Research and Grant Funding Specialists

We help mission-driven SMEs build businesses that matter.

We find out what matters most.

We support you in making a difference.

We run research and experiments to understand your market customers.

We test your impact using social value and SROI.

Don’t have funds for insights? Add our research services to your grant, and we’ll co-write it.

Want to go solo? You can access grant support from training to coaching to review.

Our Services

  • Whether it’s user, market or evaluation research. You don’t need to worry about doing experiments, interviews, surveys, ethnography and focus groups. We do the research for you. Add our market validation and testing work packages to your grant application to take a user-led approach.

  • We don’t write grants. But we do grant coaching and reviews, to improve your grant application. We may help write your grant if you include our research services into your grant application.

  • Dr Chloe Sharp is a qualified and experienced coach, supporting leaders and up and coming researchers and product managers.

  • We offer online courses and workshops on research, product market fit and grant funding.

Featured Book

Featured Book

You want to make products that matter. Products that strike a chord with your target audience. To do that, you will need to connect with customers and users to get their feedback. Sounds easy enough, but figuring out the right research methods for product development can be complex. That's where this book comes in.

"Make Products That Matter" helps you navigate the entire product lifecycle, considering everything from organisational growth, popular frameworks like lean startup, product-market fit, design thinking, and innovation.

It's a practical guide explaining which research methods work best at different product lifecycle stages. Additionally, it provides insights on how to maintain and apply these insights effectively.

- Get the tools you need to build innovative products and toolkits

- Learn how to keep insights and research at the forefront of product development

- Your go-to reference, guiding you from ideation to post-launch.

Available Courses

Grant Funding Fundamentals: Online Course Only
£225.00
One time

Are you feeling confused by UK government grant funding? This course gives a comprehensive overview from grant strategy, to winning a grant and everything in between at your own pace. Prices are exclusive of VAT.


✓ Free templates for planning your grant application
✓ Get access to the LinkedIn Group
✓ Links to grant funding sources
Grant Funding Fundamentals: Online Course + Live Workshops
£479.00
One time

You'll go through a fictional case study and marking criteria to understand how to prepare your application. You'll have access to the online course, plus five hours of live lessons with a grants expert. We'll send you the joining information with the Zoom call details. The dates of the live cohorts are TBD Prices are exclusive of VAT.


✓ Five hours of live cohort lessons (2x 2.5 hour sessions)
✓ Access to five chapters of online course materials
✓ LinkedIn group for current and past courses
Grant Funding Fundamentals: Online Course, Live Workshop + 1:1 Coaching
£649.00
One time

You'll go through a fictional case study and marking criteria to understand how to prepare your application. You'll have access to the online course, plus five hours of live lessons with a grants expert. We'll send you the joining information with the Zoom call details. The dates of the live cohorts are TBD. The 1:1 hour of coaching will be at a time that works for you. Prices are exclusive of VAT.


✓ Five hours of live cohort lessons (2x 2.5 hour sessions)
✓ Access to five chapters of online course materials
✓ LinkedIn group access for current and past cohorts
✓ 1:1 1hr personalised mentoring

Meet the Team

Sharp Insight is led by Dr Chloe Sharp and Simon Sharp. We work with a number of associates and strategic partners. Learn more about them in the Team section.


  • Founder

    Chloe is an experienced leader in research, product and grant writing. She has a passion for innovation and loves working with organisations with ideas that will make a positive impact.


  • Director

    With a background at Mercedes-Benz, he brings enterprise-scale experience in managing multi-million pound projects, implementing digital-first, user-led solutions, with a love for making processes efficient.

We work with organisations driven to help people and the planet.

Amazon Sustainability Accelerator logo with text on a white background.
Logo for The Crown State featuring a stylized crown design and bold, uppercase text.
Enterprise Nation logo featuring a colorful hexagonal design above the text.
Mercedes-Benz logo with three-pointed star inside a circle.
The Health Foundation logo with a red circle and black text.
Islington logo with text "For a more equal future."
Waymark Tech logo in gray and orange.
Text "ONE MONTH PM" in bold, black letters on a transparent background.
Kiwi.com logo with stylized text and green circular design.
NHS Leadership Academy logo with blue and black text
"BDA" in white bold letters on a gradient orange to pink background
Logo of Cranfield University with a large letter C and university name inside.
NatWest logo with geometric red shapes on a purple background
"Growth Studio" text in white on a black background with a small corner design element.
Versus Arthritis logo with bold black text
Logo of Protospace with geometric design

What clients say

  • “Chloe conducted research with Islington residents for us to explore how linking datasets would be perceived. I was impressed with how they took a complex project and distilled it into an easy-to-use card-sorting activity that generated relevant and interesting insights. They were flexible and adaptable throughout the project and worked well as part of our team.”

    — Mubasshir Ajaz, Programme Manager, Islington Council

  • “We collaborated with Dr Chloe Sharp and worked together on observing and researching the premium estate and letting agents in London. She was able to help us with a survey ahead of the observation and structure the insights to ensure that the research focused on the company’s repositioning exercise.”

