PromptGuard: market validation for the University of Portsmouth

What we did

1. Landing page audit. We reviewed the PromptGuard landing page and recommended changes, so the people we contacted would understand the product and want to take part.
2. Research design. We rebuilt the existing questionnaire for clarity and completion, with branching so priority-sector respondents got deeper questions and everyone else finished in five minutes.
3. A two-track method. A survey gave breadth and sentiment; structured interviews with senior decision-makers gave depth. In a window this short, a statistically representative survey was never realistic, so we agreed early to put the effort into high-value conversations.
4. Network-led outreach. We activated Hampshire Chamber of Commerce, Shaping Portsmouth, Solent Growth Partnership and Business South, plus targeted LinkedIn approaches, reaching more than 1,700 contacts. The partner mailshot alone achieved a 30.3% open rate.
5. Animated explainer videos. With no working demo yet, we produced two short animations, one for web and one for social, so people had something concrete to react to.
6. Senior interviews. We identified candidates, wrote the interview guide and briefing notes, and ran eight in-depth interviews across legal, financial services, defence and IT managed services.
7. Analysis and report. We analysed the survey and interviews together, graded every finding by strength of evidence, and turned it into a comprehensive report with clear recommendations, delivered on deadline.