Research Entity

Research Entity — Competitive / Due-Diligence Dossier

Generate a board-ready research report on any legal entity. Modular skill: this entrypoint defines the workflow + arguments; segment files contain the heavy reference content (registers, review platforms, mermaid validation, exports, voice rules, persona library, lessons).

Modular skill structure

Core (always or commonly loaded):

| File | Loaded when | |---|---| | SKILL.md (this file) | Always — entrypoint | | registers.md | Entity is non-US OR has international subsidiaries OR §3.4 Related Entities needs verifying any non-US legal entity | | reviews-platforms.md | Step 2 (source gathering) + Step 4 (drafting §11 Community Reception) + §16 negative-review evidence + persona-specific Playbook (talent, customer-renewal, press) | | mermaid-validation.md | After Step 4 (Draft) + before any HTML/PDF export + after post-draft edits to mermaid | | exports.md | --export=html\|pdf\|both set OR convert-only mode | | voice-and-style.md | Step 4 (Draft) + any post-draft revision | | citations.md | Step 4 (Draft) — to know --citations=inline\|footnotes\|endnotes style + when user asks to convert between styles | | playbook-personas.md | Writing §0 Strategic Response Playbook | | lessons.md | Reviewing draft for failure-mode patterns + user pushback on aggregator-derived data | | confidence-scoring.md | Step 8 — writing the §23 Appendix — Confidence & Methodology section | | glossary-catalog.md | Step 4 — writing §22 Glossary; pre-defined catalog of ~100+ canonical entries across funding / standards / security / AI / sales / business-registers categories. Use as a menu against the body scan, not as a literal copy-paste. | | risk-scan.md | Always at Step 2 — produces §16.X Red-Flag Scan unless --no-risk-scan. 8 patterns: layoffs, exec departures, lawsuits, breaches, regulatory, Glassdoor, status outages, leadership controversy. |

Stage / vertical / template modifiers:

| File | Loaded when | |---|---| | stage-templates.md | --stage= set OR auto-detected from /about + funding rows (seed / series-a / series-b / series-c / growth / pe / public) | | vertical-templates.md | --vertical= set OR auto-detected from /about keywords (healthcare / fintech / govtech / edtech / legaltech / devtools / consumer / saas / deeptech) |

Modes:

| File | Loaded when | |---|---| | comparison-mode.md | --compare=A.md,B.md OR --year-over-year set — produces side-by-side or YoY-diff dossier instead of single-entity | | stale-detection.md | Convert-only mode (always — to flag freshness before exporting) OR after Step 8 in full-research mode OR user asks "is this still accurate?" | | mcp-server.md | --mcp-serve set OR user asks "expose dossiers as MCP" / "make this queryable" |

Extended data sources & deep-dives:

| File | Loaded when | |---|---| | data-sources-extended.md | --data-sources= set OR auto-activated (US-incorporated → SEC EDGAR; devtool → GitHub; deeptech → USPTO; always cheap → Wayback + LinkedIn + PACER) | | benchmarks.md | --benchmark set OR --stage=series-b\|growth\|pe\|public (auto). Adds §X Industry Benchmarks comparing to public cohort medians (Bessemer / OpenView / KeyBanc / ICONIQ / Battery / Sapphire). | | audits.md | --audit=pricing\|tech-stack\|customer-concentration\|ai-maturity set (composable) — adds focused deep-dive subsections beyond the default 23 |

v2.2 Professional methodology layer (gold-standard intelligence-community + Big 4 CDD techniques):

