Load and progressively fill the business-context file for a company you run (operator companies only). Say "load context for <company>", "what's next on <company>", "what's stale on <company>", or "give me an action on <company>". Reads `companies/<slug>-business.md` (derived from `templates/business-context.template.md`). Adapts to whatever state the file is in (empty, partial, mostly-filled, stale) and routes the founder to the next highest-impact move. Mirrors the brand-interview / voice-interview pattern but for company context, not personal voice. For prospect companies (companies you sell to or watch), use `prospect-init` instead - the path convention is `companies/prospects/<slug>.md`.
Load and progressively fill the business-context file for a company you run (operator companies only). Say "load context for <company>", "what's next on <company>", "what's stale on <company>", or "give me an action on <company>". Reads `companies/<slug>-business.md` (derived from `templates/business-context.template.md`). Adapts to whatever state the file is in (empty, partial, mostly-filled, stale) and routes the founder to the next highest-impact move. Mirrors the brand-interview / voice-interview pattern but for company context, not personal voice. For prospect companies (companies you sell to or watch), use `prospect-init` instead - the path convention is `companies/prospects/<slug>.md`.
why
Fills in the ICP, offer, and pricing context that proposal-writer and strategic-analysis need - without it those skills produce generic output not tied to your actual business.
enhance
Walk sections 1-7 in order at least once per business; ICP and offer (sections 4 and 5) have the highest downstream impact on any output skill that reads this file.
summary
Load the founder's business context (ICP, offer, pricing) into the session.
allowed-tools
["Read","Write","Edit","Glob","Grep"]
mcp_requirements
[]
Business Context Loader
Runs on: local-writes - creates or edits files in your OS folder; needs an agent with write access.
Scans state, reports gaps, picks the next question, and suggests an action based on what's already filled.
The companion file is templates/business-context.template.md (the schema). Filled instances live at companies/<slug>-business.md.
When this skill fires
User opens a companies/<slug>-business.md file
User says "what's next for ", "what's missing on ", "what's stale on "
User starts work on a company workstream and the loader needs to confirm context is fresh enough
User runs the skill explicitly: business-context-loader companies/<slug>-business.md
What it does (run order)
Step 1 - Scan
Read the target file. Count markers:
[FILL] (blocking, not yet answered)
[PENDING] (deferred)
[SKIPPED] (not applicable)
[STALE] (older than refresh cadence)
Walk every section header and check the Last refreshed: line. Compare against today's date.
Staleness thresholds:
Sections 1-10: stale if Last refreshed is more than 365 days old
Sections 11-12: stale if Last refreshed is more than 90 days old
Any section with [FILL] in the date itself: counts as never-refreshed (treat as worse than stale)
Step 2 - Report
One block, max 12 lines. Use this format:
business-context-loader: <slug>
State: <X / 12 sections filled. Y must-fill blocking. Z stale.>
Filled (must-fill 1-7): <list section numbers>
Pending / Fill (must-fill 1-7): <list section numbers + 1-word topic each>
Mature stage (8-10): <state per section>
Quarterly refresh (11-12): <state + age in days>
Gap profile:
- Highest-impact next question: <pick one, see Step 3 priority rules>
- Next action you can take based on what IS filled: <pick one, see Step 4 routing>
Do not pad. Do not narrate. The user reads this in 10 seconds or it's failed.
Step 3 - Pick the next question
Apply this priority order to find the highest-impact gap:
Section 1 (Identity & Stage) - if anything [FILL] here, this is first. Nothing else makes sense without it.
Section 4 (ICP) - if Section 1 is filled but ICP is [FILL], ICP is next. Without ICP, sections 5-7 cannot be evaluated for sense.
Section 2 (Problem & Thesis) - once ICP is filled, problem/thesis must align with what the ICP says they need.
Section 5 (Offer & Delivery) - ICP + problem must exist before offer is meaningful.
Section 6 (Pricing) - needs offer + value model first.
Section 7 (Market Position) - last of the must-fill seven; competitive context is sharpest once the rest is clear.
Section 8-10 - mature stage; only flag if business is past month-3.
