This paper is devoted to the construction of what we will call {\em exactly solvable models}, i.e. of quantum mechanical systems described by an Hamiltonian \(H\) whose eigenvalues and eigenvectors can be explicitly constructed out of some {\em minimal ingredients}. In particular, motivated by PT-quantum mechanics, we will not insist on any self-adjointness feature of the Hamiltonians considered in our construction. We also introduce the so-called bicoherent states, we analyze some of their properties and we show how they can be used for quantizing a system. Some examples, both in finite and in infinite-dimensional Hilbert spaces, are discussed.