi-FiEdurino_sound. Educational tech for preschoolers barely existed. Parents either forbade devices or relied on random YouTube channels — neither built skills nor confidence.
Post-lockdown, edtech investment jumped from $5 billion → $20 billion globally, but early childhood remained neglected. Edurino filled that vacuum with a direct-to-consumer (D2C) approach, bypassing slow-moving institutions and reaching families directly.
“We had to bridge the time kids spent at home — and we couldn’t wait for ministries,” Irene said
Building Parental Trust in the Age of YouTube Kids
Trust is Edurino’s currency.To prove hybrid learning wasn’t a gimmick, the team worked with Cambridge University to validate outcomes. Results:
+35 % in problem-solving skills
+25 % in reading comprehensionEdurino_sound
Those numbers turned skeptics into allies. Parents saw data; investors saw traction.
Edurino positioned itself not as “more screen time” — but as “the right kind of screen time in the right dose.”
The app includes built-in screen-time limits and character-led good-bye sequences (“See you next time!”), helping kids transition naturally back to real-world play.
The Founders’ Playbook:
Automated Transcript
1 If you're a founder, parent or investor watching the ad tech 2 wave, here's the challenge. How do we give kids the 3 benefit of digital education without drowning them in 4 screen time? Irene Klemm, co founder and co CEO of Edu 5 Reno, has raised millions to build a hybrid 6 learning model combining physical toys 7 with digital apps that's scaling fast across Europe. 8 Today we'll uncover how she's reimagining early childhood 9 education, attract top VCs and 10 reshaping the future of learning so the next generation grows 11 up curious, confident and ready for what's next. 12 And by the way, Irene was just named Female Entrepreneur 13 of the year 2025 at the German Startup World. 14 Congratulations. 15 Welcome to Startuprad I, 16 your podcast and YouTube blog covering the German 17 startup scene with news, interviews and 18 live events. 19
My guest today is Irene Klemm, the co founder and co CEO 20 of Edu Reno, one of Europe's most exciting edtech 21 startups. Since launch 2019, Irene and 22 her co founders have built a hybrid learning platform 23 that combines beautiful designed physical toys with 24 a gaming digital app for children ages 4 to 8. 25 The mission? To make digital education safe, 26 playful and truly effective. Irene's 27 work has been recognized in major ways. She was 28 named to Forbes 3030 and just this year 29 she was awarded Female Entrepreneur of the Year at the German Startup 30 Awards 2025 handed out by the German Startup Association. 31 Congratulations Irene. This continues our 32 Startup Radio tradition of interviewing winners of the German Startup Awards 33 every year since 2021. I'm impressed by myself 34 actually. Edu Reno has already 35 attracted a 17 million Series B investment by
36 Ravensburger Ventures. For everybody who doesn't know them, they are the 37 tabletop game people here in Germany, 38 Summit here and existing investors, bringing a total to more 39 than 3,30 million euros according to Crunchbase. 40 Amongst the investors is DN Capital, known for investments like 41 Shazam Eda, now part of Oracle 42 and Auto1. And the company has 43 scaled across Europe, the UK and 44 other countries, partnering with major retailers like Muller and 45 Abon to bring the toys and apps into 46 homes across Europe. Today we'll dive into how 47 Irena and her team are navigating the challenges of 48 balancing screen time with real play, scaling an ad 49 tech startup across multiple European markets and what the 50 future of hybrid learning means for founders, investors and parents 51 worldwide. That was 52 quite a lot of introduction. Thank you for being here and
53 congratulations to your German Startup Award. Thank you so much. 54 Thanks a lot for having me. I'm very excited to be here today. 55 Before we get started, where did you put the award? Where is it located? 56 Physically, right now, I put it into the office because 57 the award is not just for me, but for the entire team. 58 So therefore it's there to see for everyone. 59 My virtual assistant helped me to prepare this interview and I really love this. 60 Once upon a time. Irene, take us back to the very 61 beginning before Edo Reno became one of Europe's fastest growing ad tech 62 startups. What was your personal journey into early childhood 63 education and what inspired you to build a hybrid 64 learning solution that combines physical toys and apps? 65 So my brother was very early on into computer games and
66 coding. And I remember when I was still a child, our 67 parents never bought us a Nintendo or any console of any kind, 68 but they gave us one computer to share, which is always interesting 69 amongst siblings. And I love playing learning games, 70 even back then. And the interesting thing is that they haven't 71 really evolved any further. So back then, the computer wasn't 72 just for fun, but it was for discovery for us. And this early 73 fascination shaped my belief that technology, if designed right, 74 could spark curiosity rather than kill it. I was laughing 75 here a little bit. I was just imagining the great 76 idea to share a computer between siblings. Links 77 and actually have to admit, no surprise that your brother was into gaming 78 and coding. I was at least into the same 79 stuff. Before Eduardo was launched in 2021,
80 what was the state of early childhood education and 81 attack in Europe? And why were parents and educators 82 still struggling with digital learning for kids aged 4 to 83 8? So before Edino, parents basically had two 84 extremes. Either avoid screens completely or try to avoid them 85 completely, or hand over the tablet to the kid and hope for 86 the best. And neither was good enough and neither is 87 preparing them properly for the future. Educators back 88 then told us that there was no trusted digital solution tailored for 89 kids at this very young age, particularly in the preschool age. 90 And if you looked at the infrastructure, it was quite shocking. So around 91 25% of schools in Germany had Vlan wi 92 fi, meaning that 75% of schools didn't. Before COVID 93 there was basically no digital infrastructure. And Covid then
