Post by Friederike Von Waldenfels

Exactly one year ago, I met two strangers who changed how I view safe technology for children. It started with a random connection at an MDM Consortium. I was on a mission. I saw the anxiety my friends faced. They were in a literal "arms race" with their 12-year-olds. Parents wanted to give their tweens independence (Google Maps, train tickets, Spotify, pay-on-the-go), which a "dumb phone" can't provide. But they were terrified of the browser and social media apps. Existing parental controls? The kids bypassed them in minutes. The solution? A safe smartphone. Enter Rajiv Azhapilli and Dijo xavier. Two founders with 10 years working together and 10 years at Samsung. They didn't just have the technical skills; they had the hustle. We started with a brand called LYA Phone here in Switzerland. We recruited 15 beta testers. And honestly? The 12-year-olds put us through hell. 😅 They are modern hackers. But after 6 months of battling their creativity, we had a product that was secure, guaranteed, and based on a standard Samsung device. While the Swiss market is dominated by iPhones (making adoption tricky), the UK market was ready. So, the team pivoted. They hustled. And Wingio was born. Since September, they have been live in the UK! Why am I sharing this? 🙏 Gratitude: To my beta testers (8 of you are still with us!), to Jessica Butcher MBE for the support, and to Rajiv & Xavier for never giving up. 🏁 The Mission: We can't lock our children out of digitalization. But we can decide how to introduce it. 📣The Ask: We are fully bootstrapped and fighting big marketing budgets. 🇬🇧 If you are in the UK: Check out Wingio for your child's first phone. 📣 If you are a marketer and influencer: Reach out to the founders. They are building something incredible and could use your voice. The Reality: Yes, I'm aware of the discussion - do we really need a safe smartphone? Doesn't that make children more addicted? and yes, I'm for delaying as much as possible. But at one point, we cannot close our children off from technology. Digitalization is everywhere - we need to have better and safer technology for our children. Every parent needs to decide when they want to give their tweens access and how. The Mission: We can't lock our children out of digitalization. But we can decide how to introduce it responsibly. #Startups #Parenting #TechSafety #MyWingio #Bootstrapped #Entrepreneurship