Sections 11-12 - quarterly refresh; flag if stale.
If multiple sections at the same priority level are blocking, pick the one with the most [FILL] markers.
Ask the next question in the user's words, not template language. Example: don't say "fill in section 4 ICP firmographic axis" - say "we don't have a clear ICP yet for . Who do you think actually buys this - what size, what sector, what geography?"
Step 4 - Suggest an action based on what IS filled
Cross-reference filled sections against the rest of the OS to surface a concrete next move. Use these routing rules:
If filled
Cross-reference
Suggest
Section 4 (ICP)
warm-list / CRM context
"ICP is X. Your warm list has N matching prospects. Want to draft outreach to [name]?"
Section 5 (Offer)
live proposal docs
"Offer is defined. Your live proposal at doesn't reference [tier]. Update?"
Section 12 (Automation map)
automation platform
"Manual workflow <process> is flagged for automation. No workflow exists for it. Want to scope it?"
Section 6 (Pricing)
unit-economics skill
"Pricing model is defined. Run unit-economics to model engagement P&L for typical mid-tier?"
Section 11 (What's broken)
flags / open issues
"What's broken includes . No open flag for it. Want to file one?"
Sections 8-10 marked [PENDING]
business stage
"Business is past month-3 (per Section 1). Sections 8-10 should not stay PENDING. Block out 30 min to fill them?"
If nothing routes cleanly, suggest the simplest follow-up: "Want to walk Section now? Takes ~5 minutes."
Step 5 - Refresh stamping
Every time the user fills or updates a section through this skill, update the Last refreshed: line for that section to today's date. Append a one-line entry to the Refresh log at the bottom of the file.
Never silently update a section without changing its date.
Branches
Branch A - File doesn't exist yet
If the user mentions a company that has no companies/<slug>-business.md:
"There's no business-context file for yet. I can copy the template to companies/<slug>-business.md and we walk it together (~30 min for the must-fill seven). Or you can have rant the answers into their own AI assistant using the questionnaire format - see companies/<slug>-questionnaire.md if it exists, otherwise I can generate one. Which?"
Branch B - File exists but mostly empty (less than 3 sections filled)
Treat as a fresh interview. Walk Sections 1-7 in order, one question at a time. Use the brand-interview / voice-interview pattern: rambly answers are fine, extract intent, never ask the user to be more concise.
Branch C - File partially filled (3-9 sections filled)
Run the standard scan-report-pick-suggest flow above. Default to Step 3 (next question) unless the user asks for an action - then default to Step 4.
Branch D - File mostly filled (10+ sections filled, no STALE)
Don't ask for fills. Instead:
Run staleness check
Suggest the most useful action from Step 4
Ask if there's a workstream the user wants to scope using the filled context
Branch E - Stale sections only
Walk the stale sections one by one with this opener: "Section on was last refreshed days ago. Here's what it currently says: . What's changed?"
Hard rules
Never invent values. Never fill [FILL] with a guess. If the user doesn't know, write [PENDING] and move on.
Never silently overwrite an existing answer. Always show the current answer and ask for confirmation before replacing.
Always update the per-section Last refreshed: date when a section changes.
One question at a time. Wait for the answer.
Use the user's language back to them. Don't translate "we sell to small business owners" into "ICP firmographic axis is SMB."
If the user rambles, extract the answer and reflect it in one line. "Sounds like the ICP is X. Right?"
Output rules
Plain language. The user is not a strategist.
The opening report block (Step 2) is the most-read part of this skill. Keep it tight.
Never narrate "I'll now scan the file" - just scan it and report.
What this skill does NOT do
Does not write the proposal, deliverable, or content based on the context. Other skills do that - this skill makes sure they have the context to do their job.
Does not run automated financial analysis. It surfaces the trigger and lets the user choose.
Does not auto-refresh stale sections. It surfaces them. The user decides what changed.
Re-run behaviour
If the user invokes this skill on a file that has been scanned in the same session, skip the report block and ask: "We already scanned this. Want to keep filling, jump to actions, or check staleness?"