94 accelerated the conversations. But parents were left with 95 very few quality tools designed for young kids. And that's 96 the problem that we are actively solving with Atari. Now. 97 I'm a little bit curious. Was there a specific moment, 98 maybe a parent, educator or entrepreneur, when you 99 realize the way kids learn with Green is Broken and 100 a hybrid play based approach could be the solution? 101 And what was the moment you actually 102 imagined this hybrid? Did you just 103 put a toy on a tablet? How is the process? 104 So I'm taking you back again to 2020 COVID 105 lockdown. Kindergarten suddenly closed, primary school suddenly 106 closed. And of course there were some solutions for 107 schools, but parents were very much left alone at 108 homes because everybody assumed both parents are home so they can take care of
109 the child. But of course also back then both parents were working and they had 110 to occupy the kids somehow. And then when we 111 realized this, we went actively into families and I 112 remember watching a friend's child swiping on the tablet and 113 completely absorbed by the screen. But the content 114 ultimately was empty calories. So in that moment I thought we need to 115 rethink screens completely because they are not TV 116 replacements anymore. They are fully fledged computers and we have to 117 choose what to do with it. Is it passive consumption or, or 118 is it something positive, interact, interactive, 119 educational with it? And we also need to be the driver of that 120 and we need to teach the children early on how to use these tools. 121 So of course Covid accelerated that realization 122 and the infrastructure because suddenly millions of families were forced into digital
123 learning without any quality solutions. And we could see that 124 ever since the tech market grew massively. So global 125 investments jumped just under and 5 billion pre 126 covered to more than 20 billion in 21. That was the, the number that 127 I, that I found, but hardly any of them even back then, 128 but even now is targeting early childhood because 129 it's a completely different model. We actively decided also back then that 130 we need to target and we need to sell to directly the 131 families and not to these big structures, not to the government and 132 not to schools primarily, even though now we of course have a very 133 strong presence. But back then we knew that this D2C 134 approach is the only solution. How we can reach the families 135 fast enough with this strongly needed solution
136 to bridge this time that they have at home 137 forcefully. By Covid. 138 I've seen quite a lot of and heard quite a lot of very 139 interesting stories concerning 140 how it was for a lot of parents to have one or two kids 141 at home. The parents worked from home and nobody 142 really had a place to sit or a setup or even an idea 143 how this could work. Very interesting times 144 as, as an entrepreneur you have to make difficult 145 decisions. What was the toughest challenge in convincing 146 both parents and investors that hybrid learning like 147 physical touch plus an app could be trusted as both 148 educational and safe for young children. So 149 edtech has historically always been under invested. So the 150 hardest challenge for us was convincing parents, convincing 151 investors that this hybrid learning wasn't just a gimmick, but
152 that they can trust it and that this is the future. 153 So that's why we very early on partnered with kindergartens, we brought educators into 154 our team. We partnered with networks. 155 We also recently partnered with Cambridge University in a study 156 to show that the games don't just entertain kids, but they create real 157 value. So we could show that for example, problem solving skills are enhanced 158 by 35%, reading skills are enhanced by 159 25%. And with this very hard data, with attraction 160 that we could show, paired with the stories from the parents, we could 161 then prove that our model is delivering real 162 educational impact. And that was the key to a market where, 163 where more than 70% of the parents say that they worry about too much 164 screen time. So also to educate the parents and to educate
165 the investors that it's not about empty screen time, but 166 it's about using digital devices as a tool and creating 167 something positive. Future proof and highly needed for future 168 skills for the children. When I was 169 preparing this interview, I was thinking about there was a 170 call like a year or two ago from 171 educators to actually tune down the 172 screen time children have at schools 173 in a world where Germany lacks digital education. 174 I was just wondering quickly about your thoughts about that 175 before we move into the next prepared question. 176 So what is quite interesting is that Germany is a bit of a 177 vacuum compared to other countries around us. 178 Meaning that in Germany the discussion is still screen or no 179 screen. Whereas in other countries the debate is more about 180 what kind of screen time and what kind of screen. So our
181 message is the right kind of screen time in the right dose. 182 And parents need partners that they can trust because 183 ultimately there is no binary approach to this. 184 It's not no screen time or sitting in front of the screen for 10 185 hours, but we need to find a way how we can balance 186 it, how we can teach the children, also how to integrate it 187 purposefully into the routines without having this over consumption 188 at one point. Because in reality what we observe is that 189 if parents don't actively take a role and don't 190 speak with children openly about what they do in the digital world, it can 191 very easily happen that when they are 6, 7, 8 years old, they end up 192 at tick tock without any consequence and without the parents even 193 having an idea what they do on screen. And now a lot of parents
