Founders + Founder Ecosystem

Our Path | Your Journey

We help tech founders build the commercial case behind their product, based on evidence rather than assumptions.

We partner with investors, universities, venture studios and accelerators to strengthen the commercialisation skills and validate PMF signals across their portfolio and pipeline.

For Founders

Our Path: Journey Towards Product Market Fit

Explore
Customer Discovery
Validate
Demand Validation
Build
Product Testing IRL
Acquire
GTM / Distribution
Grow
Product-Market Fit

Product-market fit is paramount for founders, but it isn't a single destination.

It shifts as your market changes, and the founders who thrive are the ones who know how to maintain it.

Most founders building products don’t understand the industry deeply enough, even if they’ve worked in it for a long time. They build tools that sound impressive, but don’t solve buying problems. Most of our experience comes from working in digital technology and software.

Our framework is built around the key foundations of being a startup evolving into a business and getting ready for funding and growth. We have tiers that adapt to your budget.

Not speaking to customers first is one of the most ignored founder principles. We show you how to get the commercial signals you need from customer conversations that you can use for grant applications, investor pitch decks and data rooms, marketing messages and product roadmaps.

Your Journey: For Founders

Review +
Diagnostic
Find out gaps and next steps
We assess the quality of the evidence you have, identify the gaps, navigate uncertain markets, what's worth testing and how, and what you need to do next for your key decision and commercially.
Fixed-Scope
Sprint
One stage, done with you or for you
One stage of the framework, focused and intensive, structured around producing the specific evidence you need right now. Whether that's testing demand, willingness to pay, or validating a channel.
Fractional
Leadership
Ongoing commercial rigour
For founders who've raised and need validation built into how they work. We embed into your process, helping you interrogate commercial decisions before they're made.

Independent Learning + Coaching

Our commercial validation methodology in your hands.

Online courses and AI agents built around our framework, with templates, resources, and prompts that guide you through each stage. Supported by coaching, so you don't lose momentum or focus.


Meet Juno, our Market Validation Agent

Currently in Private Beta, Juno has been designed to use multiple AI agents to guide you through key stages of your customer discovery journey, the first part of our Validation Framework.

Based on 25 years of academic work and combined with the latest commercial strategies, our Framework will help you on an end-to-end journey to understand and measure market signals.

With Juno, you will define your hypothesis and ICP, complete a market analysis and design interview questions. You will analyse your interview transcripts and receive a report on signal strength, hypothesis validation, a go/no-go recommendation and commercial insights for your product roadmap, grant applications and pitch decks.

All you need to do is the interviews.


The Book

Make Products That Matter is a practical guide for entrepreneurs and product teams on how design thinking, lean startup, UX, and Agile fit together, bridging research, validation, and implementation into one coherent approach.

This gives you all the tools you need from idea to post-launch to test your concept with customers and users. The Lemonade Van is a case study that runs through the book, so you can see how the tools can be applied.


Grant Funding Fundamentals gets you ready to apply before the right opportunity appears, so you're not scrambling when it does.

Design Thinking for Deep Tech adapts the Double Diamond for the realities of high capital costs and long R&D cycles, covering customer empathy, systems thinking, and how to translate complex science into something non-technical audiences can act on.

Courses start from £225+VAT

Online Courses

For The Founder Ecosystem

The founders that fail commercially often fail for the same reason. They haven't spoken to enough customers. They can't articulate why people would pay. Their evidence base is thin.

These are fixable problems, but they need a structured approach that most accelerators don't have time to embed.

We work with accelerators, universities and investor networks to strengthen the commercial foundations across their portfolio, spin-outs or cohort. Not as a one-off workshop that gets forgotten, but as an embedded capability that changes how founders think about evidence for growing their business and fundraising.

We bring the same framework we use with founders directly, adapted for cohort delivery, 1:1 clinics, and programme integration.

The founders who can't raise are typically missing the evidence that turns a good idea into an investable case. We help you build that into your programme.

