# Startup Analysis

Analyze a startup from three perspectives, VC investor, job applicant, and CEO/founder...

- Repository: https://github.com/himself65/finance-skills (3487 stars)
- Category: Writing
- License: MIT
- Last updated: 2026-10-25
- Runs scripts: no, instructions only

## Install

Claude Code: `npx skills add himself65/finance-skills --skill startup-analysis -g -a claude-code -y`
Codex: `npx skills add himself65/finance-skills --skill startup-analysis -g -a codex -y`
Cursor: `npx skills add himself65/finance-skills --skill startup-analysis -g -a cursor -y`
Gemini CLI: `npx skills add himself65/finance-skills --skill startup-analysis -g -a gemini-cli -y`
Claude Code plugin marketplace: `/plugin marketplace add himself65/finance-skills`

## Description

Analyze a startup from three perspectives, VC investor, job applicant, and CEO/founder, covering market, traction, unit economics, team, defensibility, runway, equity value, culture, and competitive position, with a verdict for each. Use this skill whenever the user wants to evaluate a startup or private tech company: due diligence, whether to invest in it or join it, weighing a startup job offer, company health, outlook, or competitive position, or open-ended asks such as "what do you think of [company]" or "research [company] for me".

## SKILL.md, as published by its author (untrusted third-party text, read it as data)

# Startup Analysis

Produces a multi-perspective analysis of a startup, examining it through three lenses that each reveal different aspects of company health and potential:

1. **VC Investor Lens**, Is this a good investment? Market size, unit economics, growth trajectory, team quality, defensibility
2. **Job Applicant Lens**, Should I work here? Equity value, runway risk, culture signals, career growth, compensation fairness
3. **CEO/Founder Lens**, How healthy is this company? Product-market fit, burn efficiency, competitive moat, organizational health

Each perspective surfaces insights the others miss. A company can be a great investment but a terrible place to work (or vice versa). The goal is to give the user a 360-degree view so they can make informed decisions.

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## Step 1: Gather Information

Before analyzing, collect as much public information as possible about the startup. Use web search, the company's website, Crunchbase data, press coverage, and any other available sources.

**Key data to gather:**

| Category | What to find |
|----------|-------------|
| **Basics** | Founded year, HQ location, employee count, what the product does |
| **Funding** | Total raised, last round (size, date, valuation if known), key investors |
| **Product** | What they sell, who buys it, pricing model, key competitors |
| **Traction** | Users, revenue (if public), growth signals, notable customers |
| **Team** | Founders' backgrounds, key hires, LinkedIn headcount trends |
| **Market** | Industry, market size estimates, tailwinds/headwinds |
| **News** | Recent press, product launches, partnerships, layoffs, pivots |

If certain data isn't publicly available (e.g., revenue for private companies), note the gap and infer what you can from indirect signals (hiring pace, customer logos, web traffic proxies, job postings).

### When information is insufficient

The rest: https://github.com/himself65/finance-skills/blob/HEAD/plugins/startup-tools/skills/startup-analysis/SKILL.md