/startup-design

Output Guidelines

Standard File Header

Every output file should start with a consistent header:

# [Document Title]

**Phase:** [Phase number and name]
**Project:** [project-name]
**Date:** [generation date]
**Confidence:** [Overall confidence: High / Medium / Low]

---

This makes it easy for the founder to navigate the deliverables and immediately understand the reliability of each document.

Standard File Footer

Every output file should end with:

---

## Flags

**Red Flags:**
- [List any red flags, or "None identified"]

**Yellow Flags:**
- [List any yellow flags, or "None identified"]

## Sources
- [Key sources referenced in this document with tier ratings]

Cross-Phase Referencing

When a document references findings from another phase, use explicit callouts:

Good:

"The target persona (see 01-discovery/target-audience.md, Persona 1: Mid-market CFO) has an average tool budget of $2,000/month [Data, Gartner 2025]."

Bad:

"As mentioned earlier, the target customer has budget for this."

Always include:

• The file path being referenced
• The specific finding (not a vague reference)
• The data label ([Data], [Estimate], etc.)

Quality Examples

Good vs. Bad Output

Market Analysis — Bad:

"The market presents interesting opportunities for growth. There are several competitors but the space is not overcrowded. Timing seems favorable."

Market Analysis — Good:

"The global invoice automation market is $4.2B [Data, MarketsAndMarkets 2025] growing at 12.3% CAGR [Data, Grand View Research 2025]. However, the SMB segment — our target — represents only $340M [Estimate, derived from 8.1% SMB share reported by Ardent Partners]. Three well-funded competitors (Tipalti $270M raised, Stampli $68M, Vic.ai $52M) already serve this segment [Data, Crunchbase]. [Yellow Flag] The market may be too small for a new entrant competing head-on; a niche positioning is needed."

Scorecard — Bad:

| Market size | 7 | Good market size |

Scorecard — Good:

| Market size | 5 | TAM is $4.2B but our serviceable segment (SMB invoice automation) is ~$340M [Estimate]. At 5% penetration that's $17M ARR — viable for a bootstrapped business but below typical VC thresholds. [Yellow Flag] |

Final Assessment Dashboard

After all 8 phases are complete and before writing the README.md, print a summary dashboard directly in the conversation (not in a file). This gives the founder an instant visual payoff of the entire process.

Pull each value from the actual phase outputs. Do not invent or approximate. If a value was not determined, write "Not assessed".

═══════════════════════════════════════════════
        STARTUP DESIGN — FINAL ASSESSMENT
═══════════════════════════════════════════════

 Idea:              [selected variation from Phase 2 brainstorm]
 Founder Fit:       [Strong / Moderate / Weak]
 Market:            [$X TAM] · [growth %] · [maturity stage]
 Competitors:       [N found] · [funding landscape summary]
 Customer Interviews:[N conducted] · [problem confirmed by N/N]
 Positioning:       [Clear / Emerging / Unclear]
 Business Model:    [SaaS / Marketplace / Open Core / etc.]
 Financial Stage:   [A — Assumption-Based / B — Evidence-Based]
 MVP Scope:         [N core features] · [build estimate]
 Model Viability:   [Viable / Risky / Broken]
 Top Risk:          [single biggest risk in one line]

 SCORE:             [X / 10]
 VERDICT:           [GO / CONDITIONAL / NO-GO]

 Files generated:   [N]
 Directory:         [path]
═══════════════════════════════════════════════

Field definitions:

• Customer Interviews: Number of interviews conducted in Phase 3.7 and problem confirmation rate (e.g., "5 conducted · confirmed by 4/5"). If Fast Track with founder-reported conversations, note "[Founder-reported]". If the founder deferred interviews, write "0 conducted · deferred".
• Financial Stage: A = Assumption-Based (no real traction data), B = Evidence-Based (projections anchored to interview signals or real traction data).
• Idea: The specific variation selected after brainstorming, not the original raw input.
• Founder Fit: From Phase 1 intake assessment. Strong = clear unfair advantage. Moderate = some relevant background. Weak = no domain edge.
• Market: TAM from Phase 3 research, growth rate, and maturity (emerging/growing/mature/declining).
• Competitors: Count of direct competitors found in Phase 3, plus a one-phrase summary of the funding landscape (e.g., "3 funded, 2 bootstrapped" or "dominated by 1 incumbent").
• Positioning: From Phase 4 strategy. Clear = obvious differentiation angle. Emerging = differentiation possible but unproven. Unclear = no obvious angle found.
• Business Model: The model selected in Phase 4 strategy.
• MVP Scope: Number of core features from Phase 6 product definition, plus rough build estimate.
• Model Viability: A synthesis judgment from Phase 7 financials. Viable = unit economics work with reasonable assumptions. Risky = unit economics depend on optimistic assumptions. Broken = unit economics don't work under any reasonable scenario.
• Top Risk: The single highest-impact risk from Phase 8 risk matrix.
• Score / Verdict: From Phase 8 validation scorecard. GO (8-10), CONDITIONAL (6-7), NO-GO (1-5).

Print this dashboard in the conversation after all files are written. Then proceed to write the README.md and action-plan-30-days.md as specified in the main skill file.

Handling Pivots

If the founder wants to change direction after seeing research or strategy outputs (different target market, different business model, different positioning):

1. Don't restart from scratch. Much of the research and analysis may still apply.
2. Update the brief (00-intake/brief.md) with a "Pivot Notes" section documenting what changed and why.
3. Re-run only the affected phases. If the pivot is about target market, re-run Phase 3 (customer research waves) and Phase 4 (strategy). If it's about business model, re-run Phase 4 and Phase 7.
4. Mark re-run phases in PROGRESS.md: - [x] Phase 4: Strategy — re-run after pivot {date}
5. Keep old versions. Rename the previous output to {filename}.pre-pivot.md before generating the new version. This preserves the decision trail.