    — Laura, Account Manager, BEAR London

  • “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 by business strategy and priorities with clearly-reasoned insight, creativity, candour, kindness, and humility”

    — Oliver Bramford, Founder

  • “Moses, a last-mile EV solution, 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, Founder of 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, Nightingale

  • “Chloe conducted research with Islington residents for us to explore how linking datasets would be perceived. I was impressed with how they took a complex project and distilled it into an easy-to-use card-sorting activity that generated relevant and interesting insights. They were flexible and adaptable throughout the project and worked well as part of our team.”

    — Mubasshir Ajaz, Islington Council

  • “We deployed Dr Chloe Sharp to undertake two major research projects for our group of businesses. The team managed to glean insights that have been instrumental in steering our direction on a path that is wholly differentiated and giving us the edge on our competition, hands down. The complexity of our industry was captured and crystallised into bite-sized chunks that were easy to digest across a number of key functions, meaning that we were able to proactively take the critical recommendations and integrate them into our business model seamlessly. If you are looking for a fresh approach to market research that delivers real value, then I would thoroughly recommend choosing Sharp Insight.”

    — Jonathon Crosby, Redstone Connect

  • “As part of any digital marketing and branding exercise, it’s always insightful to get real input from a client’s existing or potential customers. Dr Chloe Sharp delivered a set of well-run, professional focus groups with an impossibly short amount of prep time, they were invaluable throughout the project.”

    — Account Manager, Brand Consultancy

  • “It’s rare that you come across standout talent like Chloe. I had the pleasure of working with her in the London startup ecosystem through the joint projects carried out by our companies. I was particularly impressed by Chloe's capacity to deliver expert advice and get people on board with ideas. Look forward to working further with Chloe in future projects. I'd recommend her and her company without a doubt.”

    — Francesco Perticarari, VC and Angel Investor

  • “My mentoring session with Chloe was incredibly enlightening. Her depth of knowledge in UX research, combined with her practical experience provided me with actionable insights that I could immediately apply to my job search. Chloe was not only generous with her advice but also skillfully guided me to identify opportunities for growth and innovation within my work.”

    — Martynas Verbusaitis, UX Researcher

  • “Chloe has mentored me for the past four months around 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 have not 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 Manager

  • “I am thrilled to share my transformative experience with the Help to Grow mentoring initiative led by Chloe Sharp. As an entrepreneur in the early stages of establishing my business, I found Chloe's guidance and resources invaluable.

    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

  • “Dr Chloe Sharp has mentored me for 12 months through the Innovate UK Women in Innovation Award. Her advice, time, and support have been instrumental in helping both me and my company achieve significant milestones. With her expert insights, extensive network, and practical frameworks, I reached the finals of various competitions and awards, secured additional funding, and learned to balance my workload effectively. Chloe has consistently adapted to my needs during our sessions, whether as an advisor, sparring partner, silent listener, or friend.”

    — Natalie Kerres, Founder

  • “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

  • “Working with Chloe has been an absolute pleasure. As the project nears completion, I'm left wishing she were a permanent member of my team! Her expertise and contributions have been invaluable, and she has greatly enhanced the project's quality and progress. I highly recommend Chloe to anyone looking for a skilled and dedicated professional who is also fun to work with."

    — Trevor Beale, Operations & Quality Director

  • “Right from the very beginning Chloe has been amazing and listened to my business and personal needs. She quickly identified areas for improvement and we put together an action plan. I also found that Chloe has so much experience and was able to mentor me in many different areas. It’s been an absolute pleasure to work with Chloe and hope to use her again in the future!”

    — Matt Smith, Sales Director

  • “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

  • “She really challenged our assumptions and gave us something concrete to work with…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.”

    — Terry, Founder, Moses

  • “Data and ethics is a very important topic to us and as technology progresses, councils want to keep up but there is more responsibility and accountability and having a considered approach, that accounts for ethics and information governance toward predictive analytics for the older population, and one that is growing, was the key focus of the project. Chloe spoke to our Adult Social Care service users to explore their views toward unstructured data and supported workshops ran by LSE. She brought together the primary data and analysed this alongside the brief evidence review, which is secondary research, to bring us actionable and relevant recommendations.”

    — Mubasshir Ajaz, Islington Council

  • "Implementing AI into our marketing function has been a game-changer. Through AI training and working together under Chloe's guidance, we co-developed a CustomGPT tailored to support the content generation and re-purposing process. This has transformed how we work as a team, increasing our capacity to meet the demands of a growing business by offsetting lower-level tasks to AI. What used to take hours can now takes minutes, allowing our marketing team to focus on other higher-impact activities and creativity rather than repetitive content drafting. The CustomGPT maintains brand consistency, aligns with our voice and messaging, and has significantly improved prompt efficiency. It was easier to implement than I thought. We've increased productivity, reduced time spent on tasks and now have an AI assistant that empowers our team. We’re very happy with the outcome"

    - Group Marketing Manager, MPA

Get in touch.

We’d love to hear from you.