Startup Analysis
Run a structured VC, job-seeker, and founder-style assessment of a startup before you invest time, money, or a career move.
Overview
startup-analysis is an agent skill most often used in Idea (also Validate, Grow) that evaluates a startup through VC, job-applicant, and founder lenses using web search.
Install
npx skills add https://github.com/himself65/finance-skills --skill startup-analysisWhat is this skill?
- Three lenses: VC investor, job applicant, and CEO/founder with distinct verdicts
- Cross-references perspectives to show agreement and divergence
- Uses web search to collect public information before analysis
- Trigger phrases: analyze startup, due diligence, should I join [company]
- Surfaces PMF, unit economics, culture, and defensibility in one pass
- 3 analysis perspectives: VC investor, job applicant, CEO/founder
Adoption & trust: 679 installs on skills.sh; 2.7k GitHub stars; 2/3 security scanners passed (skills.sh audits).
What problem does it solve?
You are staring at a buzzy startup name without a structured way to judge investment risk, job quality, and strategic health at the same time.
Who is it for?
Solo builders doing competitor scans, join-or-pass career decisions, or quick strategic reads before committing to a product direction.
Skip if: Replacing licensed financial advisors, sealed data-room diligence, or quantitative modeling when you already have complete audited filings and want spreadsheets only.
When should I use this skill?
User asks to analyze or evaluate a startup, due diligence, whether to join or invest, or startup/company assessment from investment, career, or strategic angles.
What do I get? / Deliverables
You get a cross-referenced analysis with three verdicts and highlighted disagreements so you can decide whether to compete, join, partner, or walk away.
- Multi-perspective startup report with cross-referenced verdicts
Recommended Skills
Journey fit
Spans multiple journey phases - primary shelf plus alternate fits below.
Canonical shelf is Idea/research because the skill gathers and synthesizes external company intelligence before you commit to build or join. Output is competitive and strategic research (market, team, fit), not shipping code or growth automation.
Where it fits
Map a direct competitor’s positioning and defensibility before you sketch your own MVP scope.
Compare two startups in the same niche using VC and founder grades to pick which model to emulate.
Decide whether to pivot away from a crowded category after a founder-lens read on growth efficiency.
Stress-test a target company’s unit-economics story before you copy their pricing page structure.
Re-evaluate a partnership or acquisition target when public signals shift quarter to quarter.
How it compares
Structured research brief from public signals—not a CRM, cap-table tool, or automated fundraising deck generator.
Common Questions / FAQ
Who is startup-analysis for?
Solo founders, indie hackers, and small teams who want comparable investor, employee, and operator takes on the same startup using public information.
When should I use startup-analysis?
In Idea/research when evaluating competitors or markets; in Validate/scope before partnering or copying a model; in Grow when reassessing acquirers, employers, or strategic threats—especially after triggers like "analyze this startup" or "should I join [company]."
Is startup-analysis safe to install?
Check the Security Audits panel on this page; the skill expects web search and should be reviewed before enabling network access in your agent environment.
SKILL.md
READMESKILL.md - Startup Analysis
# startup-analysis Multi-perspective startup analysis skill — evaluate any startup from VC investor, job applicant, and CEO/founder viewpoints. ## What it does Produces a comprehensive startup analysis by examining the company through three distinct lenses: - **VC Investor** — Market opportunity, unit economics, team quality, defensibility, investment verdict - **Job Applicant** — Financial stability, equity value, career growth, culture signals, employment verdict - **CEO/Founder** — Product-market fit, growth efficiency, competitive position, organizational health, health grade Each perspective surfaces different insights. A company can be a great investment but a terrible place to work (or vice versa). The skill cross-references findings to highlight where perspectives agree and diverge. **This skill uses web search** to gather public information about the startup before analysis. ## Triggers - "analyze this startup", "evaluate [company]", "should I join [company]" - "is [company] a good investment", "due diligence on [company]" - "what do you think of [startup]", "research [company] for me" - "startup assessment", "company analysis", "evaluate this company" - Any mention of evaluating, analyzing, or assessing a startup from investment, career, or strategic perspectives ## Platform Works on **Claude Code** and other CLI-based agents (web search required). May work on **Claude.ai** with reduced data gathering capability. ## Setup ```bash # As a plugin (recommended — installs all skills) npx plugins add himself65/finance-skills --plugin finance-startup-tools # Or install just this skill npx skills add himself65/finance-skills --skill startup-analysis ``` See the [main README](../../../../README.md) for more installation options. ## Reference files - `references/vc-framework.md` — VC due diligence checklist with metrics and benchmarks - `references/job-applicant-framework.md` — Job seeker evaluation framework with equity analysis - `references/ceo-framework.md` — CEO self-assessment with operational metrics # CEO / Founder Self-Assessment Framework Detailed framework for a startup founder or CEO to assess their company's health, trajectory, and strategic position. This is the "view from inside" — honest self-assessment that surfaces what the founder might be too close to see. --- ## 1. Product-Market Fit Assessment ### Quantitative Signals | Metric | Strong PMF | Moderate PMF | Weak PMF | |--------|-----------|-------------|----------| | Sean Ellis test (% "very disappointed" if product gone) | >40% | 25-40% | <25% | | Monthly retention (B2B SaaS) | >95% | 90-95% | <90% | | Monthly retention (consumer) | >30% (D30) | 15-30% | <15% | | Net revenue retention | >120% | 100-120% | <100% | | Organic acquisition % | >40% | 20-40% | <20% | | Time to value | Hours/days | Weeks | Months | ### Qualitative Signals - Are customers using the product without being asked/reminded? - Are they pulling you into new use cases you didn't design for? - Is word-of-mouth driving meaningful growth? - Do customers complain more about missing features than about the core product? - Would customers fight to keep the product if you tried to take it away? ### Pivot vs. Persevere Consider pivoting when: - 18+ months in with no clear retention or engagement improvement - Multiple customer segments tried, none sticking - The team is solving the problem better than anyone but nobody cares about the problem - The market window has closed or shifted Persevere when: - Retention is strong but growth is slow (distribution problem, not product problem) - A specific segment loves it even if the mass market doesn't - Usage is increasing within existing accounts - You're seeing increasing organic pull from a defined customer persona --- ## 2. Growth Efficiency ### Key Operating Metrics | Metric | Formula | Excellent | Good | Concerning | |--------|---------|-----------|------|------------| | Burn multiple | Net burn / net new ARR | <1x |