v1.7.0 — Verification Agent & Dynamic Research Scaling

What's New

Verification Agent (all 4 skills)

Post-synthesis V1: Verification agent that audits all deliverables for:

• Unlabeled claims (missing [Data]/[Estimate]/[Assumption]/[Opinion] tags)
• Internal contradictions across files
• Confidence rating consistency (does the evidence match the rating?)
• Missing data gaps and flags sections
• Stale data and duplicate-source false corroboration
• Skill-specific checks: cross-phase consistency (design), battle card coherence (competitors), positioning statement vs. research (positioning), cross-format pitch consistency (pitch)

Critical issues pause the flow for user review. Produces verification-report.md.

Dynamic Research Scaling (all 4 skills)

Complexity scoring (3-9) after intake determines research depth:

• Light (3-4): merged agents, 2-3 search rounds — quick scan for niche markets
• Standard (5-7): current behavior, unchanged
• Deep (8-9): extra agents per wave, 5-6 search rounds — thorough due diligence

Users see the complexity assessment and can override with light, deep, or ok.

Files Changed

• 8 new reference files (verification-agent.md + research-scaling.md per skill)
• 4 SKILL.md files updated with new phases
• 4 research-synthesis.md files updated with verification step
• AGENTS.md, CLAUDE.md, GUIDELINES.md updated
• marketplace.json bumped to 1.7.0

v1.6.0

What's New

Final Assessment Dashboard — After all 8 phases complete, startup-design now prints a visual summary dashboard directly in the conversation with all key findings:

• Idea, Founder Fit, Market (TAM + growth + maturity), Competitors (count + funding landscape), Positioning, Business Model, MVP Scope, Model Viability, Top Risk, Score, and Verdict

This gives founders an instant visual payoff before diving into the 30+ generated files.

v1.5.0 — Startup Pitch

What's New

startup-pitch (NEW)

Build investor-ready pitch content in 6 formats using a structured 8-element framework:

• pitch-full.md — Full 10-minute narrative with speaker notes
• pitch-5min.md — Compressed 5-minute version
• pitch-2min.md — Word-for-word verbal pitch script
• pitch-1min.md — Elevator pitch (formal + casual)
• pitch-email.md — Investor cold email + follow-up template
• pitch-appendix.md — Top 10 Q&A, objection handling, known weaknesses
• pitch-scorecard.md — Scoring rubric (0-80) with investor-readiness verdict

Features:

• 2 research waves (audience intelligence + competitive framing)
• 4 pitch ordering templates (traction-led, team-led, insight-led, pre-traction)
• Investor roleplay practice with 4 personas (angel, seed VC, Series A VC, accelerator)
• Integrates with prior startup-design/competitors/positioning output
• Honesty protocol: flags inflated metrics, weak team slides, vague asks

Other Changes

• Updated README, CLAUDE.md, CONTRIBUTING.md with startup-pitch documentation
• Updated marketplace.json with new skill entry

Full Changelog: v1.4.1...v1.5.0

v1.4.1 — README Banner & Badges

What's Changed

• Added hero banner image to README
• Added version, license, and stars badges
• Collapsible installation and updating sections
• Claude Code Plugin install commands always visible

Full Changelog: v1.4.0...v1.4.1

v1.4.0 — Messaging Implications + README Refresh

What's Changed

• New deliverable: messaging-implications.md in startup-positioning — messaging hierarchy, category vs customer language map, words to use/avoid, social proof guidelines, freemium positioning
• Enhanced: positioning-statement.md template now includes tagline stress-testing, one-liner variants, and freemium positioning
• Improved: README copy — clearer, more direct descriptions of each skill
• Updated: research-synthesis.md with category/customer language check and value anchor separation

Full Changelog: v1.3.0...v1.4.0

v1.3.0 — Startup Positioning + Cross-Skill Audit

What's New

New Skill: startup-positioning

Market positioning strategy using April Dunford's framework, enriched with JTBD discovery, Moore positioning statement, and Neumeier's Onliness Test. Produces:

