GTM and Distribution Validation Programme
12-week cohort programme | Investment: £8,000+VAT
Cross the “valley of death” between early traction and scalable growth
Go beyond early adopters and founder-led sales and address the “commercialisation gap”.
Test distribution channels systematically, prove which ones scale, validate pricing with real prospects, and build the repeatable sales motion investors need to see.
What is the GTM/Distribution Validation programme?
Investors expect to see evidence of customer traction and a credible path to repeatable acquisition to demonstrate real market demand. If you’ve built the product first and then launched, your early traction and feedback can be unstructured and ad-hoc, making it harder to show repeatability, scalability, and pull to a VC.
Between training and consultancy is our “do-it-with-you” programme. Our coaching approach upskills you to answer the questions investors really care about: “How will customers find you?” “How will you reach them?” “Why will they come back?” “What does it cost?” and “Does it work beyond the founder?”
In this programme, we focus on where to find your customers and how to build up commercial evidence of demand, such as Letters of Intent, pilot agreements, paid trials, and qualified waiting lists. You will show that you truly know your customers, how they buy, how they decide, and what makes them convert or churn, well beyond your own experience of the problem and early-stage conversations.
We’ll use a range of techniques to work out your distribution and communication channels, we’ll validate pricing strategies, and understand what sales approach could work for you (e.g. product-led, account management). We’ll validate pricing strategies and test which sales motion could work for you (e.g. product-led, sales-led, account-based). We establish willingness to pay and use tested CAC and early LTV signals to inform retention, acquisition strategy, and financial modelling.
This 12-week programme blends 1-2-1 coaching, hands-on channel testing and weekly group training to prove you can acquire customers repeatably and economically beyond early adopters and founder-led sales. With a max of six businesses per cohort, our focus stays on you, and you have the opportunity to grow with like-minded founders.
Who’s it for?
Businesses with early traction but no repeatable growth
You have had a few interesting conversations, and people say they like it, but growth is inconsistent or stalled. You need to prove you can acquire customers repeatably and economically, not just through founder hustle.
Founders who struggle with sales and marketing
You need to work out how to go-to-market without relying on founder hustle. You are not sure how and where to find your customers and how to speak to them to create messages that resonate. You need to work out how to go-to-market and own your distribution channels
Technical founders seeking commercial proof
You've built something people want, but investors are asking hard questions about customer traction, customer acquisition costs, scalability, and whether your GTM motion is defensible or easily copied.
On the programme, you'll benefit from:
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Run structured experiments across potential distribution channels (direct sales, partnerships, platforms, resellers) to discover which ones deliver acceptable CAC and conversion rates before committing budget.
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Test pricing models to understand what different segments will actually pay, which eliminates guesswork and strengthens your financial model projections.
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Discover which distribution channels are picking up traction and could be part of your go-to-market strategy.
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Investors cite inadequate validation as the number one red flag in due diligence. You'll finish with validated unit economics, channel performance data, and a defensible GTM strategy that de-risks capital deployment.
The 12-Week Journey
Week 1: Current State Assessment
Audit existing GTM and distribution efforts and develop testable hypotheses for each with channel testing criteria. Define the “category narrative” so you’re not competing on price alone.
Weeks 2-8: Customer Acquisition Testing
Test acquisition channels beyond your existing customer base. Validate messaging and channels, map buyer journeys, and identify friction points in your current sales process. Build evidence of market demand and learn what does and doesn’t work for your GTM strategy. Measure not just if a channel works, but how predictable and repeatable it is, and how fast it can scale before it breaks.
Interview potential distribution routes (e.g. resellers, system integrators, platform partners). Evaluate partner economics and distribution routes. Focus on "Sticky" distributions, where your product becomes a must-have part of another’s workflow.
Weeks 7-9: Partner + Ecosystem Testing
Calculate CAC by channel (tested, not assumed), validate LTV with real customer data, and analyse payback periods. Rank channels by evidence-based performance and strategic defensibility.
Week 10: Synthesis plus GTM and Distribution Strategy
Build your distribution strategy with prioritised channels, partnership playbooks, sales enablement requirements, and a 12-month GTM timeline. Investment requirements quantified. A final audit: if a competitor raised $10M tomorrow, could they buy their way into your distribution?
Week 11-12: Commercial Scalability Roadmap and Moat checklist
Format
1-2-1 workshops at key milestones
Weekly 1-hour group training sessions
Weekly 1-hour 1-2-1 coaching
Self-directed channel experiments and interviews
Peer learning cohort of founders
Eligibility Criteria
Need to show customer traction
You need to work out your GTM and distribution strategy, and are not sure where to start, or which channel to bet on first. We can give you the skills to do this across the programme that you can continue beyond.
Ready to move beyond founder-led sales
You recognise the need for validated, repeatable customer acquisition processes that don't depend on founder networks.
