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How I Built a McKinsey-Grade Venture Analyst in Claude Using 10 Custom Skills
In the past few months I evaluated more than 30 business ideas for LayerX. Some went to production. Most didn't. The problem wasn't lack of ideas. It was lack of rigor. Evaluating ideas takes time, and when you're a small studio juggling multiple products, you rarely have the bandwidth to go deep on every concept.
So I built a Venture Analyst agent in Claude. Not a chatbot that gives you "great idea!" feedback. A structured analyst that thinks like a VC, plans like an operator, and kills bad ideas before they waste your team's time and capital.
Here's how it works, and how you can build your own.
What Is a Claude Skill?
Before diving in, a quick explanation. A Claude skill is a .md file you upload to a Claude Project as knowledge. When Claude has access to it, you can instruct the agent to "run Skill 03" and it executes a specific analytical framework with structured outputs, scoring, and transitions to the next step.
Skills are modular. They chain. They build on each other. And when you sequence 10 of them, you get a full venture analysis pipeline that rivals what a junior VC analyst would take a week to produce.
The Venture Analyst Agent
The agent operates from a core system prompt that defines its role, behavioral rules, and operating logic. The profile is a hybrid:
- McKinsey consultant for structured, evidence-based reasoning and clean deliverables
- VC analyst for honest kill assessments, unit economics rigor, and deal logic
- Operator for resource constraints and capital-efficient thinking
It applies 6 strategic filters to every idea before running the full pipeline:
- Capital Efficiency: MVP + first 10 customers for under €50K
- Time to Signal: market validation within 60-90 days
- B2B Focus: selling to businesses, not consumers
- Asset Leverage: must activate at least one existing company asset
- Revenue Path: realistic path to €5K-20K MRR within 12 months
- Portfolio Fit: strengthens the portfolio, doesn't cannibalize it
If an idea fails 2+ filters at the first skill, the agent flags it immediately and doesn't waste cycles running a full pipeline.
The 10 Skills
Skill 01: Idea Clarity & Scoping
The entry gate. Transforms a raw idea into a structured Idea Brief with a problem-solution hypothesis, initial ICP sketch, and assumptions to validate. If the idea is too vague, the agent asks 3-5 targeted clarifying questions instead of guessing.
Output: Idea Brief + Clarity Score (1-5)
Skill 02: Market Sizing & Analysis
No more "the market feels big." This skill builds a TAM/SAM/SOM using both top-down and bottom-up approaches, calibrated to European market data. It assesses market dynamics, timing, and growth rate.
Output: Market Sizing Brief with TAM/SAM/SOM figures and Market Attractiveness Score
Skill 03: Customer Discovery & Validation Design
Defines the Ideal Customer Profile in three layers: firmographic, psychographic, behavioral. Maps the pain hierarchy (Level 1-4), Jobs-to-Be-Done, and designs 3-5 validation experiments with success criteria before you spend a cent.
Output: Customer Discovery Brief + Validation Experiment Designs
Skill 04: Competitive Landscape Mapping
Identifies direct, indirect, and adjacent competitors. Builds a 2x2 positioning matrix, maps competitor blind spots, and defines where the company's sustainable competitive advantage actually sits. Finds the white space.
Output: Competitive Landscape Map + Strategic Positioning Recommendation
Skill 05: Business Model & Unit Economics Design
Selects the revenue model architecture, designs pricing tiers, and calculates the full unit economics stack: CAC, LTV, payback period, margins. Builds a 12-month revenue projection across base, bull, and bear scenarios. Stress-tests every assumption.
Output: Business Model Blueprint + Unit Economics Scorecard + 12-Month Projections
Skill 06: Risk Assessment (VC Lens)
Scans 9 risk categories the way a VC due diligence team would: Market, Customer, Competition, Technology, Business Model, Execution, Financial, Regulatory, and Strategic Fit. Scores each on likelihood x impact. Identifies "Kill Risks" - existential threats that must be validated before you proceed.
Output: Risk Assessment Matrix + Kill Risk List + Mitigation Playbook
Skill 07: Strategic Fit Filter
This is where most generic frameworks fall apart. A great idea for someone else can be a NO GO for your company. This skill evaluates the idea against your specific assets, constraints, and portfolio. Not in the abstract. Capital Efficiency and Time to Signal are double-weighted.
Output: Strategic Fit Assessment (/40) + Asset Leverage Analysis + Build/Partner/Pass Recommendation
Skill 08: GO / NO GO Decision Framework
The synthesis. Compiles evidence from all prior skills, applies a hard kill-risk gate, runs a weighted decision matrix across 8 dimensions, and delivers a clear verdict: GO, CONDITIONAL GO, or NO GO. Includes bull/bear cases and execution guardrails.
The agent is instructed to kill bad ideas clearly. No softening a NO GO into a CONDITIONAL GO to avoid discomfort.
Output: Decision Document with Verdict + Execution Guardrails + Kill Criteria
Skill 09: Go-to-Market Strategy
Only runs after a GO or CONDITIONAL GO verdict. Designs the full launch plan: positioning, phased acquisition strategy (Validation → First Revenue → Growth), channel-by-channel plan, launch sequence, sales process, and a 90-day execution calendar with weekly actions and budget allocation.
Output: GTM Playbook + 90-Day Calendar + Budget Allocation
Skill 10: Adjacent Opportunity Discovery
The pipeline doesn't stop at launch. This skill scans 6 adjacency dimensions (same customer/different problem, same problem/different customer, platform plays, value chain expansion, geographic expansion, business model innovation) and scores adjacent opportunities to build your exploration pipeline.
Output: Adjacent Opportunity Map + Scored Opportunity Table + Portfolio Integration Matrix
How to Set It Up
- Create a new Claude Project
- Add the Company Context skill to project knowledge (your company's assets, products, and strategic direction; the agent references this constantly). Feel free to use Claude chat to help you create this one.
- Upload all 10 skill files to project knowledge or to Claude directly (Customize tab)
- Paste the your Venture Analyst system prompt as the project's custom instructions. Make sure it has your company context and feel free to use the content of this article to help you set it up.
- Start pitching ideas
You can run the full pipeline sequentially or jump to specific skills. The agent handles both modes.
What It Actually Produces
When you pitch an idea, you get:
- A structured Idea Brief
- A market sizing with real numbers
- An ICP with validated pain hierarchy
- A competitive map with your positioning
- Unit economics with 12-month projections
- A scored risk matrix with kill risks flagged
- A company-specific strategic fit assessment
- A clear GO / NO GO verdict
- A 90-day GTM calendar (if GO)
- An adjacent opportunity map for what to build next
That's what a consulting team charges €50K to produce. The agent does it in one session.
One Important Note
The agent is only as good as your Company Context skill. That file is the foundation. It defines your assets, your portfolio, your constraints, your team. Keep it updated. When you launch a new product or change strategic direction, update the skill. The agent references it on every analysis.
The skills are available for download below. Adapt the Company Context template to your own company, drop in the system prompt, and you're running.
Download ZIP file with all skills →
Install through Skills.sh: npx skills add hypermari0/venture-analyst-skills
I'm Mário Alves, CEO of LayerX, an AI-powered studio based in Porto. We're a small team and we can't afford to chase the wrong ideas. This framework is how we keep that discipline.