| File | Loaded when | |---|---| | analytic-techniques.md | --type=due-diligence\|investment (always) OR --analytic-rigor=high set. Implements ACH (Heuer/CIA Analysis of Competing Hypotheses), SATs (Devil's Advocate, Pre-mortem, Key Assumptions Check), and ICD 203 expressed-uncertainty discipline. | | source-rating.md | --source-rating=admiralty set OR --type=due-diligence\|investment AND --validation=max. Applies the formal NATO/Five Eyes A-F × 1-6 source rating notation alongside our existing ad-hoc labels. | | frameworks.md | --framework= set with anything beyond swot (e.g. pestel, porter5, vrio, value-chain, all) OR auto-activated by --vertical= (PESTEL for govtech/healthcare/fintech/edtech/legaltech; Porter5 for consumer; VRIO for devtools/deeptech). | | expert-calls.md | --export=expert-call-questions\|customer-reference-questions set OR --type=due-diligence\|investment AND --depth=deep (auto). Generates Tegus/GLG/Third Bridge expert-call question batteries + 3 variants of customer reference call templates (current, churned, lost-deal-prospect). | | competitor-verification.md | MANDATORY for --type=competitive\|due-diligence\|investment before §10 Market Positioning ships. Pre-publication verification protocol for competitor-row data — lead-investor identity (≥3 sources, named-partner attribution preferred), HQ city (press release dateline canonical), bundled-announcement round structure (Bloomberg/TC primary breakdown), numeric-figure attribution drift (verify cited number is in cited source). Codifies lessons #41-45 from lessons.md into an executable checklist. |

v2.6 Public-source verification + ARR triangulation + regulatory overlay layer:

| File | Loaded when | |---|---| | source-hierarchy.md | MANDATORY for --type=competitive\|due-diligence\|investment. Codifies a 4-tier source hierarchy (T1 primary registers/filings/press-release-datelines · T2 named-byline financial press · T3 structured analyst databases · T4 aggregator paraphrase). Adds Wayback Machine forensic source-dating (verify what page said when claim applied) and customer-logo round-trip verification (catch logo-wash). Citations: SPJ Code of Ethics, AICPA AT-C 105, ICIJ standards, Bellingcat handbook, Reuters Handbook of Journalism. | | marketplace-signals.md | Auto-load when entity has any marketplace listing (Salesforce AppExchange / HubSpot Marketplace / Atlassian Marketplace / Microsoft AppSource / Slack App Directory / Chrome Web Store / AWS Marketplace / npm / PyPI / GitHub Marketplace). Marketplace install counts are often the only public usage signal for B2B SaaS. Atlassian Marketplace is the gold standard (exact daily-refreshed install counts). | | osint-public.md | --depth=deep AND any of: --vertical=security\|fintech\|govtech (auto-load MITRE ATT&CK / KEV / NVD CVE) OR --data-sources= includes dns, trademark, mitre, linkedin-velocity, job-velocity. Five OSINT layers — job-posting velocity (Greenhouse/Lever/Ashby), MITRE ATT&CK + CISA KEV + NVD, DNS / passive DNS / SSL transparency (crt.sh, SecurityTrails), trademark (USPTO TM Search / EUIPO / WIPO), founder LinkedIn velocity. | | arr-triangulation.md | --type=investment\|due-diligence AND entity is private SaaS without disclosed audited ARR. ARR-proxy math via Bessemer / OpenView / KeyBanc / ICONIQ / Sapphire $/FTE benchmarks; AE-quota × attainment; marketplace-install conversion; web-traffic conversion. | | regulatory-overlay.md | Auto-load when entity has international operations OR --vertical=healthcare\|fintech\|govtech\|legaltech\|edtech OR --type=due-diligence. Combines Ghemawat CAGE Distance Framework (HBR 2001) + regulatory exposure (GDPR, EU AI Act, OFAC, HIPAA, PCI DSS, FedRAMP, ISO 27001, etc.). | | press-analysis.md | Always for --type=due-diligence\|investment and --depth=deep. Three layered analyses: earned-vs-paid press distinction (PRovoke EMI + AMEC Barcelona Principles), conference / event presence (marketing-budget proxy), trust-center auditor verification (Drata/Vanta/Secureframe-hosted vs. self-published; AICPA Peer Review + IAF accreditation lookups). |

v2.12 SaaS-CXO layer (NEW — Tier S high-leverage outputs for SaaS executives):

