From Ideas to Architecture: How Dovetail x Neuro Built a Multi-Category Growth Roadmap
(an innovation assigment)
When a digitally native functional wellness brand backed by strong, vocal investors found itself rich in innovation opportunities, the leadership team faced a strategic crossroads. They were the #1 consumer brand on Tik Tok shop, driven on energy gum & mints, e-commerce was humming, and the product pipeline was full of promising ideas led by a brilliant team.
But without a clear framework to prioritize and sequence those opportunities, they risked spreading resources too thin, and risked losing leadership and team confidence in the process.
“Neuro had what most brands dream of: strong product-market fit in energy and focus, unrivaled digital traction, and the ability to invest in whatever they want.”
The Challenge: Turning a breakthrough into a blueprint
Neuro has been on fire since Shark Tank. The problem wasn't lack of ideas, it was unlimited opportunity. Sleep, mood, energy - each represented a viable path forward. How could leadership deploy resources with confidence?
And more importantly, how could we make sure the sophomore album was even better than the debut?
The Approach
Dovetail conducted comprehensive market analysis across Neuro's highest-potential need states. We quantified TAM and growth rates for sleep, mood, energy, and other extensions. We mapped competitive landscapes, identified white space, and most importantly, assessed barriers to entry and Neuro's unique advantages in each space.
Then we applied strategic frameworks to enhance and amplify the team’s thinking. Using McKinsey's Three Horizons model, we categorized opportunities by strategic distance and risk, which is useful to scrub away arbitrary timelines, passion projects, and politics. We filtered every idea through HBR’s three questions: Is it real? Is it worth it? Can we win? (or: desirability, feasability, viability) This gave the team permission to say "not yet" to good ideas that weren't right ideas right now.
The result was a sequenced roadmap that showed why establishing category authority in certain spaces unlocks permission to play in others. We quantified how Horizon 1 success (core energy innovation) builds the brand equity and distribution infrastructure required for Horizon 2 extensions (adjacent wellness categories) and Horizon 3 bets (truly disruptive formats).
“We were able to get alignment on our top priorities. You really helped solidify our strategy”
The Deliverables
Dovetail provided Neuro with a complete innovation architecture:
Market Landscape Analysis - Detailed assessment of y category opportunities with TAM, growth trajectories, competitive positioning, and consumer barriers for each
Prioritized Opportunity Matrix - Clear ranking of which categories to pursue first, which to develop in parallel, and which to defer, with quantified rationale for each decision
Three Horizons Strategic Framework - A living document that organized the entire innovation pipeline by strategic distance, resource requirements, and expected returns, giving the team a shared language for portfolio management
Launch Decision Criteria - Specific filters for evaluating future opportunities: desirability (does the consumer want it?), feasibility (can we make and distribute it at scale?), viability (will it be profitable?)
Leadership gained the confidence to commit resources to specific priorities. The innovation team has shared criteria for evaluating new opportunities. And perhaps most importantly, Neuro has a blueprint that turns "we could do anything" into "here's exactly what we should do, and why."
The Result
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