TL;DR
Why it matters:
This case demonstrates how clear guardrails, enablement over dependency, and a focused technology stack can lead to sustainable project success—even under challenging starting conditions.
Outcome:
Today, the Eilert Academy operates a modern, self-configurable learning platform that enables them to launch new courses and content while continuously evolving their training offering independently.
Business value:
Within a clearly defined project framework, the result is a platform that allows the academy to independently develop its digital training system and sustainably expand its offering.
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Key Results at a Glance
- Complete rebuild of a learning platform that was no longer viable to operate
- Dynamic training concept based on 60,000 avatar-based training images, enabling flexible and extensible training formats
- A wide range of offering and expansion options without additional development effort
- Independent management of courses, content, and exercises
- Long-term independence from external development vendors
Eilert Academy
- Industry: Professional training & coaching
- Focus: Emotional intelligence, microexpression recognition (Mimikresonanz®)
- Locations: Berlin, Paris, Zurich, Innsbruck
- Target groups: Coaches, trainers, executives, HR professionals
Challenge: Failed modernization, lost trust, tight constraints
The Eilert Academy’s existing learning platform was technically outdated, difficult to maintain, and no longer economically viable. At the same time, requirements were increasing: new pedagogical concepts, significantly more training material, and the goal of training emotion recognition using avatar-based facial expressions—so-called personas.
A previous external modernization attempt failed to meet these requirements. Despite significant investment, no usable solution was delivered. This revealed the true complexity of the undertaking.
Approach: Clear guardrails instead of promises – building trust through transparency
INNOQ deliberately chose a clearly defined project framework with firm guardrails. This included clearly prioritized project goals, a consciously limited scope, and binding decisions on technology and architecture. This created planning certainty—functionally, technically, and organizationally.
The project followed a set of clear principles: a deliberately lean, long-lasting technology stack, consistent configurability over bespoke one-off solutions and a strong focus on enablement. The goal was not just to deliver a new platform, but to enable the Eilert Academy to independently evolve its digital offering over the long term—without needing development support for every content change or new feature.
To reduce uncertainty early on and make technical possibilities tangible, the team developed an initial clickable prototype even before the project began. This served as a shared reference point in the kickoff workshop and helped turn abstract requirements into concrete discussions. From the outset, INNOQ positioned itself not just as an implementation partner, but as a sparring partner—taking ownership, contributing ideas, and making sound decisions together with the academy.
The ongoing collaboration was built on regular check-ins and transparent communication. The goal was to develop a consistent overall solution rather than evaluating isolated intermediate results too early. This approach gradually led to a solution that holds up—functionally, technically, and organizationally.
We were impressed by how quickly INNOQ delivered visible results in the first few weeks. That gave us early confidence that this project would succeed.
Dr. Dirk W. EilertFounder and Head of the Eilert Academy
Implementation: A learning platform with pedagogical depth and economic viability
Dynamic exercise generator instead of static content
A core functional element of the platform is the dynamic exercise generator, which creates training sessions from configurable image pools. Based on domain-specific rules, targeted training modes can be defined—for example, focused exercises for emotions that are often confused.
Effect:
- High variability instead of repetition
- Personalized learning paths
- New training content and formats can be added without additional development effort
UX & Motivation: The platform was designed with a strong focus on intuitive usability and user motivation:
- Minimal UI in training mode for maximum focus
- Visible learning progress
- Gamification elements and unlockable personas
The foundation for this was an extensive existing image pool with numerous artificial actors, which had been created before the project began. Building on this, INNOQ proposed making these artificial actors—referred to as personas—a central element of the user experience.
The personas serve as both a didactic and emotional organizing principle: they make the wide range of available images easier to navigate without overwhelming users and support targeted training focus areas. At the same time, additional personas can be unlocked or purchased within courses, allowing both learning paths and the course offering to expand flexibly.
Monetization & Growth
The goal was to design the platform in a way that allows the digital training offering to be expanded and evolved independently over the long term. Today, the academy can independently:
- Design course formats and offering variants with flexibility
- Configure upselling options (personas, perspectives, packages)
- Manage bundles, promotion codes, and affiliate programs
→ Without additional development effort.
Technology & Enablement: Staying independent—even after the project
Instead of building a solution that would require ongoing external support, INNOQ adopted an enablement-first approach from the very beginning. The goal was to provide the Eilert Academy with a platform that allows them to independently manage, adapt, and evolve their digital offering in both functional and economic terms as part of their day-to-day operations.
A central element of this approach is a CMS-like backend designed consistently for configurability. Content, exercises, personas, pricing, and unlock mechanisms can all be managed independently. Content updates do not require a new development cycle. This ensures the academy remains capable of acting—even as requirements continue to evolve.
The technological foundation was deliberately kept lean and robust. It enables rapid iteration, remains maintainable over the long term, and supports what was critical to the project: stability and independence beyond project completion.
Technology-Stack:
- Ruby on Rails
- Stimulus & Bootstrap
- Stripe (payments, products, discounts, affiliate logic)
- RapidMail (newsletter)
INNOQ didn’t just build us a new platform—they enabled us to rethink our entire training offering digitally.
Dr. Dirk W. EilertFounder and Head of the Eilert Academy
