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Agent skill

Yc Early Pmf

by questflowai in questflowai/investorskills

A skill your agent uses when evaluating early-stage startups through a YC-style lens: talk to users, achieve product-market fit, grow simply, default alive, and avoid premature scaling.

MITAuto-check passedProduct & Project Management

Install Yc Early Pmf

skills CLI
$ npx skills add questflowai/investorskills --skill yc-early-pmf -a claude-code

Project install by default; add -g for ~/.claude/skills/.

GitHub CLI
$ gh skill install questflowai/investorskills yc-early-pmf --agent claude-code

Project scope by default; add --scope user for a personal install. Needs GitHub CLI 2.90.0 or later (public preview).

Manual copy
$ git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/questflowai/investorskills.git skills-src && mkdir -p .claude/skills && cp -r skills-src/skills/yc-early-pmf .claude/skills/yc-early-pmf && rm -rf skills-src

Use ~/.claude/skills/ instead of .claude/skills for a personal install. The folder must contain SKILL.md.

Claude Code skills documentation · loads skills from .claude/skills/

Facts

Skill name
yc-early-pmf
GitHub stars
1.9k
Token cost
~483 tokens
SKILL.md length
205 words
Files
2
Skills in repo
63
Repo updated
First seen
Licence
MIT

At a glance

A skill your agent uses when evaluating early-stage startups through a YC-style lens: talk to users, achieve product-market fit, grow simply, default alive, and avoid premature scaling.

  • Works in 4 steps: Check whether users truly want the… → Assess founder speed of learning and… → Review burn, runway, and default-alive… → …
  • Evaluating early-stage startups through a YC-style lens: talk to users
  • SKILL.md covers When To Use, Do Not Use When, Inputs Needed and Process, plus 3 more sections
  • Calls make

What it does

Yc Early Pmf is an agent skill from questflowai/investorskills. Use when evaluating early-stage startups through a YC-style lens: talk to users, achieve product-market fit, grow simply, default alive, and avoid premature scaling.

Its SKILL.md is about 480 tokens, which your agent loads only when the skill is triggered. The skill folder holds 1 other file (for example `invest.md`).

It sits in Product & Project Management, covering Product strategy. The repository describes itself as: Investor Skills is an open-source library that turns durable investing judgment into portable, structured formats. It collects how great investors think, filter opportunities… The licence is MIT.

When your agent uses it

  • Evaluating early-stage startups through a YC-style lens: talk to users
  • Achieve product-market fit
  • Avoid premature scaling

Example prompts

  • “/yc-early-pmf”

Workflow steps

4 steps, taken from the first numbered list in SKILL.md.

  1. Check whether users truly want the product.
  2. Assess founder speed of learning and shipping.
  3. Review burn, runway, and default-alive status.
  4. Reject companies scaling process before PMF.

What it can do on your machine

Read from SKILL.md and the folder at commit 2844d78. It shows what the files ask for, not the result of running them.

  • Tool permissions

    Pre-approves nothing: there is no allowed-tools line, so your agent's usual permission prompts apply.

    From allowed-tools in the SKILL.md frontmatter.

  • Runs code

    Shell commands in SKILL.md call:

    • make

    From the folder's file list and the shell code blocks in SKILL.md.

  • Network

    No URLs in SKILL.md.

    From URLs in SKILL.md, links to its own repository left out.

  • Credentials

    Names no API keys, tokens, secrets or passwords.

    From names ending in _API_KEY, _TOKEN, _SECRET, _KEY or _PASSWORD in SKILL.md.

Context cost

Yc Early Pmf loads about 483 tokens when it runs. Until then it costs about 45 tokens; SKILL.md has 205 words of instructions outside code blocks.

Always · name and description, kept in context so the agent knows when to use it
~45
When it runs · the whole SKILL.md, loaded when a task matches
~483

Estimates: characters ÷ 4, the usual rule of thumb; real counts depend on the model's tokenizer. Scripts and assets cost tokens only if the agent reads them.

Safety

Auto-check passed

The automated check found no risky patterns in SKILL.md.

Automated static check — not a guarantee. Review scripts before installing. It scans the text of SKILL.md for risky patterns (piping downloads into a shell, reading credential files, hidden Unicode, destructive commands); files beside SKILL.md are not scanned.

SKILL.md

The full file from questflowai/investorskills at commit 2844d78, republished under its MIT licence (© questflowai). 205 words, ~483 tokens.

Download SKILL.mdSave it as .claude/skills/yc-early-pmf/SKILL.md (or your agent's skills folder). This skill also uses 1 other file; get the full folder from GitHub.
name
yc-early-pmf
description
Use when evaluating early-stage startups through a YC-style lens: talk to users, achieve product-market fit, grow simply, default alive, and avoid premature scaling.
invest
./invest.md

YC Early PMF

Use this skill to apply Y Combinator-style judgment.

When To Use

Use this skill when the user asks for:

  • pre-seed/seed diligence
  • PMF diagnosis
  • early startup advice
  • YC-style company review
  • default alive vs default dead

Trigger phrases include YC, Y Combinator, Paul Graham, PMF, default alive, make something people want, talk to users.

Do Not Use When

  • Another investor skill fits the setup better.
  • Critical primary evidence is unavailable.
  • The user wants guaranteed returns or unbounded risk.
  • The request is generic chatter with no decision.

Inputs Needed

  • Company, startup, token, report target, or market context
  • Primary documents, product data, user/revenue evidence, or research materials
  • Time horizon, capital structure, and risk constraints
  • Valuation or round pricing if sizing/commitment is requested

Process

  1. Check whether users truly want the product.
  2. Assess founder speed of learning and shipping.
  3. Review burn, runway, and default-alive status.
  4. Reject companies scaling process before PMF.