194 may think how is this even possible? But kids find a lot of ways. How 195 to, how to trick a tablet, how 196 to enter the WI fi even though the parents think they are 197 not so therefore that's why it's so important to take an active 198 role here and to, to accompany the 199 children in this, in this frankly scary world. I 200 mean when we look at the numbers like Nowadays, even In Germany, 201 over 70% of the 4 to 5 year olds spend regular time on 202 YouTube. Kids, meaning that they have screen time, 203 and now it's about turning the screen time into time that 204 matters and not being wasted by passive consumption. 205 I see, I see. Yeah. It also helps if they're watching 206 something really exciting or stuff like that to tell them that it's made
207 by someone, that it follows a predictable arc and 208 that it's made for purpose. I really learned that with my children. 209 Going back to Edorino, every startup hits an early wall. 210 What was Edorino's first major pivot in product 211 distribution of messaging and how did it change your 212 trajectory? Yeah, so I think there were two 213 main points. So the first one, I mean, we started with 214 Edorino in a bit of a special world, I'd say, with 215 COVID And we brought a completely new product 216 to the market. And then of course the big question is, 217 do people just say that they like it or do they really love it and 218 are they willing to put their credit card on the table? 219 So I'd say the first, and following this approach, 220 we then did a crowdfunding campaign where
221 people could pre purchase our products. And 222 following that, we thought, ah, that's a great approach to be 223 D2C only and D2C first. But we quickly 224 realized that an educational product is not a one touch 225 point product. People need a lot of touch points, meaning they 226 may want to see it in familiar places like kindergartens, like primary 227 schools. They want to see it at a friend's place or have a personal 228 recommendation about it. They want to see it as at their favorite retailer. And 229 that made us realize very quickly that we also need to invest strongly into 230 these partnerships to create these touch points 231 for parents. And another pivot was how we address the 232 audiences. So online we speak very much to the 233 parents about trust, about pedagogy, 234 but we saw that in store because usually the parents are
235 with their children. So we need to appeal also with the product a lot more 236 to the kids themselves and have them getting excited 237 about the characters, about everything that we offer with Adorino. So 238 this dual channel approach unlocked growth for us. And 239 to put this into perspective, Nowadays still around 45% 240 of toy purchases are made offline, 241 meaning that it has been historically very important for us to not only 242 build a D2C approach, but also to trust 243 these strong partners, but also our 244 kindergartens, libraries, and so on and so forth. So that 245 were probably two of our main pivots. 246 And I have to admit, your little 247 play toys, they look really Nice. I think you got inspired 248 by totem boxes or something. Yes. There's one, for 249 example, and the children 250 can play with that. That's physically really, really
251 nice. I like that. Thank you so much. I 252 was wondering, in B2B marketing you usually say 6 to 8 253 contacts. In Germany it's rather 10 to 12, maybe 15 254 contacts. How many touch points do you need in order 255 for somebody to really take it seriously and buy? 256 Yeah, so we see in the online world for parents it's also around seven. 257 And those touch points are online, but they also can be 258 offline and retailers can be in partners. So also 259 around seven. We've been talking about 260 the conflict about screen time. How do you position 261 your model, especially for parents there between 262 the two maximums, no screen time or all screen 263 time. Yeah. So to be 264 real here, no screen time is not possible anymore. Kids 265 on the one hand side get in contact with
266 screens if you like it or not, and on the other hand side, 267 they need these skills in the future. So it's nothing 268 that's optional anymore. But it's a crucial skill 269 that kids are going to need also to know what happens when 270 I'm in the online world, what happens with my digital footprint, 271 how can I use this tool in the best way to 272 benefit me and in a responsible way. So therefore how we position 273 ourselves, even though it may sometimes seem counterintuitive, is that 274 we are actually a tool how to introduce 275 responsible educational screen time. And in a lot of households we actually 276 even used to reduce screen time because when you look at 277 offerings, say again a YouTube kids 278 episodes go on and on and on and this is how they are designed. So
279 it's very hard to find this point where you as a parent can also say, 280 hey, now it's enough. And atorino, we integrated into the product 281 a screen time limit, meaning that after 20, 25 minutes, 282 whatever you said, there is a character saying, hey, that was so much fun. 283 Now you have one more game to play, helping also with the transition of the 284 kit and then we see you next time and then the game falls asleep 285 and at the same time the kids continue playing with the real character. 286 So it helps a lot more to integrate it into the daily routine and not 287 to lead to overconsumption at some point. So that's how we position 288 ourselves in this, in this world as a, as a positive tool. 289 Debate about screen time is pretty interesting because a
290 few years ago when my son was born, I was pretty sure 291 helping him to understand coding, helping him to speak several 292 languages, even Chinese would be an Advantage. 293 Now a lot of this went out the window with wipe coding, self 294 driving cars and so on and so forth. But I do believe at 295 least the screen time that that will stay valid for some 296 time. Basically the access to the digital learning 297 world and the access to this tool that is needed 298 to then benefit in all in everything that you just mentioned. Right. Vibe 299 coding, I mean it's going to be on a screen. Also to steer 300 your self driving car, it needs to be on a screen. So 301 it's about setting this seat very early on and 302 educating the kids what is even possible in a responsible way.