Your Journey: For Accelerators, Universities, Venture Studios and Investors

1:1 Founder
Clinics
Individual portfolio support
Structured sessions with individual founders in your portfolio or cohort. We assess the commercial evidence they have, identify the gaps, and give them a clear view of where they are in the framework and what to do next. Works as a standing arrangement or intensive pre-pitch preparation.
Commercial
Workshops
Cohort sessions with immediate application
Hands-on cohort sessions built around the commercial questions founders need to answer: customer segmentation, demand validation, willingness to pay, channel and distribution strategy. Each workshop provides insights and tools that founders can use immediately.
Programme
Module
Delivery
Built into your programme
From ad-hoc sessions to full modules integrated into your accelerator or educational programme, covering the commercial validation framework. Built around your founders, your timeline, and your outcomes. We deliver it, or we train your team to run it themselves.
Validate
Startup
Signals
Startup diligence and risk assessment
Is this startup building something people will buy? It can be difficult to distinguish signal from hype and identify misleading PMF signals. We can work with you to provide startup diligence, idea validation before funding, portfolio startup support and commercial risk assessments.

Trusted by founders and innovation ecosystems

What our clients say

  • "Moses hadn't used user research before this project to develop one of our in-house projects. I was really surprised and intrigued by the insights that Dr Chloe Sharp had found for us. She really challenged our assumptions and gave us something concrete to work with when iterating the Alpha product, based on evidence. We felt reassured that the iterations of the product are in line with user needs and our future product roadmap is based on evidence rather than assumptions. In the future, we'll certainly do user research again as we gained so much from it."

    — Terry Yoell, Founder, FLOCK

  • "Chloe helped us find messaging that genuinely connected with our customers, enabling them to understand our complex fintech infrastructure. She listened deeply to what our audience needed and translated technical payment concepts into clear, human narratives. Her rigorous approach to message testing meant we knew what resonated. She also fostered strong team collaboration and consistently brought out the best in everyone. Working with Chloe, you can expect someone who humanises technology, tests rigorously, and delivers messaging that truly connects with your audience."

    — Richard Bell, CEO & Co-founder, Fourdotzero

  • "Dr Chloe Sharp's work has been invaluable in helping us assess and understand our market opportunity better and provided a level of professional support that we could never have imagined receiving in advance. I very much look forward to their continued support and expertise as we develop new products and widen our market."

    — Calvin Niles, Founder, TOME

  • "The quality and quantity of information was incredible, backed up with practical templates to follow along with and implement ourselves – this made the whole workshop very engaging and very very useful!"

    — Benn Klewpatinond, Inond

  • "I found the tips in the Grant Funding Fundamentals online course and workshops to be incredibly practical. The guidance was immediately applicable, helping me feel far more prepared to build a grant strategy. I now have a clear understanding of what is needed for opportunities like the Smart Grant, which had previously felt overwhelming. I highly recommend this workshop to anyone looking to strengthen their approach to grant writing and boost their confidence in navigating funding applications."

    — Ana Silva, Replica Biomaterials

  • "Grant Funding Fundamentals was a game-changer for me. The course offered clear, actionable insights that took the mystery out of the grant application process. Each session was packed with practical advice, examples, and resources that made the complex world of grant writing feel accessible and manageable. I left feeling confident and equipped with the tools needed to approach grant funding strategically. I highly recommend this course to anyone looking to improve their grant writing skills and maximise their chances of success!" — Saba Riaz, LeafyColl

  • "One of the key aims of the project was to conduct a market assessment discovery phase through secondary and primary research. Sharp Insight were part of the team to deliver the research alongside other providers in South Africa. Dr Chloe Sharp's research was detailed and in-depth and created a solid base of understanding the market that Moses want to enter."

    — Terry Yoell, Founder, Moses

  • "Through her work on our advisory board, Chloe has guided and supported Nightingale's growth, providing ideas, advice and constructive criticism of our methods and processes. She has helped to open up new avenues for development and kept our team accountable, ensuring that we stay on track and achieve our goals."

    — Frances Brown, Co-Founder and CEO, Nightingale

  • “Dr Chloe and I worked together on my project to create a new programme for Female Techpreneur. She added so much value and support in kicking off the programme and we got it off the ground with her help. Dr Chloe is not only providing her expertise she helps to get the job done too! I recommend her 100%”

    — Bukky M. Babajide, Founder

  • "Chloe has mentored me for the past four months on growing my business digitally and structurally. She has provided me with the time and space to discuss critical business changes and processes that would otherwise not have happened due to dealing with the day-to-day business needs. Her faith in me and the tools, ideas and processes she has introduced me to has led to me having greater confidence in myself, greater knowledge of how to physically implement necessary changes and introducing new and innovative leadership practices to my company." — Leanne Martin, Company Director

