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Evaluates business viability for a new product idea. Triggers ONLY when: the user asks to evaluate a business idea, asks what product to build, or says to run biz-think. Do NOT trigger when: discussing business concepts in passing, talking about existing product improvements, or during development work.
Reviews code quality before staging. Triggers ONLY when: implementation of a feature or fix is complete and code is ready to stage. Do NOT trigger after every small edit — only when a logical unit of work is done.
Prints the complete SOP flowchart. Triggers when: user asks to see the SOP, asks 'where are we?', asks 'what's next?', or says '/sop'. Always available.
Runs iterative hypothesis validation loop. Triggers ONLY when: biz-think acid test fails, user explicitly asks to validate a business assumption, or user says to pivot. Do NOT trigger when: discussing business strategy casually or during product development.
Develops brand positioning and Build in Public strategy. Triggers ONLY when: user asks to define brand, plan Build in Public content, or establish positioning. Do NOT trigger during development or content creation for specific pieces.
Manages community presence and engagement strategy. Triggers ONLY when: user asks to find communities, plan community engagement, or draft community responses. Do NOT trigger when: creating content (use content-create) or distributing content (use content-distribute).
Creates VALUE content: blog posts, tutorials, articles, educational material, onboarding/lifecycle emails. Goal = build trust and attract audience. Triggers ONLY when: user asks to create content, write an article, or prepare educational material. Do NOT trigger when: writing code documentation, README files, landing page copy, or ad copy.
| name | biz-think |
| description | Evaluates business viability for a new product idea. Triggers ONLY when: the user asks to evaluate a business idea, asks what product to build, or says to run biz-think. Do NOT trigger when: discussing business concepts in passing, talking about existing product improvements, or during development work. |
Use Sequential Thinking MCP to work through each phase as a separate thought. Store final decisions in auto memory (memory/business_decisions.md).
Before starting: read memory/business_decisions.md if it exists for continuity with past analyses.
When the user says "help me find what to build" or "help me make money" — do NOT brainstorm from imagination. Go find where real people have real pain. Every method below produces first-hand signals, not second-hand listicles.
Use WebSearch with site:reddit.com or site:x.com to find real user posts:
site:reddit.com "[tool name] alternative" OR "switched from [tool]" OR "cancelled [tool]" — users actively leaving toolssite:reddit.com "I built a spreadsheet" OR "I wrote a script" OR "every week I manually" — manual workarounds = proven needsite:x.com "just spent 3 hours" OR "why is [tool] so" OR "finally gave up on" — time-wasting frustrationPick 3-5 proven indie products (from IndieHackers, PH hall of fame, or GetLatka):
Pick a specific role (indie developer, content creator, e-commerce operator, etc.):
If the user has a specific pain they experience in their own work:
Search for SaaS companies that recently raised prices significantly:
"[tool name] pricing increase" OR "[tool name] price hike" OR "leaving [tool name]" — within last 6 monthsBefore presenting results, verify:
Present to user: 3-5 ranked opportunity candidates:
| # | Positioning ("[Category] but [Angle]") | Differentiation | Gates Pass? | Segment | Moat | Wow | Score |
|---|
Each entry must have a one-sentence positioning that includes the differentiation angle. If you can't write it, the idea isn't clear enough.
State this upfront in every analysis: We have no audience, no brand, no capital. This constrains everything.
Our advantages:
Every decision below must be evaluated through this lens. Skip strategies that require fame, funding, or a team.
Before running ANY evaluation, force yourself to argue AGAINST the idea:
"You are a skeptic. Your job is to DESTROY this idea: [one-sentence idea description]. Find 3 specific, evidence-backed reasons it will fail. Search the web for each reason. Do not accept the idea's premise — challenge it. Report: 3 kill reasons with evidence URLs."
This step exists because humans (and agents) naturally seek confirming evidence. The Devil's Advocate forces disconfirming evidence to the surface BEFORE time is invested.