Openness to channel pivots
You're prepared to discover that your assumed best channel isn't the right path, and willing to reallocate resources based on evidence.
Access to prospects and partners
You can identify and reach potential customers beyond your current base, plus potential distribution partners or ecosystem players.
Time commitment
You can dedicate 1-2 days per week for 12 weeks to interviews, analysis, and programme activities.
How to Apply
Four-Step Process:
Join the Waitlist
Let us know you are interested via our waitlist. Courses will be announced during February/March 2026 and we will invite you to complete an application.
Complete the Application
Complete a short form outlining your current traction, growth challenges, and why you're seeking GTM validation.
Discovery Call
If shortlisted, we'll invite you to a 30-minute conversation to explore your GTM situation and confirm programme fit.
Cohort Placement
Successful applicants receive a formal offer and are placed in the next available cohort.
Programme Start
Begin your 12-week validation journey with your cohort.
Our Track Record
So, why us?
Dr Chloe Sharp, the founder of Sharp Insight, has written the book about the topic of validation across discovery to experimentation: “Make Products That Matter” and has worked with 100s of businesses across the product development phase, from idea to launch to existing products.
Chloe has designed this programme as she speaks with early-stage founders regularly, and this is a big problem.
She has…
Secured grant funding across multiple competitions such as Innovate UK and DfID, personally securing over £10m and leading teams that have secured 10s of millions.
Academic experience and commercial experience, meaning she knows that theory has its place, but it’s all about the execution and getting results.
Been there and done that as an entrepreneur. She’s grown businesses from the ground up, that have turned over £100,000 in their first year of trading.
Worked with leading accelerators in the creative technology, deep tech and climate/sustainability industries, including Amazon Sustainability Accelerator, Science Creates, CoSTAR, Undaunted, Natwest and Carbon13.
Worked with founders who went on to raise investment from funds such as SFC Capital, Octopus Ventures, SJM and Live Nation.
A passion for social capital, an underrated aspect of founder and business success. Our validation approach integrates social capital theory with customer discovery. We teach founders the importance of relationships and how to systematically build bonding capital (deep sector relationships), bridging capital (cross-sector connections), and linking capital (access to power and resources).
A qualification in mentoring and coaching at the executive level at ILM7 level (master’s) and has coached on multiple programmes such as Help to Grow, TechUp and Women in Innovation (Innovate UK).
Frequently Asked Questions
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We’re planning for Spring and Autumn cohorts. Dates will be available on the course page but please join our waitlist and mailing list so we can alert you as soon as dates are announced.
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First, join the waitlist to find out when the courses are running. You will then need to complete an application form which will take about 10-15 minutes. If you are selected we’ll let you know and set up a 30-minute interview to understand more about how we can help.
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Our Market Validation and GTM/Distribution programmes have six places each, our Pilot to Paid has four places, with up to two Founders/Directors per company taking part.
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That's a successful outcome. Better to discover this in 12 weeks and under £10K than after 18 months and £200k. We'll help you identify pivot opportunities based on what you learned. Many successful companies started as pivots from validated insights.
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Wherever possible cohorts will be built of businesses with shared problems or sectors, however working with people from different sectors can be useful to see different viewpoints.
We specialise in digital technologies across multiple sectors: carbon management, ESG software, climate data, renewable energy systems, sustainable supply chain tech, materials science with digital components, biotech with software platforms, AI/ML applications for sustainability, IoT for climate/energy. We focus on software-first or software-enabled solutions.
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We run a number of Masterclasses, online courses and Chloe’s book “Make Products that Matter” are all available.
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No, not necessarily. I f you do, great, but this programme will help you reach out to new customers through existing, or new, channels.
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That’s a good thing, it means you’ve learned from the feedback. your learning what resonates where and what sales efforts are likely to yield the best results and, importantly, how to reach your customers.
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Plan for 1-2 days per week: weekly group training (1 hour), bi-weekly coaching (30 mins), and self-directed fieldwork (interviews, analysis, synthesis). The heaviest weeks are during customer discovery. Most founders do interviews during evenings or weekends.
Not got time for this? Explore our Consultancy services where we do the heavy lifting for you.
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Perfect. We'll review what you've learned, identify gaps, and build on existing insights. Most founders have talked to a number of people informally, we’ll help you increase that significantly, with structure and techniques that reveals patterns you can't see from small samples.
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No. Early prototype, concept, or detailed product vision is sufficient. The programme helps you validate before committing to full development. If you've already built an MVP, our "Solution Validation & Distribution" programme is a better fit.
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If you complete Week 1 and feel the programme isn't the right fit, we'll refund 80% of your fee (minus the cost of Week 1 training and materials). No questions asked. After Week 2, the fee is non-refundable as we've committed resources to your cohort.