founder-skills

Use when a non-designer needs to audit a UI, generate a design spec (spacing, type scale, color tokens, grids), or build brand foundations (logo systems, palette and type pairing, brand guidelines). Covers the visual layer, UX/perceptual critique, and brand identity. For implementing the design in code (React/HTML/CSS), use frontend-design.

Use when a B2B SaaS founder needs to choose, prioritize, or rebalance customer acquisition channels — deciding outbound vs inbound, paid vs PLG, where to put marketing budget, or sanity-checking CAC, LTV:CAC, and payback. Also for channel-specific playbooks (cold email, LinkedIn, paid social, community, partnerships) and channel-mix audits. Not for closing tactics (use sales-skill) or copy (use copywriter-skill).

Use when the user needs to write, rewrite, review, or critique commercial copy meant to drive a reader toward action — landing pages, hero sections, headlines, email (cold outreach, nurture, promo, launch), CTAs, microcopy, product descriptions, value propositions, ads, or taglines. Also for copy audits, clarity checks, conversion reviews, or choosing a framework (AIDA, PAS, BAB, FAB, 4U's). Applies even when the user just says "write me an email" or "review this page." Not for channel/budget strategy (use channel-expert) or pricing structure (use pricing).

Use when the user needs to design, run, or audit product or GTM analytics — metric hierarchies and north stars, funnels, cohort retention, churn, pipeline velocity, forecasting, lead scoring, NRR, A/B tests, or analytical SQL — or uploads a dataset to analyze. Triggers on questions like "why did activation drop", "is this metric meaningful", "review my dashboard", or "what should I measure". For writing the spec that defines a feature's success metrics, use product-spec.

Use when the user needs to deploy, operate, secure, or scale running infrastructure — cloud architecture (multi-region, VPC, FinOps), CI/CD and deployment strategies, secrets/IAM/supply-chain security, observability and SLO alerting, SRE and incident response, Kubernetes vs ECS and autoscaling, Terraform/Pulumi/CDK, or platform engineering and DORA metrics. Also for generating runbooks, pipeline configs, Terraform modules, or Kubernetes manifests. For choosing the system's architecture or stack before it runs (monolith vs microservices, which database), use software-architect.

Use when planning, auditing, or speccing a video's motion and visual craft: shot lists, storyboards, color scripts, transitions, easing, kinetic typography, pacing, retention, or animation principles. Triggers: 'video plan', 'shot list', 'storyboard', 'color script', 'motion spec', 'fix the pacing', 'explainer/demo/brand video'. For the spoken words themselves, use script-writer-skill; for in-code UI motion, use frontend-design.

Use when a SaaS founder is deciding on or building a product-led growth motion — assessing PLG readiness, choosing freemium vs free trial vs reverse trial, defining activation and PQLs, designing self-serve onboarding and conversion triggers, building viral loops, or setting up PLG metrics (NRG, activation rate, TTV, NDR, CAC payback) and cohort analysis. Also for hybrid product-led-sales design and PLG-vs-sales-led GTM decisions. Not for paid acquisition channel mix (use channel-expert) or the mechanics of price points and tiers (use pricing).

Use when a SaaS founder needs to set, audit, or redesign pricing — choosing a value metric, structuring tiers and packaging, setting price points, designing discounts, planning a price increase, or optimizing a pricing page. Also for monetization questions like free-to-paid conversion, expansion revenue, willingness-to-pay research, or per-seat vs usage-based. Not for which acquisition channels to use (use channel-expert) or the wording of the pricing page (use copywriter-skill).

Use when a B2B SaaS product needs upstream positioning or messaging clarity — defining who it's for, the category, competitive alternatives, differentiation, value props, strategic narrative, or a messaging hierarchy. Triggers include "my messaging isn't working," "we sound like everyone else," repositioning, or auditing an existing positioning doc. Use before homepage, deck, or sales-narrative work. Not for writing the final copy (use copywriter-skill) or running the sales process (use sales-skill).

Use when the user needs to scope, write, or audit a product spec — a PRD, feature spec, user stories, acceptance criteria, or a "spec this out"/"break this into stories"/"definition of done" request — or wants an existing spec reviewed for gaps and anti-patterns. Triggers whenever a feature idea needs to become structured requirements that align a team on what to build. For the analytics behind success metrics, use data-analysis; for the technical design, use software-architect.

Use when the user needs to find, prioritize, or engage B2B prospects — defining an ICP, tiering accounts, building or enriching lists, reading buying signals, designing multi-channel cadences, cold calling, LinkedIn outreach, routing inbound leads, or diagnosing weak pipeline generation. Also for live prospecting coaching. Not for closing (use sales-skill), copy (use copywriter-skill), or CAC analysis (use channel-expert).

Use when the user is working a B2B SaaS deal from qualified opportunity to closed-won — preparing discovery calls, structuring demos or POCs, handling a specific objection, qualifying with MEDDIC/MEDDPICC/SPICED, building mutual action plans, navigating negotiation or procurement, or reviewing pipeline health, forecast accuracy, and deal velocity. Not for finding or prospecting new leads (use prospecting) or upstream positioning (use product-position).

Use when the deliverable is spoken words to be performed on camera or into a mic: video and podcast scripts, hooks, and CTAs for short-form (TikTok, Reels, Shorts), YouTube long-form, or podcast episodes. Triggers: "write me a reel about X", "I need a hook for my video", "script a 60-second video", "draft a podcast episode", "turn this idea into a script". For motion/timing/shot specs rather than the words, use motion-picture.

Use when the user wants to get found in Google or AI engines (ChatGPT, Perplexity, AI Overviews) — keyword and content strategy, technical or content SEO audits, schema markup, link building, topical clustering, E-E-A-T, AI citation (AEO), or deciding whether SEO is even the right channel for their startup. Calibrated for early-stage, low-authority sites. Not for paid acquisition or channel-mix/CAC analysis (use channel-expert), or writing the page copy itself (use copywriter-skill).

Use when the user is deciding, reviewing, or second-guessing a software architecture or tech-stack choice — monolith vs microservices vs serverless vs event-driven, backend language, database type, caching, CQRS/event sourcing, polyglot, or a migration like Strangler Fig. Triggers on "should I use microservices", "which database", "tech stack for", "system design", or "architecture review". For how to deploy, operate, and scale that design (CI/CD, cloud, Kubernetes, IaC), use devops.