Itrio Launcher – A Digital Platform for Safe Computer Use in Schools and After-School Programs
2006 Itrio
Itrio was a Danish software company I co-founded in 2006 together with two partners. The product, Itrio Launcher, was designed for schools, after-school programs (SFOs), libraries, and youth centers where children had access to shared computers.
At the time, institutions faced major challenges in managing hardware, enforcing rules, and ensuring safe digital environments for children.
Itrio Launcher provided a locked-down, kiosk-style interface that controlled access to games, chat, and system settings — while keeping usage compliant with age restrictions and child safety regulations.
The outcome
Although the product solved real problems and was well received by staff and children, the business struggled to scale commercially.
The market was early:
- This was before smartphones
- Before home network gaming
- Before widespread cloud adoption
Institutions had limited budgets, long sales cycles, and high dependency on public funding.
We tried shifting our strategy from selling to individual institutions toward engaging politicians and public decision-makers, but the market was not ready for large-scale investment.
Eventually, we ran out of funding and had to close the company.
Key learnings
- A strong product is not enough without a scalable market
- Public-sector sales require long-term financial endurance
- Timing matters as much as innovation
- Belief in a vision must be balanced with commercial reality
- Founders must know when to adapt — or let go
Despite the outcome, the project provided invaluable experience in entrepreneurship, product leadership, budgeting, stakeholder management, and business strategy.
My role
I co-founded Itrio and served as CEO, leading both the creative and product direction of the company.
I was responsible for:
- Product vision and UX direction
- Feature design and system structure
- Explaining complex technical solutions to non-technical stakeholders
- Managing partnerships and client relationships
- Balancing product ambition with financial reality
The experience shaped my leadership style, sharpened my business judgment, and gave me a deep understanding of what it takes to build — and sustain — a software company.
Why the project failed (honest assessment)
From a strategic perspective, Itrio struggled because:
- The market was too early Institutions were not yet digitally mature, and children’s digital behavior had not shifted to home-based platforms.
- Public sector sales are slow and fragile Budgets, political decisions, and procurement processes limited scalability.
- The business model was narrow 49 DKK per machine per month required large volume to be sustainable.
- Timing outweighed innovation The idea was right — just ahead of its time.
The goal
The goal was to create a professional software platform that allowed educators and youth care staff to:
- Control what children were allowed to play
- Set time limits per child
- Prevent system misuse and hacking
- Block unsafe communication with adults outside the network
- Avoid illegal copying of games
- Keep hardware stable and easy to maintain
We wanted to reduce friction in computer rooms and give staff a reliable, rule-based system that supported both structure and safety.
The process
Itrio Launcher was built as a Windows-based, kiosk-style client using Macromedia Flash, running on top of the operating system.
All computers were centrally managed through our own data center, which handled:
- Automatic software updates
- Secure chat servers
- Game servers
- User management
- Content restrictions
The platform automatically detected newly installed games and added them to the system. We also curated a collection of freeware games that met age and content requirements.
We sold both software licenses and hardware solutions, and the system was tested across multiple schools, SFOs, libraries, and youth institutions.
At peak, the platform supported several thousand users across approximately 100 machines.
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This exquisite compilation showcases a diverse array of photographs that capture the essence of different eras and cultures, reflecting the unique styles and perspectives of each artist.