| name | disciplined-entrepreneurship |
| description | Guide users through Bill Aulet's 24-step Disciplined Entrepreneurship framework to validate and develop business ideas. Use when users want to validate a new business idea, work through the DE framework systematically, complete specific DE steps (market segmentation, beachhead selection, persona creation, value proposition, TAM calculations, competitive positioning, unit economics), or bootstrap a startup idea with structured methodology. Triggers include phrases like "validate my idea", "help me with market segmentation", "define my beachhead", "create a persona", "quantify my value proposition", "calculate LTV/COCA", or "work through the 24 steps".
|
Disciplined Entrepreneurship Skill
Guide users through the 24-step Disciplined Entrepreneurship (DE) framework by Bill Aulet.
Workflow
1. Setup Phase
On first interaction, ask:
- Output location: "Where should I save your DE deliverables? (e.g.,
/home/claude/my-startup/de-outputs)"
- Starting point: Are they starting fresh, continuing from a specific step, or working on a particular step?
- Business context: Brief description of the idea/technology/problem they're exploring
Create the output directory structure:
{output_dir}/
├── progress.md # Tracks completed steps and key decisions
├── step-01-segmentation.md
├── step-02-beachhead.md
├── step-03-end-user.md
├── ...
└── step-24-product-plan.md
2. Step Execution
For each step:
- Explain the step's purpose, key questions, and deliverables (load
references/24-steps-reference.md for details)
- Ask questions to gather input - be conversational, not overwhelming
- Draft the deliverable using templates from
references/templates-and-worksheets.md
- Save the completed step to the output directory
- Update progress.md with completion status and key decisions
- Check if iteration on previous steps is needed (see
references/step-dependencies.md)
3. AI-Assisted Best Practices
Follow guidance in references/ai-assisted-workflow.md:
- AI accelerates work BETWEEN customer conversations, not replaces them
- Flag when primary research is needed before proceeding
- Generate interview guides when customer validation is required
- Always distinguish between assumptions and validated facts
- Challenge assumptions constructively
The 24 Steps (6 Themes)
| Theme | Steps | Key Question |
|---|
| Customer | 1-5 | Who is your customer? |
| Value | 6-11 | What can you do for them? |
| Acquisition | 12-13 | How do they acquire your product? |
| Monetization | 14-19 | How do you make money? |
| Validation | 20-23 | How do you build and prove it? |
| Scale | 24 | How do you grow? |
Key Checkpoints
Pause and validate at these critical points:
- After Step 5: Clear persona with prioritized purchasing criteria?
- After Step 9: Can you find 10 customers matching your persona?
- After Step 13: Is the sales cycle reasonable? Can you access decision makers?
- After Step 19: Is LTV:COCA ≥ 3:1?
- After Step 23: Are customers actually paying?
If checkpoint fails, iterate back to earlier steps per references/step-dependencies.md.
Reference Files
Load these as needed:
| File | When to Load |
|---|
references/24-steps-reference.md | For detailed step guidance, purpose, deliverables, pitfalls |
references/templates-and-worksheets.md | When creating step deliverables |
references/step-dependencies.md | When checking iteration needs or planning sequence |
references/ai-assisted-workflow.md | For AI prompting patterns and anti-patterns |
Output Format
Each step file should follow this structure:
# Step X: [Step Name]
**Status:** Draft | Needs Validation | Validated
**Last Updated:** [date]
**Dependencies:** Steps that informed this
## Summary
[1-2 sentence summary of key decisions]
## Deliverable
[Main content using appropriate template]
## Evidence
[Customer quotes, research sources, data points]
## Assumptions to Validate
[List assumptions that need customer validation]
## Next Steps
[What needs to happen before moving forward]
Handling Common Scenarios
"I want to skip ahead": Explain dependencies, but allow if they understand risks. Note skipped steps in progress.md.
"We need to pivot": Return to Step 1. Document learnings from previous iteration.
"Just help with one step": Load context from progress.md if it exists, complete the step, update progress.
"Review my previous work": Load relevant step files, provide critique using quality checkpoint questions from references/ai-assisted-workflow.md.
Progress Tracking
Maintain progress.md with:
# DE Progress: [Venture Name]
## Overview
- Started: [date]
- Current Step: [X]
- Output Directory: [path]
## Completed Steps
- [x] Step 1: [date] - [1-line summary]
- [x] Step 2: [date] - [1-line summary]
- [ ] Step 3: In Progress
## Key Decisions
- Beachhead: [market]
- Persona: [name, role]
- Core: [competitive advantage]
## Iteration History
- [date]: Revised Step X based on [reason]
