Building Sollos: External Validation

By the end of 2020, we had done a lot of groundwork.

The science gave us solid foundations. The product concept was forming. We had internal interest, some artist support, and an early version of the algorithm.

But there was one question we couldn’t answer on our own.

Could this actually be a business?

We had conviction, but we were still inside the building. If we wanted to raise meaningful funding, define a credible commercial model, and understand the scale of the opportunity, we needed external perspective.

We brought in BCG X to apply their “right to win” validation framework, built around three core questions:

Does it matter?

Is there a real problem to solve and an opportunity worth pursuing?

Does it work?

Is the product differentiated, the technology sound, and delivery viable at scale?

Can we win?

Do we have a credible right to play in this space, and what would it take to build a sustainable business?

The team went deep. They ran desirability testing through customer interviews, assessed financial potential, benchmarked competitors, pressure-tested business models, and explored routes to market, positioning, and pricing.

That work sharpened our thinking and exposed the full shape of the opportunity. More importantly, it gave senior stakeholders the confidence to keep backing the project.

What had been a promising internal initiative became something far more concrete: a credible commercial venture with evidence behind it.

This phase was pivotal. Internal momentum can take you far, but at a certain point it becomes a ceiling. External validation doesn’t just de-risk ideas, it accelerates them by forcing clarity and alignment.