A Claude Code skill that runs structured business mentorship sessions modeled after Y Combinator partner office hours. Get direct, evidence-based feedback on business ideas, marketing campaigns, and go-to-market strategies.
Built from analysis of 19 YC partner videos (Paul Graham, Sam Altman, Gustaf Alstromer, Kevin Hale, Des Traynor, and others) and inspired by gstack's office-hours and plan-ceo-review skill architecture.
Runs an 8-step mentorship session that challenges your assumptions and delivers a clear verdict:
- Opening — "So, what are you working on?"
- Depth Ladder — Escalating questions to peel away assumptions
- Deep Dive — Mode-specific frameworks applied to your situation
- Premise Challenge — Your core assumptions tested one by one
- Verdict — PROCEED / TEST FIRST / PIVOT / KILL
- Action Plan — One concrete, do-it-this-week assignment
| Mode | Use When | Frameworks Applied |
|---|---|---|
| IDEA | Evaluating a new business concept | Problem Size x Frequency Matrix, Contrarian Insight Test, Founder-Market Fit, Schlep Blindness Scan |
| GROWTH | Scaling an existing business | PMF Evidence Demand, Revenue Per Employee, Consultancy Trap Test, Spending Discipline |
| CAMPAIGN | Reviewing a marketing campaign | One Core Message Rule, Audience Specificity Test, Channel-Market Fit, Content-First Audit |
The skill communicates like a YC partner — direct, evidence-demanding, anti-sycophantic. It will never say "interesting" or "you might consider." It takes positions.
Copy the skill folder to your Claude Code skills directory:
# Clone
git clone https://github.com/crealwork/yc-office-hours.git
# Copy to Claude Code skills
cp -r yc-office-hours ~/.claude/skills/yc-office-hoursOr manually copy the 4 files into ~/.claude/skills/yc-office-hours/:
~/.claude/skills/yc-office-hours/
├── SKILL.md # Core workflow (8 steps)
├── question-bank.md # 80+ questions organized by mode
├── evaluation-rubric.md # Scoring frameworks and tarpit detection
└── partner-voice.md # Communication style rules
In Claude Code, type:
/yc-office-hours
Then describe your business idea, growth challenge, or marketing campaign.
- Paul Graham's 8-Question Framework — Naive opening, escalating depth, constraint hunting
- Des Traynor's Problem Matrix — 2x2 grid (Big/Small x Frequent/Rare) for instant viability filtering
- Sam Altman's Contrarian Venn Diagram — Ideas must sit at intersection of "viable" and "sounds bad"
- Kevin Hale's UX Critique — Live website teardowns, CTA clarity, volume calibration
- "Doing Things That Don't Scale" — Manual validation before automation
- Phase-based sequential workflow with AskUserQuestion gates
- Premise Challenge stage (one assumption at a time)
- Mandatory alternatives generation (never present only one option)
- Founder Signal tracking and scoring
- Anti-sycophancy communication rules
| File | Purpose | When Loaded |
|---|---|---|
SKILL.md |
Core workflow — 8 steps, 3 modes, error handling | Always (on skill trigger) |
question-bank.md |
80+ questions by mode/stage + action templates | Step 4 (Deep Dive) |
evaluation-rubric.md |
Problem Matrix, Signal Scorecard, Campaign Scorecard, Tarpits | Step 6 (Verdict) |
partner-voice.md |
Communication rules, banned phrases, questioning techniques | Step 1 (before first response) |
- YC Partners: Paul Graham, Sam Altman, Gustaf Alstromer, Kevin Hale, Qasar Younis, Pete Koomen, Brad Flora, Nicolas Dessaigne, Des Traynor, and others whose office hours sessions informed the questioning frameworks
- gstack by Garry Tan: The office-hours and plan-ceo-review skill architecture that inspired the phased workflow structure
- Claude Code Skill Spec: agentskills.io/specification
MIT