Output Format

md
# YC Early PMF View: [Subject]

## Verdict
Promising Seed / Needs Users / Premature Scale / Default Dead / Pass

## Thesis

## Evidence

## Risks

## Action Plan

## Invalidation

## Missing Data

Guardrails

  • Do not force conviction without evidence.
  • Do not ignore incentives, structure, or liquidity/risk constraints.
  • Separate facts, assumptions, and judgment.
  • Do not present this as financial advice.

Questflow Use

In Questflow, this skill is best used as a specialized judgment module for research workflows, Fund theses, diligence, monitoring, and decision support.

© questflowai, MIT. Rendered from Markdown: HTML in the file is shown as text, images as links, and headings moved down two levels. Raw file

Files

SKILL.md and 1 other file in skills/yc-early-pmf of questflowai/investorskills.

  • SKILL.md
  • invest.md

Open the folder on GitHubat commit 2844d78

Compare with similar skills

Yc Early Pmf next to the 5 skills that share the most tags, products or categories with it. Stars are the repository's; “used in” counts other GitHub owners with a copy.

Yc Early Pmf compared with similar skills
SkillStarsUsed inTokensAuto-checkLicenceRepo updated
Yc Early Pmf this skillquestflowai/investorskills1.9k—~483Automated safety check: PassMIT
Game Changing FeaturesopenstatusHQ/data-table-filters2.3k3 repos~2.1kAutomated safety check: PassMIT
Organic Growth Path Advisordeanpeters/Product-Manager-Skills7.2k2 repos~5.2kAutomated safety check: PassCustom licence
Product Strategistalirezarezvani/claude-skills28k2 repos~1.8kAutomated safety check: PassMIT
PlaidBuildGreatProducts/plaid218—~1.6kAutomated safety check: PassMIT
Product Competitive AnalysisFokkyp/claude-skills226—~1.2kAutomated safety check: PassNone

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Categories

Questions about Yc Early Pmf

What does Yc Early Pmf do?

A skill your agent uses when evaluating early-stage startups through a YC-style lens: talk to users, achieve product-market fit, grow simply, default alive, and avoid premature scaling. Yc Early Pmf is an agent skill from questflowai/investorskills. Use when evaluating early-stage startups through a YC-style lens: talk to users, achieve product-market fit, grow simply, default alive, and avoid premature scaling.

When should I use Yc Early Pmf?

Yc Early Pmf fits situations like: evaluating early-stage startups through a YC-style lens: talk to users; achieve product-market fit; avoid premature scaling.

How do I install Yc Early Pmf in Claude Code?

Run `npx skills add questflowai/investorskills --skill yc-early-pmf -a claude-code`. Or copy the skill folder (skills/yc-early-pmf in questflowai/investorskills) into .claude/skills/yc-early-pmf in your project. Claude Code loads it when a task matches its description.

How do I install Yc Early Pmf in Codex?

Run `npx skills add questflowai/investorskills --skill yc-early-pmf -a codex`. Or copy the skill folder (skills/yc-early-pmf in questflowai/investorskills) into .agents/skills/yc-early-pmf in your project. Codex loads it when a task matches its description.

Can I use Yc Early Pmf in Cursor, Gemini CLI or GitHub Copilot?

Cursor, Gemini CLI, GitHub Copilot and OpenCode also load SKILL.md folders. With the skills CLI, run `npx skills add questflowai/investorskills --skill yc-early-pmf -a cursor` (or -a gemini-cli, github-copilot or opencode for the others). To copy it by hand, put the folder in .cursor/skills/yc-early-pmf, .gemini/skills/yc-early-pmf, .github/skills/yc-early-pmf and .opencode/skills/yc-early-pmf in your project.

What does Yc Early Pmf need to run?

Going by SKILL.md and its folder, Yc Early Pmf needs the command-line tools its instructions call (make).

Does Yc Early Pmf access the network?

SKILL.md contains no URLs. Any network use would come from the scripts or tools the agent runs. This is read from the text; nothing was executed.

Is Yc Early Pmf safe to install?

Our automated static check of SKILL.md found no risky patterns, such as piping downloads into a shell, reading credential files or hidden Unicode. It is not a guarantee. Review the folder before installing.

What licence does Yc Early Pmf use?

Yc Early Pmf is published under the MIT licence (the repository's licence). It allows redistribution, so the full SKILL.md is shown on this page.

How many tokens does Yc Early Pmf use?

About 483 tokens (SKILL.md is roughly 1.9k characters). Agents keep only the skill's name and description in context until a task matches; then they load SKILL.md in full.

What are the alternatives to Yc Early Pmf?

Skills that share tags, products or a category with Yc Early Pmf: Game Changing Features (openstatusHQ/data-table-filters, 2.3k stars), Organic Growth Path Advisor (deanpeters/Product-Manager-Skills, 7.2k stars), Product Strategist (alirezarezvani/claude-skills, 28k stars) and Plaid (BuildGreatProducts/plaid, 218 stars). The comparison table on this page puts their stars, adoption, token cost, safety result and licence side by side.

Who maintains Yc Early Pmf?

questflowai (a GitHub organization) maintains it in questflowai/investorskills, which has 1,896 GitHub stars. The repository holds 63 skills in this directory. The repository was last updated on August 23, 2026.

Source: questflowai/investorskills on GitHub. Facts on this page come from the repository at the commit we read; the author's words are quoted as theirs.