150+ founders supported · £10m+ in non-dilutive funding · 80% grant success rate
Help your cohort go from founded to funded.
For universities, accelerators and innovation centres running cohorts of technical founders. We act as your commercial training partner, helping your cohort validate markets, win grants and become investment-ready.
Your cohort can pitch and demo, but the commercial story underneath needs work: customer signals fragmented, willingness to pay untested, grant applications rejected on commercialisation rather than tech.
We support the commercial part of your programme. We train your founders directly, or upskill your team to deliver it themselves.
A decade of getting founders from first grant through to revenue and growth, in the language investors and Innovate UK assessors trust.
Over a decade of experience in these sectors
B2B AI software
FinTech · RegTech · Mobility · Productivity · PropTech · Retail · CreaTech
Amazon Innovation Accelerator · Growth Studio · Cranfield · TechUp · CoSTAR · Durham University · Help To Grow
From clinical to consumer
Clinical Diagnostics · Wearables · Fitness & Wellness · Consumer Health
NHS Leadership Academy · NHS Blood and Transplant · Versus Arthritis · De Montfort University · Cambridge NHS Trust · Islington Council · Health Foundation
Deep science & hard tech
Engineering Biology · Biomaterials · Net-Zero · Recycled Materials · AgriTech
Undaunted · Carbon13 · Amazon Sustainability Accelerator · APC Mobilise · Silicon Roundabout · Cranfield University · Science Creates
Bringing commercial validation into your programme
Embedded delivery
Modules, workshops and 1:1 founder clinics built into your cohort journey. We slot in to your programme, bringing our methodology and tools.
Best for programmes wanting commercial rigour added without rebuilding the curriculum
Curriculum licensing
We license the Sharp Insights framework to your team. We train them, hand over the materials, and stay available for support. Built for permanent integration, not one-off delivery.
Best for universities, business schools and FE colleges embedding the methodology long-term
AI Validation Assistants
Licensed access to Juno and Theia across your cohort, plus our online courses on grants and design thinking. Optional 1:1 support or workshop available.
Best for programmes wanting scalable validation tooling without intensive consulting
Our services for programmes
Programme module delivery
Modules built into your cohort journey, covering the commercial work most programmes leave to chance.
- Customer discovery and segmentation
- Demand validation and willingness to pay
- Grant readiness and commercialisation cases
- GTM strategy and product-market fit
Commercial workshops
Hands-on cohort sessions at specific programme milestones. Half-day or full-day formats.
- Grant writing and commercialisation
- Customer segmentation and pricing
- Distribution and channel strategy
- Investor readiness
1:1 founder clinics and coaching
Structured one-to-one sessions inside your programme. Often delivered as follow-up coaching after a module or workshop, or as a readiness diagnostic each founder keeps.
- Commercial and grant readiness diagnostic
- Follow-up coaching from modules or workshops
- Funding strategy and commercial evidence review
- Gap analysis and next-step plan
Cohort tools: Juno and Theia
Our AI validation assistants, licensed across your cohort, with a starter workshop so founders use them well.
- Juno for structured customer discovery
- Theia for demand validation experiments
- Cohort licence and onboarding workshop
- Optional 1:1 support layered on
Our products
A practical guide for learning customer and user needs throughout the product lifecycle, from idea to launch.
Get the book →
Grant Funding Fundamentals for founders new to grants. Design Thinking for Deep Tech to get customer insights from the start.
Juno is your guide to understanding your customer, the market and competition landscape, how to speak to customers and develop insights.
Learn more →
Theia is a demand validation guide that tests where you find customers and if they’ll pay, tailored to your GTM approach.
Learn more →Who you’ll work with
I’m Dr Chloe Sharp
Sharp Insights started because too many programmes graduate founders who can pitch but can’t validate. Real commercial readiness means cohorts that get funded, founders that close customers, and methodology that survives after delivery ends.
I work with universities, accelerators and innovation centres to embed commercial validation into cohorts, from module delivery to long-term curriculum licensing. Previously worked with Cranfield, MK College, Science Creates, Carbon13, NatWest and the Amazon Sustainability Accelerator.
Innovate UK Assessor. Help to Grow mentor. TechUp mentor. ILM7 coach. PhD in psychology, behavioural science and sociology. Author of Make Products That Matter.
LinkedIn profile →
What programme partners say
“Everyone who has worked with Chloe has been singing her praises. We really appreciate the effort, value and expertise she has brought to our teams.”
Selected work
Workshop and 1:1 coaching on qualitative research methods
20 entrepreneurs trained across two cohorts, equipped with a repeatable validation methodology.
Workshop on product research and problem-solution fit
30 founders trained across three cohorts, with 4 evidence-based pivots made.
1:1 coaching for neurodiverse women into tech leadership
Both mentees secured and retained leadership positions across different industries.
Insights
Let’s talk.
Book a partnership call