elophanto / drive-business

Drive my business

The operator handed you a URL or business name and asks you to operate it. Do NOT respond conversationally. Do NOT jump straight to outreach. Do NOT just goal_create and call it done. Follow this decision tree.

Triggers

• drive my business
• drive X.com
• I have a business at
• operate this company
• run my business
• set up X.com as ABE
• onboard X.com
• launch this business

Decision tree

1. Resolve the slug from the URL/name (alphascala.com → alphascala).
2. company_list — does the slug exist?
3. If exists, check data/companies/<slug>/strategy/active/strategy.yaml — does an active strategy exist?

NEW slug                            → PATH A: onboard
EXISTING + no active strategy       → PATH B: Phase 11 pipeline
EXISTING + active strategy          → PATH C: execute (don't re-plan)

PATH A — onboard a new company

Do NOT write what_we_sell blind and call onboard. Research first, propose the onboard params to the operator as a table, let them approve/modify, THEN call onboard. Same pattern as PATH B step 2.

1. Research the business (parallel where possible):

   • browser_navigate(<url>) + browser_extract on homepage
   • browser_navigate(<url>/about) + /pricing + /hire + /faq if they exist
   • web_search('<domain> <industry>') for industry context
   • web_search('<domain> competitors') for the competitive frame

2. Propose onboard params in chat as a table:

   Field	Recommended	Rationale
   slug	<derived from domain>	URL stem, lowercase, hyphenated
   name	<from homepage title / brand>	as the business presents itself
   what_we_sell	<1-3 sentence value prop>	from homepage + pricing page
   seed_goal	"Establish baseline metrics + first paid customer" (or stage-appropriate)	from product stage
   price	<{amount, currency, model}>	from /pricing if found, else null
   fulfillment	<delivery model>	from /hire or how the product is delivered
   channels	<["channel1", "channel2"]>	from contact methods / social links on the site
   kpis	<[{type: pipeline_advance, target_weekly: N}]>	from stated growth metrics or stage-appropriate defaults

   Add: "Approve all, or tell me which to change. Slug becomes the ABE id and shouldn't change after onboard."

3. After operator confirms: ONE call to company_onboard(slug, name, what_we_sell, seed_goal, price?, fulfillment?, channels?, kpis?). Atomically creates the row, writes company.yaml, persists the sidecar, materializes exemplars/{twitter,email}/. Trust state defaults to learning.
4. Continue to PATH B — newly onboarded means no strategy yet.

PATH B — Phase 11 pipeline

See [[strategy-pipeline]] for the exact procedure. Briefly:

1. Research, THEN propose strategy_inputs. Do NOT ask the operator blank questions. Ground every field in research first, then present recommendations with one-line rationale. Operator approves all / modifies specific items / overrides:

   • Research moves to run first (parallel where possible): browser_navigate(<url>) + browser_extract + revisit /about, /pricing, /hire if they exist; web_search('<domain> competitors') or web_search('<industry> top tools 2026'); company_report(<slug>) for ledger/pipeline state; file_read companies/<slug>/company.yaml for declared channels/KPIs.

   • Then propose each field with rationale. Most CAN be derived from research:

     • target_audience ← from homepage + /hire positioning
     • competitors ← web_search + industry knowledge
     • current_challenges ← from company_report ledger gaps + product page friction
     • unique_selling_points ← from homepage value props + features
     • primary_goals ← from product type (hire page → Sales Growth + Lead Gen; content site → Thought Leadership)
     • strategy_mode ← from brand tone (corporate B2B → standard; punk brand → unconventional; small budget + viral potential → guerrilla)
     • focus ← from declared channels + recent ledger activity

     • posture (via company_set_posture): propose intent preset or maturity×objective —
       startup_founder (pre_revenue+validate), established, profitability, or growth.
       Heuristic: no revenue → startup_founder; thin runway / "cut burn" → profitability;
       "scale acquisition" → growth; multi-surface ops with revenue → established.

   • Operator-decided fields (suggest defaults but flag for confirmation):

     • budget_type / budget_amount / budget_period — default to organic / 0 / monthly if no signal
     • risk_tolerance (0-100) — suggest 50 (balanced) unless brand tone is aggressive
     • timeline_hint — suggest "first paid customer in 30 days, repeatable cadence in 90" or similar based on stage
   • Present as a table in chat. Example format: field | recommended value | rationale (≤15 words). Add: "Approve all, or tell me which to change."
2. Set posture, then bundle plan. After operator confirms: company_set_posture(slug, intent=…) (or maturity+objective), then company_plan_full(slug, …strategy_inputs…) — ONE MODERATE for the plan bundle. Internally runs capabilities audit + writes strategyinputs to company.yaml + generates the proposal + applies it (mission + goals + schedules + `voiceproposed.yaml+blockers.yaml`). Saves 2 of the previously chained MODERATE gates.
3. Approve. company_plan_approve(<slug>) — MODERATE finalize. Trust act for voice_proposed.yaml — kept separate by design so operator sees the voice draft before promoting.
4. Surface blockers to operator. Stop — autonomous mind picks up tactics on next wakeup.

Fallback (legacy 4-call chain): if company_plan_full is unavailable, fall back to company_capabilities → company_set_strategy_inputs → company_plan → company_plan_apply → company_plan_approve. Same result, 3 extra MODERATE gates.

PATH C — execute existing strategy

The work is already planned. Don't re-plan unless operator asks.

1. elophanto strategy show <slug> (or file_read strategy/active/strategy.yaml).
2. company_report <slug> for current ledger/pipeline.
3. Unresolved blockers in blockers.yaml → surface to operator.
4. Don't create new goals yourself — arbiter is supposed to pick from strategy's tactics. Let it work.

Hard rules

• ❌ Never goal_create directly for "drive my business" — bypasses planning.
• ❌ Never skip company_capabilities — it grounds the planner in available surfaces.
• ❌ Never promote voice_proposed or trust state yourself — operator only.
• ❌ Never draft outreach during this skill — drafts are downstream of plan + voice approval.

Verify

• [ ] companies/<slug>/company.yaml has non-empty what_we_sell
• [ ] PATH B: companies/<slug>/company.yaml has posture: (maturity × objective)
• [ ] PATH B: data/companies/<slug>/strategy/active/strategy.yaml exists
• [ ] PATH B: blockers surfaced to operator with action hints
• [ ] Sidecar ~/.elophanto/current_company points at the right slug