  • "I had the incredible privilege of being mentored by Chloe, a great depth of leadership and empowerment. As a female leader, she exemplified grace, resilience, and unwavering determination in breaking barriers. Her wisdom, coupled with genuine care and support, empowered me to navigate challenges and embrace opportunities fearlessly. Under her mentorship, I not only honed my skills but also cultivated the confidence to lead with authenticity and empathy. I am forever grateful for her mentorship, which has shaped me into the leader I am today." — Ella Kirk, Learning and Development Manage

  • “I've had the privilege of being mentored by Chloe for the TechUp Women scheme. She has been incredibly generous with her time and knowledge. She has always ensured that I could learn at my own pace and ask questions about anything (including what to wear for a networking event!). Whether explaining complex concepts in layman's terms or providing invaluable life advice, her authenticity and commitment to helping me grow has made a lasting impact. She has been an advocate as well as a mentor and I feel empowered to start my new role (which is far from where I started when I first met Chloe). I feel truly lucky to have had Chloe as a mentor and can't thank her enough.”

    — Grace McDade, TechUp Women

  • “Dr Chloe Sharp worked with us to deliver discovery and research on our value proposition to digitise training offerings. She worked well with our team and delivered a report and overview for the participants to read to summarise the results. Speaking to busy NHS managers and leaders isn’t an easy task.”

    — Head of Digital, NHS Leadership Academy

  • “It was an amazing session where you got lots of stories from students talking about their life, work and experience. It’s great to hear how you tell stories in different contexts bringing emotions into it. Look forward to having you more. 200% recommended. After, I saw students use the techniques and effectively share their stories throughout your session.”

    — Lecturer, Cranfield University

  • “Dr Chloe Sharp’s work has been invaluable in helping us assess and understand our market opportunity better and provided a level of professional support that we could never have imagined receiving in advance. I very much look forward to their continued support and expertise as we develop new products and widen our market.”

    — Calvin, Founder, TOME

  • "Chloe has been an amazing guide for me during a transitional point in my career. Through a range of practical tools, she helped me see beyond the job itself and focus on what truly moves me, allowing my actions to align more closely with my heart. As a result, I feel more fulfilled in my professional life and clearer about pursuing goals that matter deeply to me."

    — Thorranze Cheung, Designer and Brand Strategist

  • "I've had the privilege of being mentored by Chloe for the TechUp Women scheme. She has been incredibly generous with her time and knowledge. She has always ensured that I could learn at my own pace and ask questions about anything (including what to wear for a networking event!). Whether explaining complex concepts in layman's terms or providing invaluable life advice, her authenticity and commitment to helping me grow has made a lasting impact. She has been an advocate as well as a mentor and I feel empowered to start my new role (which is far from where I started when I first met Chloe). I feel truly lucky to have had Chloe as a mentor and can't thank her enough."

    — Grace McDade, TechUp Women

  • "Chloe has a razor-sharp mind, a heart of gold, and oodles of experience. A true startup wizard, she is steeped in the counterintuitive research findings and practical methods that drive exceptional business results. She has consistently challenged my business strategy and priorities with clearly-reasoned insight, creativity, candour, kindness, and humility."

    — Oliver Bramford, Founder

  • “As an entrepreneur in the early stages of establishing my business, I found Chloe's guidance and resources invaluable.

    From the outset, Chloe's structured brainstorming sessions were a game-changer. She skilfully facilitated discussions that helped me refine my business idea, identify key goals, and develop a clear, actionable plan. Her approach ensured that every brainstorming session was not just productive but also inspiring, pushing me to think creatively and strategically about my business.

    One of the standout features of the mentoring sessions was her recommendations and direction to useful resources and connections to funding organisations. Chloe provided comprehensive guides and tools tailored to my industry, which were crucial in navigating the complexities of starting a new business. This support was instrumental in developing an actionable plan to enter the business world.

    Chloe's advice on establishing a newly formed business was both practical and insightful. She emphasised the importance of a strong business plan, effective marketing strategies, and building a reliable network. Her tips on how to start establishing myself as a freelancer and business owner were particularly helpful, giving me the confidence to make informed decisions and steer my business plans in the right direction.

    Overall, the mentoring program with Chloe Sharp was a pivotal experience in my entrepreneurial journey. The structured brainstorming, access to resources, and invaluable advice provided a solid foundation for starting my business. I wholeheartedly recommend coaching sessions with Chloe to any aspiring entrepreneur looking to turn their vision into reality! 

    Thank you, Chloe, for your unwavering support and dedication to helping upcoming entrepreneurs thrive 😊

    — Marilena Christodoulou, Academic and Early-Stage Founder