Business Idea Intake

Overview

Collect all information needed to validate a business idea through a structured series of questions. The output is a business brief saved to docs/business-briefs/<run_id>.md where run_id is generated as YYYY-MM-DD-<slug>-<hhmm>.

Do NOT proceed to market research, competitor analysis, or any other analysis skill until the business brief is complete and saved. Every field in the brief must be filled. The run_id must be generated and communicated to the user. </HARD-GATE>

Run ID Generation

Generate the run_id as: YYYY-MM-DD-<slug>-<hhmm> where:

• YYYY-MM-DD is today's date
• <slug> is the idea name lowercased, spaces replaced with hyphens, max 30 chars
• <hhmm> is the current time in hours and minutes (24h format) to ensure uniqueness
• Example: 2026-02-19-ai-tutor-platform-1435

The run_id is used by ALL subsequent skills. Pass it explicitly when invoking them.

Process

Ask questions ONE AT A TIME via AskUserQuestion. Use multiple-choice options where possible.

digraph intake {
    "Ask idea name and description" [shape=box];
    "Ask problem being solved" [shape=box];
    "Ask target audience" [shape=box];
    "Ask business model" [shape=box];
    "Ask geographic focus" [shape=box];
    "Ask budget range" [shape=box];
    "Ask known competitors" [shape=box];
    "Generate run_id" [shape=box, style=filled, fillcolor="#fff3e0"];
    "Save business brief" [shape=box, style=filled, fillcolor="#e8f5e9"];
    "Invoke next skills" [shape=doublecircle];

    "Ask idea name and description" -> "Ask problem being solved";
    "Ask problem being solved" -> "Ask target audience";
    "Ask target audience" -> "Ask business model";
    "Ask business model" -> "Ask geographic focus";
    "Ask geographic focus" -> "Ask budget range";
    "Ask budget range" -> "Ask known competitors";
    "Ask known competitors" -> "Generate run_id";
    "Generate run_id" -> "Save business brief";
    "Save business brief" -> "Invoke next skills";
}

Questions to Ask

1. Idea Name and Description

• Ask for a short name (2-4 words) and a 1-2 sentence description
• Open-ended question

2. Problem Being Solved

• What specific problem or pain point does this solve?
• Open-ended question

3. Target Audience

• Who is the primary customer?
• Options: B2B (Small Business), B2B (Enterprise), B2C (Mass Market), B2C (Niche/Premium), B2B2C, Other
• Follow up: estimated willingness to pay

4. Business Model

• How will this make money?
• Options: SaaS/Subscription, One-time Purchase, Freemium, Marketplace/Commission, Advertising, Services/Consulting, Other

5. Geographic Focus

• Options: Local/City, National, Regional (e.g. Europe, MENA), Global, Online-only (no geo limit)

6. Starting Budget

• Options: Bootstrapped (less than $5K), Seed ($5K-$50K), Pre-seed ($50K-$500K), Series A+ ($500K+), Not yet determined

7. Known Competitors

• Ask if the user already knows any competitors
• Open-ended (can be "none" or a list)

Business Brief Template

Save to docs/business-briefs/<run_id>.md:

# Business Brief: [Idea Name]

**Run ID:** <run_id>
**Date:** YYYY-MM-DD
**Status:** Ready for Analysis

## Idea
**Name:** [name]
**Description:** [1-2 sentences]

## Problem
[What problem does this solve]

## Target Audience
**Segment:** [B2B/B2C/etc.]
**Customer Profile:** [description]
**Willingness to Pay:** [estimate]

## Business Model
**Type:** [subscription/etc.]
**Details:** [additional context]

## Market
**Geographic Focus:** [scope]
**Starting Budget:** [range]

## Known Competitors
[List or "None identified"]

## Analysis Queue
- [ ] Market Research
- [ ] Competitor Analysis
- [ ] Financial Model
- [ ] Risk Assessment
- [ ] Final Report

After Saving the Brief

1. Show the user a summary of the brief and the run_id
2. Ask for confirmation that everything looks correct
3. Create the report directory: docs/reports/<run_id>/
4. Dispatch business-validator:market-research and business-validator:competitor-analysis in parallel using the Task tool with subagents, passing the run_id to both