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SME Ninja

Know where your innovation stands, and what to build next.

SME Ninja is our capability-development platform for innovative UK companies on funded programmes. It shows a company where it stands and what to do next, then turns the work into evidence funders and investors can trust.

See how it works Go to sme.ninja
SME Ninja results for an illustrative company: “Example Innovations Ltd is at Explore”, stage 1 of 7 with moderate confidence, its strengths and a place to build, and a stage trail from Explore to Scale.

A tour

One workspace, from the first diagnostic to the data room.

Screens from SME Ninja, shown with an illustrative company.

Diagnose

A 30-question diagnostic that branches on your answers, saves as you go and lets you say “Not known”.

The SME Ninja company diagnostic, section 1 of 6, “Opportunity and customer”, with a question about how clearly the problem is defined and answer options from “Not yet written down” to “Problem quantified and confirmed”.

See where you stand

An indicated stage from Explore to Scale, your strengths and gaps, how confident the result is, and “Why this?” on every recommendation.

SME Ninja results for an illustrative company: “Example Innovations Ltd is at Explore”, stage 1 of 7 with moderate confidence, its strengths and a place to build, and a stage trail from Explore to Scale.

Learn by doing

Practical modules where the work autosaves and becomes a company output you keep: a business case, an IP register, an investment plan.

The SME Ninja module “Market validation and business case”, section 3 of 7, with a user needs gap analysis table being filled in.

Analyse

Toolkit analyses such as valuations with NPV, IRR, payback and a 10,000-run Monte Carlo simulation, saved and shared with your team.

SME Ninja investment appraisal results with sample data: net present value £333,787, internal rate of return 43.2%, profitability index 2.52, return on investment 273% and payback in 2.3 years.

Pick up where you left off

A home page with your stage, your progress and what to do next.

The SME Ninja home page for an illustrative company, greeting the user, showing the indicated stage on a route from Explore to Scale, a “Continue where you left off” card and counts of modules, outputs, analyses and actions.

Built on a rigorous model

  • 30 diagnostic questions, branching on your answers
  • 18 capability dimensions in six clusters
  • 19 practical modules, with two more in draft
  • 290+ analysis tools in 14 categories

From the SME Ninja assessment model 2026.1 and module library, November 2026.

Who it is for

  • Innovative UK companies

    Founders and teams of technology-led SMEs, often time-poor and new to funding and IP, who want to know where they stand and what to do first.

  • Advisers and mentors

    People assigned to companies, who prepare for sessions, record what was agreed and follow progress inside the workspace.

  • Programmes and funders

    Programme teams who run cohorts and need credible, verified evidence of progress and outcomes. See For programmes and sponsors.

SME Ninja in 68 seconds

SME Ninja in 68 seconds (no sound; all words are on screen). The transcript is below.

Read the transcript
The film has no sound. Everything it says is on screen: 0:00 SME Ninja. Diagnose. Develop. Commercialise. The capability-development platform for innovative UK companies. 0:05 Innovative companies on funded programmes ask: 1. Where do we really stand? 2. What should we do next? 3. How do we prove progress? SME Ninja answers all three. 0:12 Meet SME Ninja. Diagnose where you stand. Develop what you need. Commercialise with evidence. One workspace for the whole team, from the first diagnostic to the data room. 0:17 1 · Diagnose. Know where you stand, and why. Seven stages from Explore (TRL 1–2) to Scale (TRL 9). An illustrative capability profile across six clusters: opportunity and customer; technology and IP; market and commercial model; readiness and responsibility; organisation and finance; delivery and growth. Indigo bars mark the biggest gaps. 30 questions, branching on your answers. 18 capability dimensions. “Why this?” on every recommendation: the rule, the model version and the answers that matched. 0:26 2 · Develop. Learn by doing. Keep what you make. Market validation and business case: market analysis and business case. Intellectual assets management: IP register and freedom-to-operate plan. Investment preparedness: dilution analysis for the next round. 17 modules. Autosaves as you type. Shared with your team. Word, PDF and CSV exports. 0:34 Toolkit. 267 tools. The analysis a consultant would bring, in one place. 14 categories and 6 formats: worksheets, canvases, grids, weighted scoring, calculators and guidance. An illustrative NPV profile, IRR, payback and a 10,000-run Monte Carlo simulation. 0:42 3 · Commercialise. From plan to proof. Action plan: owners, due dates, milestones and deliverables on a board and timeline. Data rooms: for investors, licensees and partners, with every view and download logged. Consortium bids: partner forms, a work plan with a Gantt chart, discussion and files. Advisers and mentors: hosted meetings, agreed actions and reviews, on what you choose to share. 0:49 Responsible AI. AI that challenges you, never writes for you. Uses only your company’s data. Never changes scores or stages. Switched on per company. An illustrative exchange. You, “Challenge my answer”: Our market is every SME in the UK. Ask SME Ninja: That is your total market. Which customers can you reach and serve in year one? The market sizing section of your module shows how to narrow it. 0:56 For programmes, funders and sponsors. Run the programme. Prove the impact. Calls for applications: eligibility, assessor panels and decisions. Cohorts: every company’s stage and progress in one table. Challenge programmes: sponsors commission solutions to real challenges. Outcomes and impact: collected for up to 24 months, checked against Companies House. Satisfaction surveys: reported only in groups of five or more. White-labelled spaces: your brand, your themes, your board report. 1:02 Our mission: to give all companies the knowledge and tools to grow. sme.ninja

More than a diagnostic

  • Action plan

    Owners, due dates, milestones and deliverables, on a board and a timeline.

  • Data rooms

    Share the documents investors, licensees and partners ask for, with a readiness checklist and a record of every view and download.

  • Consortium bids

    Partner forms, a work plan with a Gantt chart, discussion and files, in one shared workspace.

  • Advisers alongside you

    Hosted meetings, agreed actions and reviews, on the work you choose to share.

  • Responsible AI

    AI that challenges your thinking but never writes your answers. It uses only your company’s data, never changes scores or stages, and is switched on per company.

  • Companies House

    Find your company on the public register and SME Ninja fills in its details for you.

Ready to start?

The company diagnostic takes about 20 minutes, saves as you go and is confidential to your company.

Go to sme.ninja