Strategy & planning

SWOT Analysis

5 min readUpdated

What it does

Nautis SWOT Analysis is a single, always-on canvas where you capture your Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats. You can let AI build a first draft from your startup profile and pitch deck, look at the data in charts, build TOWS strategies, run scenarios, save snapshots, and print or export the result.

Who can use it

  • Any teammate whose role has the SWOT Analysis permission enabled.
  • The SWOT Analysis module must be turned on for your organization.
  • Each organization has one SWOT Analysis — everyone in the org works on the same canvas.
  • AI generation needs a complete startup profile and a validated pitch deck attached to it.

Where to find it

From the sidebar, open Strategy & Planning and click SWOT Analysis.

Step by step

Add items to a quadrant

The main view (the SWOT Matrix tab) shows four cards: Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats.

  1. Pick the quadrant that fits what you want to capture.
  2. Click Add New Strength (or Weakness / Opportunity / Threat) at the bottom of that card.
  3. Type a short description in the text box.
  4. Pick a Priority — Low, Medium or High.
  5. Click Add Strength (or Weakness / Opportunity / Threat) to save.

The new item appears at the top of the quadrant.

Step by step

Reorder, edit and delete items

  • Drag to reorder: grab the small handle on the left of any item and drag it to a new spot. Order is saved automatically.
  • Open details: click the item card. A side panel slides in with reactions, comments, action plans and a place to update impact, likelihood, tags and priority.
  • Delete: click the trash icon on the item card (or use the delete button inside the side panel). Confirm in the dialog. Deletes are permanent.
Step by step

Use AI to generate the whole SWOT

  1. At the top of the page, click Generate with AI.
  2. If the button is greyed out, hover it — Nautis lists what's missing. You usually need to finish your startup profile and attach a validated pitch deck before AI can run.
  3. If you already have items, Nautis asks you to confirm. Choosing Replace All wipes every Strength, Weakness, Opportunity and Threat and replaces them with the AI's suggestions. There's no undo, so save a snapshot first if you want to keep what you had (see the Snapshots tab).
  4. Wait a few seconds while the AI reads your company context and writes the four quadrants.

AI generation uses some of your organization's AI credits. If credits run out, Nautis will tell you and you can top up.

Step by step

Switch views (tabs)

The tabs across the top let you slice the same data different ways.

  • SWOT Matrix — the 2x2 grid where you add and edit items.
  • Analytics — counts per quadrant, a distribution radar chart, an impact vs likelihood plot, and an Analysis Health summary showing completion rate, action plans created and how many are done.
  • TOWS Matrix — pair Strengths with Opportunities, Weaknesses with Threats, etc. to draft cross-cutting strategies.
  • Scenarios — toggle items on or off to simulate a scenario and see how the picture changes.
  • Snapshots — the version history. Save the current SWOT state and roll back later.
  • Investor Brief — an AI-generated investor-friendly summary of the SWOT.
  • Challenge — runs an AI critique that pushes back on your assumptions.
Step by step

Build a TOWS strategy

TOWS connects items across quadrants to surface real-world strategies.

  1. Open the TOWS Matrix tab.
  2. Pick a pairing (for example, an Opportunity + a Strength).
  3. Click to create a new TOWS strategy. Give it a short description and save.
  4. The new strategy is listed in the TOWS view and counts toward your overall analysis health.

To remove a TOWS strategy, open it and click delete, then confirm.

Step by step

Save a snapshot and restore later

Snapshots are full copies of the SWOT at a point in time. Useful before a big AI re-generate or after a strategy session.

  1. Open the Snapshots tab.
  2. Click the create-snapshot button.
  3. Nautis names the snapshot with the current date and time.
  4. To roll back, find the snapshot in the list and restore it.
Step by step

Clear everything

If you want a clean canvas, click the small red trash icon in the top toolbar. Confirm in the dialog. This wipes every Strength, Weakness, Opportunity and Threat in one go and cannot be undone — save a snapshot first if there's anything worth keeping.

Step by step

Add action plans to an item

Inside the side panel of any item:

  1. Find the Action Plans section.
  2. Add a short action.
  3. Tick it off as it gets done. Completed action plans are counted in the Analytics tab.
Step by step

Print or export

  1. Open the SWOT page.
  2. Look for the print or share option in the item side panel, or open the print view from the URL shared by your admin.
  3. The print view formats the SWOT into a clean report with all four quadrants, their items, and any action plans, ready for your browser's Print dialog.

From the print preview, use your browser to save the page as a PDF.

Tips & limits

  • The four quadrants are colour-coded everywhere: green Strengths, red Weaknesses, blue Opportunities, amber Threats.
  • The Analysis Health number combines completion rate, action plans and high-priority items. Aim to keep all four quadrants filled and your high-priority items addressed by action plans.
  • Snapshots are cheap to create — use them often before big changes.
  • Generating with AI replaces everything. Snapshots are your safety net.
  • Reordering and edits sync to the database immediately, so teammates always see the latest view.

Frequently asked questions

Why is the Generate with AI button greyed out?

Hover the button and Nautis lists the unmet requirements. The most common ones are an incomplete startup profile (the AI needs your industry, target market, etc.) and the absence of a fully validated pitch deck attached to the startup profile.

Will using AI delete what I've already added?

Yes — AI generation replaces every item. Nautis warns you first and lets you cancel, but the safest path is to save a snapshot before you generate.

How many SWOTs can my organization have?

One. Every teammate in your organization works on the same shared SWOT. Use Snapshots to keep older versions for reference.

Can I share a single quadrant's items with someone outside the org?

Not directly. Use the print view to share a polished report, or copy items by hand. SWOT items live inside your organization's workspace.

What's the difference between SWOT and TOWS?

SWOT is the list of factors. TOWS is the strategy layer that pairs them together (for example, "use Strength X to capture Opportunity Y"). The TOWS tab is where the strategies live.

Still need help?

Our team answers every message. Already a customer? Open a support ticket from inside Nautis.