303 Our audience already knows that we are interviewing you 304 for two interviews and the other one will be the founder's vault. At 305 one point you faced a decision that could have made or broken it 306 Arena a moment where parental trust, funding 307 or your vision were all online. Inside the founders world we go 308 into how you navigated that high stakes decision, what 309 almost went wrong and what you learned from this 310 near miss. Talking about 311 obstacles here, how did you personally 312 navigate skepticism from investors, educators or 313 parents? I remember you talked about 314 continuously underfunded edtech 315 and I'm sure they questioned whether 316 the children would really engage with a hybrid model. 317 Yeah, definitely, because it's pretty easy. 318 You give the kid the tablet, you give the kid 319 the nice figures and they stop playing. But if you're sitting in front of an
320 investor, you don't have a kid and the toys at hand, right? Yes, 321 that is true. So I think with every completely new approach and new 322 model there is skepticism. So some investor asked us, 323 will kids even use a hybrid toy app model? What is 324 the toy even for? Why isn't it just an app with a 325 subscription? Then also educators question whether digital 326 play could be as meaningful. Parents worried about safety. 327 So what we did is we always navigated by going back to two 328 main things. The first one is evidence and the second one is empathy. So 329 evidence. So we for investors, we showed this early 330 traction that the kids, the parents really love our products. 331 We could see in our data that we have very high retention. 332 Kids play a lot of adorino, they really love it.
333 And that's also the key, remembering who you're doing it for 334 the user. And then the second one, empathy. So listening to 335 parents, listening to children primarily. So our main 336 users and the customer, showing them that we designed adorino with them, not just 337 for them. And that then spoke for itself. And when we look at the investors 338 again, a lot of them are parents. So what we did is we always asked 339 them also to try out our products with Their kids and to have that 340 speak for themselves. I mean, of course it's just n equals 1. 341 It can't speak for entire industry. But paired with 342 traction, paired with data, that then made a holistic 343 picture and that could convince them. 344 In the early days, what was your first early traction 345 milestone? What was the first clear sign
346 that there was product market fit? Was it like the first retailer that 347 took you in app downloads or parents, 348 they went out and did testimonials. Actually, we have to 349 tell our audience 80, 85% is from Germany. But 350 testimonials, reviews, text, it 351 is pretty rare. I do have a lot of five star ratings. But the 352 last time somebody wrote really a review in an app 353 store was more than three years ago in 354 Apple podcasts, three years ago. So the 355 audience here is a little bit different from international norms. 356 Yeah. So I mean, for us, I would say that 357 it came in two stages. I mean, this very early proof was this 358 crowdfunding campaign where we saw people up actively putting their credit cards there. 359 So we had around 500 supporters. Yes, from our network, but not all
360 of them. So there were also parents outside of our network who were like, 361 okay, yes, it's something that I need and I want to purchase it. So that 362 was definitely the very first sign paired with. After our very 363 first article at Grundersen, a distributor approached us 364 and then we quickly came into the first retailer. Our very first retail partner was 365 Mueller, one of the biggest German toy retailers that there is. 366 And that definitely showed us that there is a market for this because also the 367 retailer thinks that they can sell this way. And then I would say there was 368 a second stage because then the question of course is, is this a niche 369 product or can this be a mass market product? And by now we 370 are in 400,000 families and with that we could clearly show that it's not
371 only for a niche, but it should be available to 372 anyone, accessible to anyone. And therefore, I think the second 373 point was when we sold probably the 100,000 374 starter sets mark or so, when we really knew, okay, 375 apparently if I imagine these people in one room, this is 376 not just a niche. 377 You have some experience now running Eduardo for four 378 years almost. If you were, 379 if you were asked to write the playbook for edtech founders today, 380 what are the moves? Product design, 381 retest strategy, fundraising or would you consider 382 non negotiable? So if I were writing a playbook for 383 edtech founders, three things for me would be non negotiable. 384 And the first one by far is always 385 design and live up to user first so in 386 our case, if kids don't love it, nothing else matters. Therefore,
387 if you have conflicting decisions to make, conflicting data 388 points, always choose the ones for your main user. In our 389 case, the kids. Second one non negotiable with the EdTech product, 390 particular is earned trust very early. So you need to 391 be able to show safety, very 392 excellent pedagogy, credibility, real results. 393 So when we look at the market, eight out of 10 parents say that they 394 check whether an app is educational even before downloading. So this is 395 crucial that you have these ticks and that you can 396 show the excellence of your product. And thirdly, I'd say 397 securing the right partners. So it depends a bit on the 398 EdTech product, but whether in our case it's retailers, 399 whether it's investors, whether it's the right 400 school system, the right network, into that direction, you need the
