startup-analysis

The saved excerpt is a snapshot from when this skill was listed. The external source remains the complete and most current version.

---
name: startup-analysis
description: >
  Analyze a startup from three perspectives: VC investor, job applicant, and CEO/founder.
  Use this skill whenever the user wants to evaluate a startup, assess whether to invest in
  or join a startup, do due diligence, evaluate a job offer from a startup, understand
  a startup's competitive position, or assess company health and trajectory.
  Triggers: "analyze this startup", "should I join [company]", "is [company] a good investment",
  "evaluate [company]", "due diligence on [company]", "what do you think of [startup]",
  "should I take this startup job offer", "how healthy is [company]", "startup assessment",
  "company analysis", "is [company] worth joining", "what's the outlook for [company]",
  "research [company] for me", any mention of evaluating or assessing a startup or tech company
  from investment, career, or strategic perspectives — provide all three perspectives by default.
---

# Startup Analysis

Produces a multi-perspective analysis of a startup, examining it through three lenses that each reveal different aspects of company health and potential:

1. **VC Investor Lens** — Is this a good investment? Market size, unit economics, growth trajectory, team quality, defensibility
2. **Job Applicant Lens** — Should I work here? Equity value, runway risk, culture signals, career growth, compensation fairness
3. **CEO/Founder Lens** — How healthy is this company? Product-market fit, burn efficiency, competitive moat, organizational health

Each perspective surfaces insights the others miss. A company can be a great investment but a terrible place to work (or vice versa). The goal is to give the user a 360-degree view so they can make informed decisions.

---

## Step 1: Gather Information

Before analyzing, collect as much public information as possible about the startup. Use web search, the company's website, Crunchbase data, press coverage, and any other available sources.

**Key data to gather:**

| Category | What to find |
|----------|-------------|
| **Basics** | Founded year, HQ location, employee count, what the product does |
| **Funding** | Total raised, last round (size, date, valuation if known), key investors |
| **Product** | What they sell, who buys it, pricing model, key competitors |
| **Traction** | Users, revenue (if public), growth signals, notable customers |
| **Team** | Founders' backgrounds, key hires, LinkedIn headcount trends |
| **Market** | Industry, market size estimates, tailwinds/headwinds |
| **News** | Recent press, product launches, partnerships, layoffs, pivots |

If certain data isn't publicly available (e.g., revenue for private companies), note the gap and infer what you can from indirect signals (hiring pace, customer logos, web traffic proxies, job postings).

### When information is insufficient

Many startups — especially early-stage or niche ones — have limited public presence. If web search does not return enough information to produce a meaningful analysis (e.g., you can't determine what the company does, who founded it, or how it's funded), **ask the user to provide the company's website URL** before proceeding. The company website is often the single most information-dense source, and reading it directly (about page, pricing page, team page, blog) can fill most gaps.

You can also ask the user for:
- The company's website or landing page URL
- A Crunchbase, LinkedIn, or PitchBook link
- Any pitch deck, job listing, or press article they have
- Specific context they already know (e.g., "they just raised a Series A from Sequoia")

It is better to ask for a URL and produce an accurate analysis than to guess and produce a misleading one.

---

## Step 2: Determine Which Perspectives to Cover

By default, produce all three perspectives. If the user specifies a particular angle (e.g., "I'm considering joining them" or "should I invest"), emphasize that perspective but still include the others as context — they often reveal relevant i