• Positioning document (Dunford's 5+1 components)
• Positioning statements (Moore + Neumeier + elevator pitch)
• Competitive alternatives map (JTBD-informed)
• Market category analysis

Cross-Skill Improvements

Complete audit across all 3 skills — 25 fixes applied:

• Honesty protocol now in all skills (competitors was missing it)
• Agent naming standardized to A1/B1/C1 convention everywhere
• 4 data labels ([Data], [Estimate], [Assumption], [Opinion]) in all skills
• Post-research checkpoint before synthesis in all skills
• PROGRESS.md tracking in all skills
• Standardized headers (Skill: startup-{name} | Generated: {date}) in all output templates
• Confidence ratings explicit in all deliverable templates
• Fixed broken reference in competitors synthesis phase
• Fixed agent count and framework timing in design
• Added switching cost analysis and adjacent solutions to output templates

Benchmark Results (old vs new)

Skill	Before	After
startup-competitors	37.5%	87.5%
startup-design	37.5%	62.5%

.skill files

All 3 skills included as .skill packages for Claude.ai installation.

Full Changelog: v1.2.1...v1.3.0

v1.2.1 — Improved docs and .skill packages

What's Changed

• Rewritten README with benefit-focused copy
• .skill files included as release assets for easy Claude.ai installation

Full Changelog: v1.2.0...v1.2.1

v1.2.0 — Competitive Intelligence Skill

What's New

New Skill: startup-competitors (Analyze)

Deep competitive intelligence for any market. Profiles 5-8+ competitors across products, pricing, customer sentiment, GTM strategy, and growth signals using real web data.

3 parallel research waves:

• Wave 1: Competitor profiles + pricing reverse-engineering (value metrics, tier structures, switching costs)
• Wave 2: Customer sentiment mining (G2, Capterra, Reddit, HN, Indie Hackers)
• Wave 3: GTM & strategic signals (acquisition channels, hiring patterns, funding, SEO gaps)

Output: Competitive report, feature matrix, pricing landscape, and per-competitor battle cards.

Works standalone or builds on prior startup-design sessions. Supports Claude Code (parallel agents) and Claude.ai (sequential fallback).

Other Changes

• Skill taxonomy — Skills are now organized in 3 categories: Design, Analyze, Build
• Roadmap — Coming soon: startup-positioning (Analyze), startup-pitch (Build)
• Plugin version bumped to 1.2.0
• Updated README with taxonomy diagram, new skill docs, and expanded repo structure
• Updated CLAUDE.md with multi-skill conventions

Installation

Claude Code:

claude plugins install startup@startup-skill

Claude.ai: Download the .skill files below and upload in Settings → Skills.

Full Changelog: v1.1.0...v1.2.0

v1.1.0 — Plugin namespace rename

What's Changed

• Plugin namespace renamed from startup-skill to startup
• Skill command is now /startup:startup-design (was /startup-skill:startup-design)
• Updated documentation (README, CLAUDE.md) to reflect new namespace

Breaking Change

If you had the previous version installed via Claude Code plugin system, uninstall and reinstall:

claude plugins uninstall startup-design@startup-skill
claude plugins install startup@startup-skill

Full Changelog: v1.0.2...v1.1.0

v1.0.2 - Claude.ai Web App Support

What's New

• Claude.ai web app support — The skill now works on Claude.ai (no terminal needed). Phase 3 research runs sequentially when subagents aren't available, with identical output quality.
• Release checklist — Added zip rebuild reminder to CONTRIBUTING.md for future releases.

Installation

Claude.ai (Web App)

1. Download startup-design.zip below
2. Go to claude.ai → Settings → Skills → Add Skill
3. Upload the zip file
4. Start a new conversation and describe your startup idea

Claude Code (CLI)

claude plugin marketplace add ferdinandobons/startup-skill
claude plugin install startup-design

See README for all 7 installation methods.

Full Changelog

v1.0.1...v1.0.2