401 right allies to accelerate growth exponentially. 402 And from experience in the market, Most 403 models in D2C make it with the D2C first. 404 Sorry, in attack, make it with a D2C first approach. So 405 very, it's very, very hard to come with a B2G 406 approach and make it really happen in the attack space. 407 Actually, when you were talking, I was thinking about one could also make 408 it into a serious game. 409 Yes, of course, you scaled into multiple 410 European countries already. What framework or process 411 did you use to adapt Edorino for new markets with the 412 different education system and parental expectations? 413 Yeah, so scaling into new markets required a very clear 414 framework. So we work, always work with local 415 educators, parents, and we adapt our content to fit 416 the cultural expectations. And that's how we were able to
417 expand across Germany, Austria, Switzerland, the UK successfully. We're 418 now going to launch two additional European markets and 419 every launch is always backed by research. And 420 depending on the country, we adapt more or less of 421 our product. So the good thing with Arino is that in the 422 core of it, we teach core competencies that every kid is going to need around 423 the globe in the future. And that's not necessarily 424 only school skills like hard skills, but it's also problem 425 solving, creativity, critical thinking, logical thinking, 426 foundations for coding, emotional skills. So everything 427 that equips the children to be future proof, 428 resilient human beings, whatever comes their way. 429 So and then of course we also need to adapt the 430 messaging and all of our advertisement around that 431 accordingly. So to give you a very concrete example, we had
432 this already that in Germany, the screen time is still more of a critical topic 433 than it is in other countries. So in Germany it's more opening up this 434 entire world that you can support your kid in a good 435 way with a screen, whereas in other countries it's more about turning 436 screen time into positive time because they are having a 437 lot more screen time already. For 438 our audience. For those listening, how did you think about 439 screen time in your family or school? Do you 440 lean towards more guardrails or more trust in 441 digital tools? Drop your thoughts in the comments or LinkedIn. 442 We'll feature the best insights in our recap. What was 443 the turning point strategy that unlocked 444 your Series A and how did you position your hybrid model to 445 stand out in a very crowded, mostly digital only ad
446 tech market? So for us the turning point was 447 changing the narrative. So we're not selling toys, 448 not at all. We're building a category defining learning system and 449 this framing resonated with investors and helped us 450 raise the past rounds. So in addition, as said before, 451 most investors are parents and can be convinced by having 452 the kids play and love Edu Reno. So for example 453 in our series Seed we had an investor who 454 gave the products to his son and he said this is so 455 much better than YouTube and that was the trigger point for them investing. 456 Ah, I see. 457 We'll be back right after short Ad Break where Ureno shares the 458 strategy that changed everything for Edino from 459 being a promising startup to raising 30 plus millions in total 460 and expanding across Europe.
461 Hey guys, welcome back to the interview with Irena, 462 the Female Entrepreneur of the year 2025 German startup awards 463 and founder co founder of Edorino. 464 When we're talking about startups, we still talk about growth. 465 What growth model worked best for Edo Reno? 466 Retail partnerships, direct to parents, marketing, community building 467 or anything else. 468 So retail and institutional partnerships, they give us a lot of 469 credibility. But I would say that the real magic to 470 unlock growth happens when parents share their real 471 stories online. So that community building 472 drove word of mouth more than any ad spend could. So today 473 a very high percentage of our new customers comes from word of mouth, comes 474 from peer recommendations and therefore that is the 475 most important fuel driver for us. Let me 476 put it that way. When you had limited resources, but I have to admit
477 I talked to founders who raised to more than 100 million 478 and it's not like they could do everything. They still see the 479 restriction of you of their resources. But when you had 480 more limited resources, what strategic trade 481 offs did you make it? How did you decide what where to place the 482 biggest bets? So when you're resource constrained, I 483 think there's also some beauty in it because it forces you to 484 rigorously focus on what matters. And for us 485 we always Define that that is the kit, meaning that 486 we have always decided against a lot of things that would be 487 nice to have for the parents or nice to haves for educators, 488 because we have been requested a lot, from dashboards to 489 fancy extras here and there. But ultimately we always asked 490 ourselves, does this benefit directly the child?
