Startup Positioning

What the source does

• FilesystemNone observedNo reads or writes in the source
• NetworkNone observedNo outbound calls in the source
• ShellNone observedNo commands run in the source
• DependenciesPinnedNothing floats
• SecretsNone foundNo keys in source

Five audit layers

Gates applied: no behavioural pass.

Audit 0.4.1 · source sha 053aee617f0d · 18 Oct 2026Report an issue or request a re-scan

• Publisherferdinandobons GitHub userOwner of the repository this skill is read from
• Source folderferdinandobons/startup-skill/startup-positioningThe exact folder we audited
• LicenceMITAs the repository states it
• Commit pinned for this verdict053aee617f0dA new audit runs when the source changes
• Repository statusNot archivedLast push 109 days ago
• Sandboxed runNot runSkills are read, not executed; layer L4 is skipped

Its description: Market positioning strategy using the April Dunford framework, enriched with JTBD discovery, Moore positioning statement, and Neumeier's Onliness Test. Produces a complete positioning document, positioning statement,…

---
name: startup-positioning
description: Market positioning strategy using the April Dunford framework, enriched with JTBD discovery, Moore positioning statement, and Neumeier's Onliness Test. Produces a complete positioning document, positioning statement, competitive alternatives map, and market category analysis. Use when the user wants to define or refine their market positioning, find their unique position, differentiate from competitors, craft a positioning statement, choose a market category, or figure out "how should we position this product." Triggers for "positioning", "how to position", "market position", "differentiation strategy", "positioning statement", "competitive positioning", "category strategy", "where do we fit in the market", "how are we different", "unique value proposition", or any request to define, sharpen, or rethink positioning. Works standalone — no prior startup-design or startup-competitors session needed, but leverages their output if available.
---

# Startup Positioning

Market positioning strategy that produces a complete positioning document, Moore + Neumeier positioning statements, competitive alternatives map, and market category analysis. Built on April Dunford's framework, enriched with JTBD discovery and stress-tested with Neumeier's Onliness Test.

## How It Works

```
INTAKE → RESEARCH (2 sequential waves) → POSITIONING SYNTHESIS
```

The process: understand the product and its customers, research competitive alternatives and market context, then build positioning through Dunford's 5+1 components. Typical runtime: 10-15 minutes in Claude Code (parallel agents), 20-30 minutes in Claude.ai (sequential).

### Language

Default output language is **English**. If the user writes in another language or explicitly requests one, use that language for all outputs instead.

---

## Phase 0: Resume Check

Before anything else, check if a `PROGRESS.md` created by this skill exists in the working directory or a project subdirectory (the skill name field says `startup-positioning`). If it does, read it and resume from the last incomplete phase. Tell the user: "I found progress from a previous session. You completed [phases]. Picking up from [next phase]."

If no progress file exists — or the one found belongs to a different skill — start from Phase 1.

---

## Phase 1: Intake

Short and focused — 1-2 rounds of questions. The goal is enough context to research alternatives and build positioning.

### Check for Prior Work

Before asking questions, check if prior sessions have been completed. Look for these files in the working directory or subdirectories:

**From startup-design:**
- `00-intake/brief.md` — product description and context
- `01-discovery/competitor-landscape.md` — competitor profiles
- `01-discovery/target-audience.md` — customer personas, pain points
- `02-strategy/positioning.md` — initial positioning work

**From startup-competitors:**
- `intake.md` — product and market context
- `competitors-report.md` — strategic competitive analysis
- `battle-cards/` — per-competitor profiles
- `pricing-landscape.md` — pricing analysis

If these files exist, read them and use the data as a head start:
- Extract the product description, known competitors, and customer pain points
- Use competitor profiles and battle cards to seed the competitive alternatives map
- Pull any existing positioning work as a starting hypothesis to test, not a conclusion to keep
- Use customer language and pain points to inform JTBD discovery

Tell the user: "I found data from a previous session. I'll use it as a starting point for positioning analysis."

Skip redundant intake questions. Go straight to research if prior data is sufficient.

### What to Ask (if no prior data exists)

**Round 1 — Core context:**
- What's your product? (one sentence is fine)
- What problem does it solve and for whom?
- What do your customers do today instead of using you? (alternatives, workarounds, doing nothing)
- Who are your best existing customers? (if any — describe them, not demographics)

**Round 2 — Sharpening (only if needed):**
- How is your product different from the alternatives you mentioned?
- Have you tried positioning before? What didn't work?
- Are there competitors you're often compared to?

Don't over-interview. If the user gives a clear description upfront, move to research. The positioning process itself will surface what matters.

### Output

Save to `{project-name}/intake.md` — a brief summary of the product, problem, alternatives, and customers. If built on prior session data, note the source files used. Project name: kebab-case (e.g., `ai-email-assistant`).

Create `{project-name}/PROGRESS.md` with: project name, skill name (`startup-positioning`), start date, language, research mode (Live / Knowledge-Based), and a phase checklist. Update it after each phase completes. If PROGRESS.md already exists from a previous session, resume from the last incomplete phase.

---

## Phase 1.5: Research Depth Assessment

After intake, assess market complexity and present the Research Depth recommendation to the user.

> **Reference:** Read `references/research-scaling.md` for the complexity scoring matrix, tier definitions, wave configurations, and the user communication template.

### Process

1. Score three factors from the intake: market breadth (1-3), known competitors (1-3), geographic scope (1-3)
2. Sum the scores (range 3-9) and map to a tier: Light (3-4), Standard (5-7), Deep (8-9)
3. Present the Research Depth table to the user (see `research-scaling.md` for the exact template)
4. Wait for user response: **light**, **deep**, or **ok** to accept the recommendation
5. Record the selected tier in PROGRESS.md

The selected tier determines the number of agents per wave and search rounds per agent in Phase 2. See `research-scaling.md` for exact wave configurations per tier.

---

## Phase 2: Research

Two sequential research waves exploring competitive alternatives and market context

Excerpt, first 6,000 characters of SKILL.md, verbatim from the audited commit. It is text from someone else’s repository, quoted so you can judge it before your agent reads it.

1. 2026-10-18
   ✓SAFE B 89 / 100

   first audit · source 053aee617f0d

Questions about Startup Positioning

• github.com/ferdinandobons/startup-skill/tree/main/startup-positi — the audited source at commit 053aee617f0d and every finding aboveObserved · 18 Oct 2026

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