prospect-init

name	prospect-init
description	Create a new prospect record for a company you sell to or watch. Trigger on "add a prospect", "track <company> as a prospect", "start tracking <company>", or "new prospect <company>". Creates `companies/prospects/<slug>.md` from `templates/prospect-context.template.md` after asking 3 to 5 questions. Different from `business-context-loader`, which is for companies you run.
why	Captures the minimum prospect intel in one short flow so the next time you write a proposal or run strategic analysis, the context exists at a predictable path instead of scattered across your notes.
enhance	Fill your own business-context first - the ICP and anti-ICP fields let this flow flag a new prospect against your fit signals as you add them.
allowed-tools	["Read","Write","Edit","Glob","Bash"]
mcp_requirements	[]

Prospect Init

Runs on: local-writes - creates or edits files in your OS folder; needs an agent with write access.

Captures a lightweight prospect record at companies/prospects/<slug>.md. Companion to business-context-loader (which handles companies you run, not prospects).

This skill must:

• Run on a fresh install (creates companies/prospects/ lazily on first use).
• Never overwrite an existing prospect file silently.
• Ask 3 to 5 questions, no more. Rambly answers are fine; extract intent.
• Write the file in one pass after the user confirms the captured fields.
• Append a single line to brain/log.md capturing what was added.

Pre-flight

1. If core/identity.md does not exist, stop with: Founder OS not set up here. Run /founder-os:setup first.
2. If templates/prospect-context.template.md does not exist, stop with: Prospect template missing. Re-install or run /founder-os:update.
3. If companies/prospects/ does not exist, create it (empty directory is fine until the first file lands).

Step 1 - Resolve the slug

Detect what the user passed:

• Company named in prompt (e.g. "track widgetco as a prospect"): use <slug> directly. Sanitise: lowercase, replace spaces with hyphens, strip punctuation.
• No argument: ask What is the company called? and derive the slug from the answer.

Check companies/prospects/<slug>.md does not already exist. If it does, surface:

<slug> already has a prospect file. Open it, or pick a different slug?

Step 2 - Ask the minimum questions

Ask 3 to 5 questions, one at a time. Wait for each answer. Use the user's words back to them.

1. What do they do, in one sentence? (drives company name + sector + a usable note)
2. Why are you tracking them? (one paragraph, the trigger that made them worth a file)
3. What's the current relationship? (cold / warm / engaged - the user can answer in their own language; map it on the back end)
4. Do they match your ICP? (yes / partially / no - and if you have an operator business-context with an Anti-ICP list, flag a hit explicitly)
5. Where did this come from? (the source of intel - a meeting, a deck, a referral, public sources)

If the user volunteers more (headcount, geography, website), capture it. If they don't, leave the field blank in the template - prospect files do not require every field to be useful.

Step 3 - Confirm

Show a 5-line summary of what you captured:

PROSPECT: <Company name>
SECTOR: <sector or "unknown">
STAGE: <cold | warm | engaged>
WHY TRACKING: <one line>
FIT: <yes | partially | no, with anti-ICP flag if it fires>

Ask: Write this to companies/prospects/<slug>.md?

If the user says no, stop. Do not write a partial file.

Step 4 - Write the file

Copy templates/prospect-context.template.md to companies/prospects/<slug>.md.

Fill the fields you captured. Leave the rest blank (no [FILL] markers). Set Last touched to today's date.

Add a first Notes entry: YYYY-MM-DD - prospect file created via prospect-init.

Step 5 - Brain log

Append a single line to brain/log.md:

## YYYY-MM-DD prospect-init | <slug> | <one-line summary of why tracking>

Tag the entry with #prospect-init so it surfaces in later audits.

Step 6 - Output

Five-line confirmation:

PROSPECT FILED: <Company name>
PATH: companies/prospects/<slug>.md
STAGE: <cold | warm | engaged>
NEXT: Update the file as you learn more, or run strategic-analysis to map them against your market.
LOG: brain/log.md updated.

Edge cases

• User asks to track a company that is actually their own. Ask: Sounds like this is a company you run, not a prospect. Want to use business-context-loader instead?
• User provides a slug that matches an operator file (companies/<slug>-business.md exists). Ask: There is already an operator company at companies/<slug>-business.md. Is this the same company, or a different one with the same name? Do not silently create the prospect file.
• User wants to upgrade a prospect to operator. Out of scope for this skill. Tell them: When a prospect becomes a company you run, copy the relevant content from companies/prospects/<slug>.md into a new companies/<slug>-business.md via business-context-loader.
• Template missing fields the user wants to fill. The prospect template is intentionally lightweight. If a user needs more structure, point them at the operator template; do not extend this template on the fly.

What this skill does NOT do

• Does not enrich the prospect from external sources. Capture is manual.
• Does not chase the prospect. It records, the user acts.
• Does not produce a proposal, outreach draft, or analysis. Use proposal-writer, email-drafter, or strategic-analysis for those - they will read this file when they need company-specific context.

Voice rules

Plain language. The user is not a strategist. Mirror their words back. Do not translate "we're chasing this big retailer" into "ICP firmographic axis is retail enterprise."

Brain context (default)

Before producing output, read brain/.snapshot.md. If it is missing, or its date: line is more than 3 days old, run python scripts/brain-snapshot.py --write first and read the fresh one - a stale snapshot read as current presents last week's flags and must-dos as today's, which is worse than no memory at all. If Python is unavailable, proceed without it and say so. The open-flags block can surface whether this prospect collides with a parked decision or open commitment. If the snapshot script is missing (older install), proceed without it.