491 And this clarity, of course, helped us allocate the resources to what truly 492 mattered. And even though we grew and even 493 though we have more resources and people now, we still 494 try to bring in the same level of focus. Even now. 495 We'Ve been talking about credibility. 496 Originally, I want to ask you which which gave you the most credibility, 497 but it was actually the institutions. We already cleared that out. In the 498 other question, let us go to the scaling challenges. You 499 scaled across Germany, Austria, Switzerland and uk. 500 What was the hardest challenge? The logistics, because you 501 still have physical toy localizing the digital 502 content or hiring talent across markets. 503 So we always knew that we want to reach as many kids as possible 504 with Adorino. And that being said, we always designed our 505
products to be scalable, to be adaptable to 506 different educational models too. And I would say 507 that the hardest challenge never is the 508 product market fit. Because as soon as people have us in their 509 hands, they love Adreno, they love the products, they remain in the 510 system for a long time, etc. But the toughest 511 challenge for us was this message market fit. 512 I've talked about some learnings, how Germany is also different to other countries 513 before. But to convey this also in your marketing messaging, 514 that has definitely been a journey for us and US and also 515 finding out what channels really work, who do people really 516 trust? Because in Germany, let's take an example of 517 influencers. An influencer, a mom influencer, once told me that she's the digital 518 best friend of her followers. And in Germany this is
519 really true. People have very strong trust in some 520 influencers in other markets, for example the uk, 521 it's not the same picture, meaning that that is also a 522 channel that works very differently than it does in Germany. So 523 figuring this out, where do people get their main source of information? 524 Is it through the educational system? Where also in Germany, for example, 525 we do have a very strong trust in the system. Also most 526 of the kindergartens, everything in preschool is 527 state owned, Whereas in the UK 528 for example, over 30 is private. So it's a different market. 529 And to understand this and really build these touch 530 points, build these trust points and therefore reach parents, 531 because we are not just selling another consumer product, 532 we are selling an educational product that parents need to trust and
533 be convinced of. I'M actually a little bit shocked by that. 534 For the simple reason people trust in influencers. They 535 trust in people who make their living by selling as much 536 as possible to them. Okay, that's completely 537 different topic to discuss about mankind, 538 humankind here. Yep. But maybe to 539 just say one thing here though. We have a lot of influencers that we 540 work closely with that don't just advertise any product. 541 They really want to test the product through and through. They have a lot of 542 questions. It's very close relationships that we have and only then they 543 advertise it. So I also want to say this, that there is not 544 just anyone selling anything, but 545 some of them have to be really, really convinced. 546 That's usually the best ones and the effort usually pays off.
547 Inside the founders world, you'll share investor pitch deck structure 548 and fundraising lessons, how you raised 30 millions 549 insights you won't hear anywhere else. Let us go a 550 little bit into the outlook. What's next for you guys? Are you 551 focused on deeper penetration in Europe, new product categories 552 or expanding to something like North America and Asia? 553 So our vision is to make Adorino the gold standard for hybrid learning 554 globally. So first we deepen our penetration across Europe 555 and long term, we want to expand our age range so that children can 556 grow with Eddarina from kindergarten all the way through primary school and 557 also beyond. And we can see that the global EdTech market is 558 projected to exceed 350 billion by 2030. And 559 we see that early childhood education is a very important growth 560
driver. Within that, however, there's still very, very 561 few offerings. And that's why we 562 have high ambitions to move into that and to fill that gap. 563 Admittedly, Edorido is not five years old, but looking out five 564 years, how do you see edtech for children evolving? Especially 565 now that AI is not really in their 566 gamification and hybrid learning models. So 567 in five years, I believe that AI will personalize education 568 at scale, but it needs to be combined with real world play, 569 especially at this very young age. And therefore I'm convinced that 570 hybrid learning is not a trend, but it's the future, especially for young children. 571 And one thing that will always remain true is that in education, 572 parents demand the highest quality and the safest product. So 573 that's why successful attacks must always stay kids
574 first. And just to put it into perspective, over 90% of parents 575 also say that quality safety is their top priority. 576 And therefore I believe, of course we will see a huge shift in the 577 entire educational industry. But especially at this very 578 young age, I don't believe that everything will be digital 579 only. And we still need humans to 580 provide this trust factor, to provide the safety factor, 581 because otherwise it will be out of our hands. 582 And all of us parents still want to have 583 some control over what kids at that age do a 584 little bit. Teasing out a contrarian view of you. What's one 585 big assumption about edtech or early childhood learning that you 586 believe is. Completely wrong and why 587 so many still believe that children under the age of 3, 588 under the age of 4 should avoid screen time entirely.