| File | Loaded when | |---|---| | win-loss.md | --win-loss flag set OR --type=competitive AND --audience=c-suite\|operator\|investor (auto-suggest) OR user asks "where do they win?" / "what's their win rate?" / "why do we lose to them?". Codifies public-source win/loss inference (G2/TrustRadius "switched from / switched to" verbatim mining, Reddit thread mining, comparison-page narrative analysis, Glassdoor sales-team commentary) + with-input-data mode (--win-loss= integrates user's own deal data as ground-truth). Industry validation: Klue, Crayon G2 category, Monetizely. Win-rate benchmarks: 20-35% average / 40-50% high-growth / >50% category-defining. Adds Cat J techniques #73, #83, #89 (win-rate-without-denominator rule, win-driver-needs-3-reviews, verbatim-quote discipline). | | saas-economics.md | Auto-load when --audience=board\|investor set OR --type=investment\|due-diligence AND entity is private B2B SaaS without disclosed audited financials, OR --unit-economics flag set. Multi-method estimation rubrics for NRR / CAC / LTV / CAC Payback. Bessemer canonical tiers (the language SaaS boards speak): 100/110/120 = Good/Better/Best. ICONIQ at-$10M-ARR portfolio: bottom 105% / median 140% / top >145%. Methods: expansion-team inference, case-study upgrade narrative density, investor-disclosure mining, churn-signal inverse-correlation. Adds Cat J techniques #74, #75, #84 (Bessemer-canonical-tier discipline, multi-method estimate band rule, cohort-benchmark citation). | | moat-scoring.md | Auto-load when --audience=board\|investor OR --type=due-diligence\|investment AND --depth=deep, OR --moat=helmer flag set. Implements Hamilton Helmer's 7 Powers framework — the SaaS-investor-class moat lexicon validated by Helmer's 22-year 41.5% CAGR vs 14.9% S&P 500. Each of 7 powers (Scale Economies / Network Economies / Counter-Positioning / Switching Costs / Branding / Cornered Resource / Process Power) scored 0-3 with explicit public-source evidence. Powers don't sum — any single power of 3+ can sustain a business. Adds Cat J techniques #76, #77, #78, #85, #86 (Helmer no-aggregation rule, switching cost friction mechanism, network effect degree-N evidence, counter-positioning incumbent-paralysis, process power 5+ year evidence). | | roadmap-inference.md | Auto-load when --depth=deep AND --type=competitive\|due-diligence\|investment, OR --roadmap flag set. Five-channel public-source inference: job postings (3-9mo horizon), GitHub commits (1-3mo), patents (12-36mo, 40-60% abandonment), conference talks (6-18mo), beta-program leaks (variable). Critical caveat: patent filing ≠ product shipping. Industry validation: Rathvane, Aqute, Visualping. Adds Cat J techniques #79, #80, #81, #82, #87, #88 (patent ≠ product, job-posting horizon, conference ≠ shipping, GitHub ≠ direction, multi-channel convergence, counter-evidence check). |

v2.7-v2.11 Internal-consistency + framing-discipline + claim-coverage layer:

