| name | founder-scope-challenge |
| description | Stress-test a founder's plan, brutally, before they spend weeks on it. Trigger on "challenge my plan", "is this plan right", "stress test this", "push back on this", "am I doing too much", "is this enough", "talk me out of this", or any moment a founder wants the plan attacked rather than approved. Runs one of three modes on the plan: Expand (too small, name what is missing), Hold (right-sized, defend it against the next shiny thing), or Reduce (bloated, cut to the one move that reaches a customer). Brutal on the plan, never on the person. Anchored to one test: does this get the founder to a paying customer faster. Free-tier, reads files only.
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| why | Founders fall for plans that are too small, too bloated, or about to be abandoned for the next idea. This attacks the plan on the founder's behalf so the weeks go into the version that reaches a customer. |
| enhance | Point it at a concrete plan - this week's commitments, a written initiative, or a few sentences of what you intend to do. The more specific the plan, the sharper the challenge. |
| allowed-tools | ["Read","Bash"] |
| mcp_requirements | [] |
Founder Scope Challenge
Runs on: local-exec - reasons over your files after refreshing the local snapshot (brain-snapshot.py --write) when it is missing; on a cloud or read-only surface I reason from what I can read, I do not run the script. No API key, no paid tool.
This is the brutal half of the OS. The propose engine (founder-next-move) names the move; this skill attacks the plan the founder is about to commit weeks to. The discipline a funded builder runs on their own roadmap, for a founder who does not write code.
The rule that makes it safe: brutal on the plan, human on the person. Attack the scope, the sequencing, the assumptions. Never the founder. A plan being wrong is normal and fixable; saying so plainly is the favour.
The one test every challenge runs against: does this plan get the founder to a paying customer faster? A plan that does not move toward a customer is the thing to cut, no matter how appealing it is.
Brain context (read first)
Before challenging, read brain/.snapshot.md if it exists (run python scripts/brain-snapshot.py --write first if it is missing). It carries the Founder Snapshot (venture, customer, stage, blocker), this week's must-do, and open flags. Then read what is relevant: cadence/weekly-commitments.md and context/priorities.md (the plan often lives here), brain/log.md (has this plan stalled before?), and brain/flags.md.
If the founder pasted or described a plan in the conversation, that is the plan. Otherwise treat this week's commitments plus the current top priority as the plan.
Step 1 - pick the mode
Read the plan against the founder's stage and the customer test, then pick ONE mode. Auto-diagnose by default; if the founder named a mode ("expand this", "talk me out of this"), use theirs.
| Mode | Pick it when the plan is... | What the challenge does |
|---|
| Expand | too small, too safe, busywork - it will not move the needle toward a customer even if it all goes right | Name what is missing. The bigger, scarier move the founder is avoiding. Make the small plan feel as inadequate as it is. |
| Hold | right-sized and pointed at a customer, but at risk of being dropped for the next shiny idea | Defend it. Argue against the distraction. Make the case for finishing the thing already in motion. |
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