589 And I personally believe quite the opposite because you 590 can't. You just simply can't avoid it anymore. So therefore I believe 591 that digital literacy is a new life skill and the question is 592 not if, because they will come into contact with screens 593 independent of what you try and what you do. So therefore the question 594 is how? And we need safe, playful and 595 valid screen time. Actually you can get 596 in contact with screens just simply by driving on the 597 bus, on the tram, in the subway. Yeah, and 598 it's beautiful. I mean also facetiming with your 599 grandparents, etc. It's just, it's also a form 600 of screen time. Yes, you just need to get them to 601 reply and to pick up the call. 602 Sorry, personal memories here. Our audience if 603 you guys out there were to build an ad tech startup today, what would
604 your focus be on? Hybrid models, AI 605 driven personalization, Teacher first platforms? Share your 606 vote. We'll feature the results in our follow up newsletter. 607 Let's go a little bit into the advice you have for other 608 founders. What's your most important piece of advice to fellow founders? 609 Building in trust sensitive industries. Edtech, Healthcare, 610 fintech. So in trust sensitive industry I would say that 611 product is about half the battle and the other half 612 is credibility. So it's important to get the right 613 partners, the right advisors and never underestimate 614 also the power that a brand has. If you could 615 redesign education for the next generation from scratch, 616 no legacy systems, no regulators holding you back, what 617 would it look like? If I could redesign 618 education, it would be curiosity first. 619 So I wouldn't, I wouldn't provide a rigid
620 curriculum. No fear of mistakes, no great 621 systems so early on. So all about play, all about 622 exploration. And also analog and digital tools designed 623 to unlock creativity, not just consumption. That would 624 be my ideal world to build everything around a very 625 individual pace that every kid has. 626 And the usual closing. Are you open to talk to any investors? 627 Always. Always. And are you 628 currently looking for talented employees? Yes, also 629 always and at the moment, particularly in marketing and also 630 in product. So if our vision and our 631 cause resonates with you. Please reach out. 632 Irene thank you very much. It was a pleasure having you here. 633 Congratulations again to you. Stumm German Startup Awards. Hope to have you 634 back in a few years talking about your progress and success here. Thank you so
635 much. Jan. 636 That's all folks. Find more news streams, 637 events and 638 interviews@www.startuprad.IO. 639 remember, sharing is caring. 640 Sam.
Design · Trust · Partners
When asked what’s non-negotiable for edtech founders, Irene didn’t hesitate:
Design for the user — the child.
Earn trust early.
Choose allies wisely.
Kids must love it, or nothing else matters. Parents must trust it, or no one buys it. Partners must believe in it, or scaling stalls.
This trifecta defines Europe’s new generation of purpose-driven startups — pragmatic, evidence-based, yet emotionally intelligent.
Scaling Across Europe — What Worked, What Didn’t
Edurino’s expansion across Germany, Austria, Switzerland, and the UK required deep cultural adaptation.
In Germany, the debate is still screen vs no screen; messaging focuses on reassurance.
In the UK, parents already accept screens; emphasis shifts to quality and creativity.
In both, localization meant involving local educators and adapting pedagogy.
Offline channels mattered more than expected — 45 % of toy purchases still happen in stores. That insight triggered a pivot from pure D2C to retail + community partnerships .
“We realized educational products need multiple touch points — kindergartens, retailers, friends’ homes. It’s about trust through familiarity.”
Investors, Empathy and Evidence: Convincing a Skeptical Market
Edtech has long been under-invested because ROI feels abstract.Edurino cracked that by mixing data (evidence) + stories (empathy).
Traction : 400 ,000 families reached Edurino_sound
Retention : kids return repeatedly — a metric consumer investors love
Emotion : parents call it “screen time that teaches”
A DN Capital partner literally tested it with his son and said, “This is better than YouTube.” That one anecdote anchored a funding round.
“We design Edurino with parents and children, not for them.” — Irene Klemm
The Future — AI-Personalized, Play-Powered Learning
Looking five years ahead, Irene envisions AI tailoring lessons to each child’s pace — but never replacing human play.
“AI will personalize education at scale, but it must be combined with real-world interaction.”
Hybrid learning, then, isn’t a phase; it’s education’s next operating system.The global edtech market will exceed $350 billion by 2030, yet the preschool segment remains wide open.
Europe, with its multilingual markets and pedagogical diversity, is uniquely suited to lead — provided founders keep empathy + evidence at the core.
Hybrid learning bridges the gap between physical curiosity and digital literacy.
Early trust + scientific validation = investment magnet.
Localization is harder than translation — understand parental psychology first.
The future of edtech is AI-enabled, empathy-anchored.
Pro Tip for Founders
If your users are children, design for their joy; if your buyers are parents, design for their trust.
Market Lens
DACH region: conservative but fast-growing once trust is earned.
UK: private-preschool market favors premium educational toys.
Nordics & Benelux: next logical expansion clusters.
Stat Spotlight
70 % of parents in Germany worry about too much screen time.35 % higher problem-solving skills in Edurino users (Cambridge study).400 ,000 families reached across Europe.
Internal & External Linking
Internal
Authority Sources
Cambridge University Learning Study (2024)
Crunchbase Funding Data for Edurino
German Startup Association Awards 2025
Relationship Map
Irene Klemm Co- → Founder → Edurino. Joe
Jörn "Joe" Menninger → Host of → Startuprad.io
Partner with Startuprad.io
Startuprad.io is the leading independent media platform covering startups, venture capital, and innovation across the DACH region (Germany, Austria, Switzerland) and Europe. We offer B2B partnership opportunities for companies looking to reach startup decision-makers, founders, and investors.
Become a Partner — Learn about sponsorship and partnership opportunities
Contact us: partnerships@startuprad.io
Editor-in-Chief: Jörn "Joe" Menninger on LinkedIn
Subscribe to the Podcast
All podcast links: https://linktr.ee/startupradio
🧩 FAQ Section
What is Edurino?
Edurino is a German edtech startup combining beautifully designed physical toys with interactive apps to teach children aged 4 to 8 core skills like problem solving, creativity and digital literacy
Who founded Edurino?