| File | Loaded when | |---|---| | internal-consistency.md | MANDATORY at Step 5 (Validate) for --type=competitive\|due-diligence\|investment AND for any dossier edited across multiple revisions. Codifies Cat J anti-hallucination techniques (#50-72) across 23 failure patterns. v2.7 (#50-57): internal-consistency cross-reference scan, version-label sweep, audit-completion-rate honesty, numeric-precision discipline, tier-generosity check, triangulation-independence test, default-outcome probability check, two-dimension confidence rule. v2.9 (#58-60): count-vs-enumeration reconciliation, terminology-rename residue sweep, duplicate-paragraph scan. NEW v2.11 (#61-72) caught by reader-side validation 2026-04-27 on AcmeCRM brief: speaker-vs-founder identity discipline (#61 — press-release quote attributions ≠ founder list), aggregator-data freshness sweep (#62 — T3 citations >12mo need refresh search), parent-network multiplier acknowledgement (#63 — headcount-velocity claims must include parent-network from same source), comprehensive comparison-directory probe (#64 — /comparison/ is the highest-leverage source for --type=competitive), "not publicly disclosed" verification ladder (#65 — check legal-firm + deal-database + regulatory-filings before claiming privacy), single-feature → category-claim guard (#66 — slot-filling pressure), negation-evidence rule (#67 — "no X" claims need surface + date + searched-strings), quasi-deterministic-claim guard (#68 — "categorically beyond / cannot trivially / will never" → Tetlock-rewrite), comparator-pricing source rule (#69 — competitor prices must link to that competitor's /pricing), subagent-audit blindspot rule (#70 — Step 6 audit shares writer's blindspots; require fresh-fetch sample), load-bearing claim N-source rule (#71 — claim repeated 3+ times needs ≥2 sources), round-number / no-methodology vendor-metric labeling (#72). |

v2.8 Skill maintenance + sources-of-record layer:

| File | Loaded when | |---|---| | sources-of-record.md | --validate-skill-sources flag set OR maintainer is updating skill citations OR onboarding new maintainer. Central registry of every load-bearing external source cited by the skill — primary URL, backup/mirror, last-verified date, update cadence (frozen / annual / continuous / irregular), decay-risk flag (STABLE / ANNUAL / CONTINUOUS / URL-PRONE / REGULATORY / SHUTDOWN-RISK), cited-in file list, migration notes. Single source of truth for skill maintenance — when a source migrates, update one row instead of search-and-replacing across 39 files. Organized into 11 categories (A-K). Includes monthly/quarterly/annual maintenance protocols. | | about.md | --about flag set — print self-documentation (5 methodology layers, 35 anti-hallucination techniques, comparison to Big 4 / Klue / Forrester / Gartner standards, version history, invocation examples, cost/runtime). Mutually exclusive with dossier generation — when --about is set, do NOT run any research/draft steps. | | multi-agent.md | --agents= flag set OR auto-activated by --depth=deep (parallel) / --type=due-diligence\|investment (max). Defines 4-level parallelism strategy (solo / validation / parallel / max) with which workstreams delegate to subagents at each level. Max-mode adds independent ACH agent (blind to main draft), Devil's Advocate, Pre-mortem, Key Assumptions Check, per-pattern risk-scan, fact-check. |

v2.4 Strategic-analysis layer (futures + valuation + strategy classics):

| File | Loaded when | |---|---| | scenarios.md | --scenarios=2x2\|cone-of-plausibility\|both set OR --type=due-diligence\|investment AND --depth=deep (auto). Implements Royal Dutch Shell scenario-planning (2x2 axes) + Hancock & Bezold Cone of Plausibility for 3-5 year forward-looking analysis. | | valuation.md | --valuation=dcf\|comps\|public-multiples\|lbo\|all set OR --type=investment AND --depth=deep (auto). Implements 4 canonical valuation methodologies: DCF, Comparable Transactions, Public-Comp Multiples, LBO Modeling. Required for --export=vc-memo. | | strategy-classics.md | --framework= includes christensen\|moore\|rumelt\|jtbd\|wardley\|classics\|all. Implements 5 strategy classics: Christensen Disruption Theory, Moore Crossing the Chasm, Rumelt Strategy Kernel (alternative to SWOT for synthesis), Christensen/Ulwick Job-to-be-Done, Wardley Mapping. Auto-loads JTBD + Christensen for --type=investment; Rumelt Strategy Kernel for --type=due-diligence + --depth=deep. |

Output formats & publishing:

| File | Loaded when | |---|---| | **output-formats.md

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Source & license

This open-source skill is cataloged on AgentStack and links to its original source — we do not rehost the code.

• Author: soreavis
• Source: soreavis/research-entity
• License: MIT

Install and usage instructions live in the source repository linked above.