How Tom Gale Is Turning Classrooms into Concert Halls with Solfeg.io

When the war in Ukraine broke out, Tom Gale, Co-Founder and CEO of Solfeg.io, was deeply affected. He took it personally, and the emerging startup he co-founded was about to pay the price. But he then remembered why he needed to wake up every morning and continue to drive his mission of bringing quality music education to every child. In this turbulent reality of global disruption and uncertainty, music was a source of light, and it could heal and bring joy.

Solfeg.io, recently crowned Best EdTech Solution of 2024 by the Global EdTech Startup Awards, is Tom’s way of showing that music can be a powerful force of good. And more than 25,000 schools worldwide agree.

A Musical Journey that Began at Home 

Tom knew these deep truths about the power of music as he grew up surrounded by it. “My mom was a music teacher, and I was always playing something: guitar, piano, ukulele. I even DJ’d and sang lead in an indie band,” he recalls. His personal and professional journeys converged when he co-founded Latvia’s first private music school for adults.

It was there, while co-teaching with his former bandmate and first guitar teacher, that the seed for Solfeg.io was planted. “We were trying to solve our own frustrations with how music was taught,” he says. “We never imagined we’d be building a global EdTech platform used in tens of thousands of schools”, yet that is precisely what happened. 

When a Good Product Sells Itself

What makes Solfeg.io’s rise remarkable alongside its pedagogical impact, is how they reached their audience. The platform’s adoption has been almost entirely organic. “We’ve had no sales or marketing budget,” Tom says. “It’s all been word of mouth.”

Educators across continents are turning to Solfeg.io because it’s intuitive and introduces joy and engagement into their music classes. With songs that children love to play, including chart-toppers like BTS’s Butter and Post Malone’s Sunflower, and AI-powered personalization that adapts to learners’ knowledge gaps, the tool blends evidence-based pedagogy with irresistible relevance.

Music as Medicine

Tom’s vision is both inspiring and evidence based. Music can heal, connect and help children grow and succeed. “We know from research that music increases grades and graduation rates by 25%, enhances cognitive skills and creativity, and even reduces aggression by up to 30%,” Tom explains. “Why shouldn’t it be universally accessible, just like sports? Especially in times of global unrest and continuous conflict, when so many children are dealing with stress and fear, music can truly become therapy.”

And yet, a major gap remains. Solfeg.io’s internal research shows that 75% of students who use the platform want to play a musical instrument, but only 10–20% actually do. “One big reason is access,” says Tom. “Many students simply don’t have instruments at home.”

To address that, the company is working on integrating instrument distribution and drop-shipping into its platform, a bold logistical feat that could open the door to millions of aspiring young musicians. “If we succeed” Tom said, “we can remove one of the biggest barriers to students embracing music for life”.

A Sprinkle of Stardust: Building a Strong Team of Music Professionals

Music excellence runs deep in the company culture. Solfeg.io’s sound engineers have produced songs that reached the Eurovision Song Contest finals, including the 2023 Lithuanian hit “Stay” sung by Monika Linkytė’s. ”We have real musical talent in-house,” Tom says. “It’s part of our DNA.”

That credibility has helped the platform win trust in classrooms, while also inspiring students to create music themselves. “Some schools have been with us for over five years,” Tom shares. “One school wrote to us recently, sharing that their students formed a band after using our app. They’re performing and building a following on Youtube”.

The Former Indie Band Signer Goes back on Stage with GESAwards

Tom didn’t expect to win the GESAwards. “I stayed through all the pitches. The competition was intense. I really had no idea we’d win,” he says, still visibly moved months later. “It was one of the highlights of my life.”

The victory brought immediate impact. Investor calls poured in, demo requests from schools and districts doubled, even Latvia’s ministry of Culture honored them for representing the country on a global stage. “The networking events were gold,” Tom recalled. “I even managed to sneak in our lead VC, who had just landed in London to hear the news of our win. We met so many new connections that share our vision and challenges.”

For Solfeg.io, this was a moment of validation, and opening new doors to opportunities that started pouring in. After receiving the prize, Tom shared he was excited for Solfeg.io, but more so for the entire music education space. “It will raise awareness for music lessons and enable us to help more teachers around the world inspire their students.”

Shortly after the win at the Global Finals, selected by a panel of more than 60 expert judges from around the world, Solfeg.io was also announced as the winner of the GESAwards Special Track for Music Education led by Trinity College London. TCL are planning exciting collaboration opportunities with Solfeg.io, expected to be announced in the near future. 

Tom’s advice for startups considering applying for an award is candid: “Don’t give up. We applied multiple times. This was our third try. Just keep building the best product you can. Work with your users, understand their problems better than anyone else. That’s how you win.”

His second tip? Prepare like it matters. “I practiced my pitch for days and it really helped me feel more confident. My laptop shut down literally three seconds after I finished. If that had happened a minute earlier… I guess sometimes a bit of luck doesn’t hurt.”

The Beat of a Better Future

Tom is aiming high. In his mind he sees an education system in which playing an instrument becomes just as common as joining a soccer team. Where classrooms are filled with rhythm, harmony, and Joy. 

“We want to be the Nike of music education,” he says, without irony. It’s a bold vision. But if there’s one thing Tom and Solfeg.io have proven, it’s that the power of music, when amplified by mission-driven technology, can indeed change the world.