Edurino was founded in 2019 by Irene Klemm and Franziska Meyer, two entrepreneurs driven to make screen time educational and safe for young children
What does “hybrid learning for kids” mean?
Hybrid learning blends physical play with digital interaction. Edurino’s model uses real toys to trigger in-app experiences, turning screens into learning tools rather than distractions
How does Edurino help parents manage screen time?
The app includes built-in time limits and character-led transitions that encourage kids to stop playing after 20–25 minutes and continue offline with their figures — helping parents avoid over-consumption
What educational results does Edurino show?
A Cambridge University study found Edurino improves problem-solving skills by 35 % and reading skills by 25 % — turning playtime into measurable learning
How did Edurino convince investors to fund a children’s app?
By pairing data (evidence of learning impact) with empathy (real parent stories) and framing itself not as a toy company but a “category-defining learning system” that builds trust and scale
How many families use Edurino?
As of 2025, Edurino serves more than 400 000 families across Germany, Austria, Switzerland and the UK — a clear sign of mainstream product-market fit
What makes Germany’s edtech market unique?
Germany still debates “screens or no screens,” so edtech brands must educate parents on what kind of screen time matters — trust, not tech, drives adoption
What growth strategy worked best for Edurino?
A mix of retail partnerships for credibility and community storytelling for word-of-mouth growth proved far more effective than paid ads
How is AI shaping the future of hybrid learning?
AI will personalize education to each child’s pace, but Irene Klemm believes it must stay anchored in real-world play and human trust to avoid purely screen-based learning
Why do parents trust Edurino?
Because the startup works directly with educators, publishes independent research, and builds products that encourage healthy digital habits instead of addiction
What were Edurino’s biggest pivots?
Switching from pure D2C to a hybrid retail model and shifting marketing messaging to appeal to both parents and children — unlocking European scale
What age group is Edurino for?
Children aged 4 to 8 — a critical period for developing problem-solving and digital literacy skills
What skills does Edurino teach?
Problem solving, reading comprehension, creative thinking, early coding logic, and emotional skills for resilience and teamwork
Why is “no screen time” a myth?
Because screens are ubiquitous — from buses to video calls. Digital literacy is now a life skill, and safe, purposeful screen time prepares children for the future
What’s next for Edurino?
Expansion deeper into Europe, new age ranges, and AI-driven personalization — aiming to become the global gold standard for hybrid learning by 2030
How can founders earn trust in sensitive industries?
Combine credible data, ethical design, and transparent communication — trust is half the battle, credibility the other half
What was Irene Klemm’s vision for education reform?
A system built around curiosity first — no rigid grades, no fear of mistakes, and tools that unlock creativity through play and exploration
Where can I listen to the full interview?
Listen to the full conversation on Apple Podcasts or Spotify — search for “Startuprad.io Edurino Hybrid Learning.”
How can I access Startuprad.io’s AI assistant or premium interviews?
Chat with our AI assistant anytime on 👉 Startuprad.io for instant answers from hundreds of founder interviews.For exclusive deep-dive conversations we can’t publish anywhere else, join our premium channels:
The video is available up to 24 hours before to our channel members in what we call the Entrepreneur’s Vault.
The Host & Guest
The host in this interview is Jörn “Joe” Menninger, startup scout, founder, and host of Startuprad.io. And guest is Irene Klemm Co-Founder of Edurino.
What is this article about: How Edurino Built Europe’s Hybrid Learning Revolution?
Edurino built Europe's hybrid learning revolution by combining physical figurines with digital educational content for children. The Munich-based EdTech startup created a product that bridges screen time and hands-on play — proving that the best learning happens when digital and physical worlds merge.
What are the main takeaways from this discussion?
Irene Klemm of Edurino explains how her startup turns screen time into productive learning time by combining physical figurines with digital content in a hybrid learning approach. This interview covers how Edurino scaled across Europe, won parental trust in a market deeply skeptical of children's screen use, and built an education technology product that kids actually want to use repeatedly.
How does this topic connect to the broader startup ecosystem?
Edurino's hybrid learning model combines physical figurines with digital content to transform children's screen time into productive learning time. The approach won parental trust in a market deeply skeptical of technology for young children by making the physical component essential to the experience. Irene Klemm describes scaling across European markets while maintaining educational quality and cultural relevance. The company's retention metrics show that children voluntarily return to the pro
About the Host
Joern "Joe" Menninger is the host of the Startuprad.io podcast and covers founders, investors, and policy developments across the DACH startup ecosystem. Through more than 1,300 interviews and nearly a decade of reporting, he documents the evolution of the European startup landscape. Follow Joern on LinkedIn.
Support Startuprad.io
Edurino proves that hybrid physical-digital products can scale across European markets. If your company wants to reach founders, investors, and operators across the DACH startup ecosystem, Startuprad.io works with a select number of partners on high-trust visibility and thought-leadership formats. Explore partnership options here: Partner with Startuprad.io
Comments