Built by educators, for educators
Hearthstone Academy exists because we saw firsthand how hard it is to run an enrichment program without the right tools.
Our Story
Backcountry Tech Solutions builds web platforms for small businesses and organizations that need real tools, not cookie-cutter templates. When Erick Tronboll's childhood friend Jeremy Wilson asked for help managing his STEAM enrichment center in El Cajon, California, Erick built him a custom platform.
Jeremy runs JKW Innovations — a hands-on STEAM center serving homeschool families in San Diego County. He was drowning in spreadsheets: enrollment forms, charter school purchase orders, class schedules, payment tracking. The kind of operational chaos that every enrichment vendor knows too well.
Erick built the platform as a gift. But when Jeremy was too busy running his program to adopt new software (the irony), Erick and his wife Krystal — an educator with experience from kindergarten through adjunct professor, who homeschooled their three children — realized the gap was bigger than one program.
Enrichment vendors across the country face the same problems: manual enrollment, spreadsheet-based charter fund tracking, no parent communication tools, and zero visibility into their own revenue pipeline. There are 3.4 million homeschooled students in the US, 33 states with school choice programs, and no software purpose-built for the vendors who serve them.
Hearthstone Academy is that software.
Isabella's Legacy
The platform is named in honor of Jeremy's daughter Isabella. The accessibility engine at the heart of Hearthstone Academy ensures that every child can participate in enrichment activities, regardless of ability.
Isabella's Legacy isn't a “special needs feature” tacked on as an afterthought. It's how the platform works for everyone. Sensory-friendly display modes, special needs profiles with accommodation tracking, adaptive activity flags that help instructors prepare, and caregiver resources that keep families informed.
“This isn't a special-needs feature. It's how the platform works for everyone.”
The Team
Erick Tronboll
Founder, Backcountry Tech Solutions
Full-stack engineer and technical strategist. Builds the platform, manages the infrastructure, and keeps everything running. Erick has spent years building web platforms for small businesses and nonprofits across the country.
Krystal Lynn Tronboll
Education Advisor
Educator with experience from kindergarten through adjunct professor. Homeschooled three children. Krystal ensures the platform reflects how real programs actually operate — not how software engineers imagine they do.
Stazia
Governance & Operations
Keeps the trains running on time. Stazia manages project governance, operational procedures, and quality assurance across all BTS client projects.
Our Values
Privacy First
Student data never leaves the platform. We enforce privacy at the database level, not just the UI. Master administrators see aggregate counts — never individual student information.
Vendor-Side Focus
Built for the people who run enrichment programs. Every feature is designed from the perspective of a program administrator managing classes, enrollments, and charter school funding.
Accessibility
Isabella's Legacy is woven into every feature. Sensory-friendly modes, special needs profiles, adaptive activity flags, and caregiver resources ensure every child can participate.
Community
Serving the homeschool movement means understanding that every program is different. We build flexible tools that adapt to how you work, not the other way around.
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