Wide demand is not the same as a clear opportunity. Rika's assessment was that the product's specific technical advantage, processing audio without any cloud dependency, was largely irrelevant to most organisations with a need for real-time transcription, a market already served by mature cloud-based alternatives. It was decisive, however, to a much smaller group: organisations in regulated and high-security environments where conversations are sensitive, accuracy is non-negotiable, and data cannot leave the building. Chasing broad B2B demand would have meant competing on ground where the product had no particular advantage. Going narrow meant entering a market where it had exactly the right one.
Research confirmed that demand for meeting documentation was genuinely widespread, with 87% of respondents identifying it as a requirement across professional services, financial services and the public sector. But the more telling finding was in the detail. The buyers with the strongest need were not looking for convenience, and were not well served by existing solutions. They were organisations for whom keeping data on-premise was a hard requirement, driven by regulation, security policy or the sensitivity of what was being discussed. That pattern pointed clearly towards a specific type of customer, and away from the broad B2B market.
Product definition. Rika worked with Cedat85 to define the product in commercial terms, clarifying its use cases and articulating where it would be most relevant and why buyers would choose it.
Naming and brand. Rika led the naming process, working with a specialist partner to develop and evaluate options. The brief was to create something distinctive and not tied to a single function. Cabolo was selected and supported by a visual identity applied across product and communications.
Digital foundation. Rika secured the cabolo.com domain and built the first version of the website, along with landing pages, product materials and commercial presentations.
Go-to-market planning. A structured plan was developed covering target sectors, messaging and channels, with regulated and high-security environments as the clear priority.
Market testing. Targeted campaigns tested messaging and audience response, with findings feeding back into the go-to-market approach.
Test and learn campaigns. Campaign activity was run and monitored to validate messaging and refine the approach before further investment.
Naming a product nobody has heard of, in a market already dominated by established alternatives, required a line that did more than simply announce the product. "Say hello to Cabolo" was introduced to work across three registers at once: an introduction of a new name, an activation of the product's core function, and a direct instruction to the audience.
