How did NEO-SOCIAL come to be?
From walking meditations to concept building to product development: a 7-year journey that paved the way. Insights from Sol Inoa.
What brought you to this work?
I came to this work from a place of personal inquiry, initially driven by a curiosity about the nature of connection in my own life.
I stayed, though, because of a deeper desire to understand the role of connection in the human experience.
Humans are wired for connection, but we’ve shaped underlying structures in a way that moves us away from what truly addresses the need.
..it was at this intersection of reflection and inner knowing that I found myself asking two mission-shaping questions:
- What is the most urgent change needed in today’s society? (my answer: a shift in connection to self, to other and to place)
- What’s the most effective way to drive that change? (my answer: infrastructure, specifically technical infrastructure)
What was concept building like?
Because connection is inherently complex and informed by different factors, I opted for a layered approach to concept building.
Over time drawing from different disciplines, including Social and Behavioral Psychology, Neuroscience, Sociology, Change Management, Art, and Urban Design. This interdisciplinary blend became a pathway for addressing friction in relating to ourselves, to one another, and to place in a contextually grounded way.
As the concept evolved, I turned to Technology and Design — not just to build an app, but to develop a viable, scalable, multifaceted solution for one of the most defining universal challenges of our time. This systems-approach digital architecture bridges third spaces, the practice of coming back to self, and those who make meaningful connection possible — artists, venue operators, social visionaries, and community builders.
Ultimately, the end result is more than a product; it is a personal and collective guide toward a renewed sense of togetherness.
...We’re meant to journey together.
How do you see NEO-SOCIAL changing the state of human connection?
I find we’re living through a time in which we’ve forgotten that we’re meant to journey together — and how rare it is to share a lifetime.
Today, connection often feels harder to experience and sustain — eclipsed by doom scrolling, informed by chronic states of loneliness, and stretched thin across digital spaces.
The change lies in redefining both individual reflection and collective experience. NEO-SOCIAL is designed to usher a practice of remembrance — to bring us back to ourselves, our shared humanity, and to the spaces that offer us an opportunity to bring life to time. It’s a way of pivoting toward what matters: depth, belonging, and the kind of presence that makes us feel alive.
My hope is that it not only transforms how we connect, but also opens up new ways of being — ways that center shared time and space, and can help guide us toward what sustains us and our collective wellbeing.
About Conceptualizer, Sol Inoa
Sol Inoa is a multidisciplinary being — brought to life in Santiago, Dominican Republic, raised in New York City, and shaped by the rhythms and complexities of both places.
Sol graduated from Trinity College in 2016, where she completed a degree in Public Policy & Law, concentrating in Human Rights and International Law, with a second major in Language and Culture Studies. She later began a Change Management Masters program at the New School of Public Engagement, before leaving the program to pursue development of NEO-SOCIAL.
She is notably a Posse Scholar. Award recipients are selected for their exceptional leadership capacity. The Posse Foundation trains young leaders to become agents of social change, helping them strengthen the skills to develop consensus solutions to complex social problems.
Recognition
- 2026Top 100 Startups — Colectivo, powered by Cooley, Global Law Firm for Innovative Companies · Latino Tech Week