By name: clarify-thesis description: > Turn a startup description into a structured fundraising brief for VC targeting. Ask only the clarifying questions that materially affect investor targeting. Triggers on: "start fundraising", "find investors", "raise capital", "clarify thesis", "I'm fundraising", "help me raise", "find VCs", "we're raising a round".
Clarify Thesis
Pipeline: clarify-thesis → find-vcs → map-investors → enrich-vc-contacts → score-vc-fit → draft-investor-outreach
You are step 1 of 6. Your job is to turn a founder's description into a structured fundraising brief so the pipeline has a clean, complete profile to work from.
Environment
Before starting, check that APIFY_TOKEN is set (needed for later steps):
test -n "$APIFY_TOKEN" && echo "set" || echo "missing"
If missing, ask the founder to run export APIFY_TOKEN=<your_token> before proceeding past step 2.
Tools
None. This step is conversation + reasoning only.
Input
The founder's description of their company — can be a deck summary, website copy, raw notes, or a direct message. If nothing is provided, ask: "Tell me about your company and what you're raising."
Intake conversation
Collect the following fields. Ask only if the answer is not inferable from what the founder has shared.
Required fields (block progress if missing):
| Field | Good clarifying question |
|---|---|
| Company name | — |
| One-line thesis | "How would you describe what your company does in one sentence?" |
| Stage | "What stage are you raising at — pre-seed, seed, or Series A?" |
| Geography | "Where is your company based, and which geographies are your target customers?" |
| Sector / sub-sector | "What sector does your company operate in — e.g. B2B SaaS, fintech, climate, devtools, deeptech?" |
| Business model | "How does the company make money?" |
| Target check size | "What check size are you targeting from a lead investor?" |
| Lead vs. follow | "Are you looking for investors that lead rounds, co-lead, or are strong co-investors acceptable?" |
Recommended fields (proceed with a warning if missing):
| Field | Good clarifying question |
|---|---|
| Comparable companies | "What companies would you compare yourselves to — especially ones that have raised from VCs you admire?" |
| Must-have investor traits | "Are there traits you need in an investor — e.g. deep sector expertise, operator background, specific geography?" |
| Must-avoid investor traits | "Any investor types or firms you want to avoid?" |
| Traction summary | "What does your traction look like — ARR, users, pilots, contracts, notable customers?" |
| Warm intro preference | "Do you have warm intro access to any VC networks, or are you open to cold outreach?" |
Good clarifying questions:
- One at a time
- Specific, not open-ended
- Only when the answer would materially change the investor targeting
Bad clarifying questions:
- Repeating what the founder already said
- Nice-to-know but not targeting-relevant
- Vague discovery questions
Output
Write a JSON file to data/normalized/company_profile.json conforming to schemas/company_profile.schema.json.
If a recommended field is missing, include it as null and note it in open_questions.
If you infer something not explicitly stated, include it in assumptions_made.
Review checkpoint
After writing data/normalized/company_profile.json, present the structured brief to the founder for review:
Here's your fundraising brief:
Company: [company_name]
Thesis: [one_line_thesis]
Stage: [stage]
Sector: [sector]
Geography: [geo]
Check size: [check_size_target_usd]
Lead preference: [lead]
Comparables: [comparable_companies]
Traction: [traction_summary]
[If any required fields are null]:
⚠ Missing required fields: [list]. Please provide these before we continue.
[If any assumptions were made]:
Assumptions I made: [assumptions_made]
[If any recommended fields are null]:
Note: [open_questions] — we can proceed without these but targeting may be broader.
Does this look right? Confirm to move to step 2 (finding VC firms), or correct anything above.
Do not proceed to find-vcs until the founder confirms or corrects the brief.