Run every idea through this framework. Gates are binary (KILL/PASS). Scoring only happens after all gates pass.
Gate 1: Platform Test
"If OpenAI/Google/the dominant player built this as a free feature tomorrow, would we survive?"
Gate 2: Cost Gate
"Can we launch on free-tier infrastructure? Monthly operating cost < $50?"
Gate 3: Self-Test Gate
"Can we fully test and demo this product ourselves? Any geographic restrictions?"
All three gates must PASS. Any KILL → stop evaluating, move to next idea.
Market Segment (0-1 point):
"In this crowded market, is there an UNSERVED ANGLE?"
Validation: write the positioning sentence. If you can't → 0 points.
Moat (0-2 points):
"The longer users use this, the harder it is to leave?"
Moat types that survive AI (2026):
Dead moats (AI killed these): feature count, UI polish, backend complexity.
Wow Factor (0-2 points):
"First time seeing this, would someone share it with a friend?"
Validation:
| Score | Grade | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 4-5 | A | Strong candidate ($1M+ ARR potential) → proceed to Phase 2-5 |
| 2-3 | B | Viable lifestyle business ($100K-$500K ARR) → proceed if aligned with goals |
| 0-1 | C | Likely painful struggle → suggest moving to next idea |
Write one sentence: "We are building [product] for [who] that [does what differently from alternatives] because [why now]."
If you cannot fill in every blank with concrete specifics, the idea needs more work.
Store these decisions in auto memory (memory/business_decisions.md) and update MEMORY.md index:
BusinessDecision: the acid test sentence, date, and contextIdeaFilter: which of the 5 tests passed/failed, with reasoningSuccessDecomposition: analysis of 3 competitors with factor ratingsRevenueModel: buyer, JTBD, price, unit economicsDistributionPlan: channel, 30-day plan, 10-customer targetLink all entities to the relevant project entity for future retrieval.
If acid test passes:
gh api repos/{owner}/{repo}/milestones -f title="MVP v0.1" -f due_on="YYYY-MM-DDTHH:MM:SSZ"work-breakdown — decompose the milestone into atomic issues with commit plans and test plans, assigned to the milestonepre-code for the first issue in dependency order → normal development flowproduct-eval to score from user perspectiveIf acid test fails:
biz-validate to enter the validation loop.biz-validate will cycle through hypothesize → experiment → learn → pivot until the model is validated or killed.Before ANY analysis: "This saves WHO how much TIME?" or "This earns WHO how much MONEY?" Name a specific person + specific amount. Can't answer concretely = STOP.
Visible Need Trap Widely expressed needs (high-vote Reddit posts, viral Twitter complaints) look like gold mines but are traps. High visibility = everyone saw it = everyone is building it. The real opportunity is IMPLICIT needs: things people do daily without realizing it could be better. Search for manual workarounds, not explicit complaints.
Head-On Competition Trap "A cheaper version of X" is NOT differentiation. All 8 validated success cases entered crowded markets, but NONE were "cheaper X." They were all "[X] but [different angle]." Cheaper is a tactic. Angle is a strategy.
ChatGPT Substitution Blindspot If core value can be replicated with a prompt → dead on arrival.
Platform Dependency Risk If your product depends on a third-party API's commercial license, that platform can kill you overnight.
Assumed Need Without Observation NEVER assume users want something. Go LOOK at what they actually do on the platforms where they're active. Find 10 real examples or the need doesn't exist.
Capability ≠ Need "We CAN build X with [technology]" ≠ "We SHOULD build X." Start from need, not capability.
Rationalizing Weak Ideas Find counter-evidence FIRST. List 3 reasons this idea will fail. If you can't, you're not thinking critically enough.
Ignoring Opportunity Cost Is this the BEST use of the next 3 days compared to all alternatives? Not "worth doing" — the HIGHEST value thing.
Report to user: "Acid test result: [PASS/FAIL]. Recommended: [build/pivot/kill]. Reason: [one line]"
Suggested next steps (user decides):