Startup optimizer for creative software on shared workstations

In agencies, schools, and print shops, multiple users share the same Windows workstation throughout the day. Every time a new person sits down, they open Photoshop or a similar tool cold — no warm cache, full load time, every time. The complaints mention that 'loading time doesn't decrease much the other times', which means even power users who expect a warm start are disappointed.

The reason nobody has built a clean fix for this is structural: the editing software vendors control the launch sequence inside their own app, and they have no incentive to optimize a use case (shared machines, constrained hardware) that their enterprise sales team doesn't pitch to. IT administrators at these organizations don't have access to the app internals, so they're stuck with workarounds like leaving the software open all day or buying faster SSDs.

What's missing is a small background service that pre-warms specific creative applications on a schedule — loading their core modules into memory before the user arrives, based on calendar or login-time patterns. It would work outside the app entirely, at the OS level, so it doesn't require any cooperation from the software vendor. Users complain about 'constant upgrades' also slowing things down — a smart service here could defer update finalization to off-hours so it doesn't compound startup time during work sessions.

This is a business because shared workstations are a recurring infrastructure problem in education (computer labs), print and signage shops, and creative agencies. IT managers in those environments buy per-site licenses for productivity tools constantly, and a tool that demonstrably cuts 30-60 seconds off every session open across 20 machines is easy to justify in a conversation with a budget holder.

What to build

Build a Windows background service that pre-loads configurable application modules into memory on a user-defined schedule, with a dashboard showing per-app load time before and after, deployable via MSI for IT-managed rollouts.

Where to start

Start with schools and universities running computer labs on a fixed hardware budget — they replace machines on long cycles, can't just buy faster SSDs for everyone, and IT staff there are actively looking for software-side wins to extend hardware life.

The hard part

Getting reliable pre-warm behavior across different versions of creative software without the apps exposing any API for it — requires reverse-engineering which DLLs and assets to prefetch, which breaks with major app updates and forces ongoing maintenance.

How it makes money

Annual site license priced per number of managed workstations — $99/year for up to 10 machines, $299/year for up to 50 — with a free single-machine version for individual users that builds word-of-mouth.