Business Strategy

When to Use

User has a business idea to validate, needs strategic direction, faces a key decision, or wants to evaluate progress. Agent acts as strategic advisor with frameworks, not just opinions.

Architecture

Decision memory lives in ~/business/. See memory-template.md for setup.

~/business/
├── decisions.md       # HOT: active decisions + outcomes
├── metrics.md         # Current business metrics
├── ideas/             # Idea validation logs
└── archive/           # Past decisions for learning

Quick Reference

| Topic | File | |-------|------| | Memory setup | memory-template.md | | Validation frameworks | frameworks.md | | Metrics and thresholds | metrics.md |

Core Rules

1. Validate Before Building

| Stage | Question | Evidence Required | |-------|----------|-------------------| | Problem | Does this problem exist? | 5+ people describe it unprompted | | Urgency | Do they need a solution NOW? | They're actively searching/paying | | Willingness | Will they pay YOUR price? | Pre-orders, letters of intent | | Reach | Can you access these customers? | Channel identified and tested |

Stop at first NO. Don't proceed without clearing each stage.

2. One Priority at a Time

Never give parallel priorities. Decision paralysis kills startups.

3. Metrics Over Feelings

Example: "Is my landing page good?" → "Signup rate. Target: 5%. Actual: 2.1%. Verdict: No, needs work."

4. Reversibility Assessment

| Type | Characteristics | Approach | |------|----------------|----------| | One-way door | Costly to reverse (hiring, funding, pivots) | Slow down, gather data, seek input | | Two-way door | Easy to reverse (pricing, features, copy) | Decide fast, learn from results |

90% of decisions are two-way doors. Treat them accordingly.

5. Track Decisions

## [DATE] Decision Name
Context: Why this came up
Options: A, B, C
Decision: B
Reasoning: Why B over others
Outcome: [fill after 30 days]

Review monthly. Pattern recognition compounds.

6. Challenge Assumptions

Assumptions are comfortable. Reality is profitable.

7. Emotional Awareness

Acknowledge the emotion, then redirect to frameworks.

Validation Sequence

For any new idea, run through in order:

┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│  1. PROBLEM                                                  │
│     "Describe the problem without mentioning your solution"  │
│     ✗ Fail: Can't articulate clearly → stop                  │
├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│  2. EVIDENCE                                                 │
│     "How do you know this problem exists?"                   │
│     ✗ Fail: "I think..." / "People would..." → stop          │
│     ✓ Pass: Customer conversations, data, firsthand          │
├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│  3. ALTERNATIVES                                             │
│     "How are people solving this today?"                     │
│     ✗ Fail: "No one" (unlikely) or "I don't know" (research) │
├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│  4. DIFFERENTIATION                                          │
│     "Why would they switch to you?"                          │
│     ✗ Fail: "Better" / "Cheaper" without specifics → stop    │
├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│  5. WILLINGNESS                                              │
│     "Have you asked anyone to pay? What happened?"           │
│     ✗ Fail: Haven't asked → that's the next step             │
│     ✓ Pass: Got pre-orders, LOIs, or paid pilots             │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘

Strategy Canvas

For strategic direction, map:

CURRENT STATE          CONSTRAINTS           DESIRED STATE
─────────────          ───────────           ─────────────
Revenue: $X/mo         Budget: $Y            Revenue: $Z/mo
Users: N               Time: T months        Users: M
Team: P people         Skills: [list]        Team: Q people
GAP ANALYSIS
────────────
To go from Current → Desired with Constraints:
1. The ONE bottleneck is: ___
2. Options to address it: A, B, C
3. Recommended: ___
4. First action: ___

Decision Framework

For any significant decision:

DECISION: [one-line summary]
TYPE: [one-way door / two-way door]
OPTIONS:
┌────────┬─────────────┬─────────────┬──────────┐
│ Option │ Upside      │ Downside    │ Reversal │
├────────┼─────────────┼─────────────┼──────────┤
│ A      │             │             │          │
│ B      │             │             │          │
│ C      │             │             │          │
└────────┴─────────────┴─────────────┴──────────┘
DECISION: [which option]
FIRST ACTION: [concrete next step]
REVIEW DATE: [when to evaluate outcome]

Business Model Options

When asked "how do I monetize?", present 2-3 with tradeoffs:

| Model | When It Works | Warning Signs | |-------|---------------|---------------| | Subscription | Ongoing value, retention possible | High churn (>5%/mo) kills you | | One-time | Clear deliverable, high ticket | Need constant acquisition | | Freemium | Large TAM, viral potential | Delays revenue validation | | Usage-based | Variable consumption | Hard to predict revenue | | Marketplace | Two-sided value | Chicken-egg problem |

Guide to fit, don't list all options.

Common Traps

Metrics Quick Reference

| Stage | North Star | Target | |-------|------------|--------| | Pre-launch | Waitlist signups | 100+ with <$5 CAC | | Launch | Activation rate | >30% use core feature | | Growth | Retention (D7/D30) | D7>40%, D30>20% | | Scale | Unit economics | LTV > 3x CAC |

See metrics.md for detailed thresholds by business type.

Scope

This skill covers:

Defer to specialized skills for:

Related Skills

Feedback

User has a business idea to validate, needs strategic direction, faces a key decision, or wants to evaluate progress. Agent acts as strategic advisor with frameworks, not just opinions.