Business Case Generator

Generate a comprehensive, investor-ready business case document covering market opportunity, solution, competitive landscape, financial projections, team, risks, and funding ask for startup fundraising and strategic planning.

Use this skill when

• Working on business case generator tasks or workflows
• Needing guidance, best practices, or checklists for business case generator

Do not use this skill when

• The task is unrelated to business case generator
• You need a different domain or tool outside this scope

Instructions

• Clarify goals, constraints, and required inputs.
• Apply relevant best practices and validate outcomes.
• Provide actionable steps and verification.
• If detailed examples are required, open resources/implementation-playbook.md.

What This Command Does

Create a complete business case including: 1. Executive summary 2. Problem and market opportunity 3. Solution and product 4. Competitive analysis and differentiation 5. Financial projections 6. Go-to-market strategy 7. Team and organization 8. Risks and mitigation 9. Funding ask and use of proceeds

Instructions for Claude

When this command is invoked, follow these steps:

Step 1: Gather Context

Ask the user for key information:

Company Basics: - Company name and elevator pitch - Stage (pre-seed, seed, Series A) - Problem being solved - Target customers

Audience: - Who will read this? (VCs, angels, strategic partners) - What's the primary goal? (fundraising, partnership, internal planning)

Available Materials: - Existing pitch deck or docs? - Market sizing data? - Financial model? - Competitive analysis?

Step 2: Activate Relevant Skills

Reference skills for comprehensive analysis: - market-sizing-analysis - TAM/SAM/SOM calculations - startup-financial-modeling - Financial projections - competitive-landscape - Competitive analysis frameworks - team-composition-analysis - Organization planning - startup-metrics-framework - Key metrics and benchmarks

Step 3: Structure the Business Case

Create a comprehensive document with these sections:

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Business Case Document Structure

Section 1: Executive Summary (1-2 pages)

Company Overview: - One-sentence description - Founded, location, stage - Team highlights

Problem Statement: - Core problem being solved (2-3 sentences) - Market pain quantified

Solution: - How the product solves it (2-3 sentences) - Key differentiation

Market Opportunity: - TAM: $X.XB - SAM: $X.XM - SOM (Year 5): $X.XM

Traction: - Current metrics (MRR, customers, growth rate) - Key milestones achieved

Financial Snapshot:

| Metric | Current | Year 1 | Year 2 | Year 3 |
|--------|---------|--------|--------|--------|
| ARR | $X | $Y | $Z | $W |
| Customers | X | Y | Z | W |
| Team Size | X | Y | Z | W |
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Funding Ask: - Amount seeking - Use of proceeds (top 3-4) - Expected milestones

Section 2: Problem & Market Opportunity (2-3 pages)

The Problem: - Detailed problem description - Who experiences this problem - Current solutions and their limitations - Cost of the problem (quantified)

Market Landscape: - Industry overview - Key trends driving opportunity - Market growth rate and drivers

Market Sizing: - TAM calculation and methodology - SAM with filters applied - SOM with assumptions - Validation and data sources - Comparison to public companies

Target Customer Profile: - Primary segments - Customer characteristics - Decision-makers and buying process

Section 3: Solution & Product (2-3 pages)

Product Overview: - What it does (features and capabilities) - How it works (architecture/approach) - Key differentiators - Technology advantages

Value Proposition: - Benefits by customer segment - ROI or value delivered - Time to value

Product Roadmap: - Current state - Near-term (6 months) - Medium-term (12-18 months) - Vision (2-3 years)

Intellectual Property: - Patents (filed, pending) - Proprietary technology - Data advantages - Defensibility

Section 4: Competitive Analysis (2 pages)

Competitive Landscape: - Direct competitors - Indirect competitors (alternatives) - Adjacent players (potential entrants)

Competitive Matrix:

| Feature/Factor | Us | Comp A | Comp B | Comp C |
|----------------|----|---------| -------|--------|
| Feature 1 | ✓ | ✓ | ✗ | ✓ |
| Feature 2 | ✓ | ✗ | ✓ | ✗ |
| Pricing | $X | $Y | $Z | $W |
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Differentiation: - 3-5 key differentiators - Why these matter to customers - Defensibility of advantages

Competitive Positioning: - Positioning map (2-3 dimensions) - Market positioning statement

Barriers to Entry: - What protects against competition - Network effects, switching costs, etc.

Section 5: Business Model & Go-to-Market (2 pages)

Business Model: - Revenue model (subscriptions, transactions, etc.) - Pricing strategy and tiers - Customer acquisition approach - Expansion revenue strategy

Go-to-Market Strategy: - Customer acquisition channels - Sales model (self-serve, sales-led, hybrid) - Customer acquisition cost (CAC) - Sales cycle and conversion rates

Marketing Strategy: - Positioning and messaging - Channel strategy - Content and demand generation - Partnerships and integrations

Customer Success: - Onboarding approach - Support model - Retention strategy - Net dollar retention target

Section 6: Financial Projections (2-3 pages)

Revenue Model: - Cohort-based projections - Key assumptions - Revenue breakdown by segment

3-Year Financial Summary:

| Metric | Year 1 | Year 2 | Year 3 |
|--------|--------|--------|--------|
| Revenue | $X.XM | $Y.YM | $Z.ZM |
| Gross Margin | XX% | XX% | XX% |
| Operating Expenses | $X.XM | $Y.YM | $Z.ZM |
| Net Income | ($X.XM) | ($Y.YM) | $Z.ZM |
| EBITDA Margin | (XX%) | (XX%) | XX% |
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Unit Economics: - CAC: $X,XXX - LTV: $X,XXX - LTV:CAC ratio: X.X - CAC Payback: XX months - Gross margin: XX%

Key Metrics Trajectory:

| Metric | Current | Year 1 | Year 2 | Year 3 |
|--------|---------|--------|--------|--------|
| MRR/ARR | $X | $Y | $Z | $W |
| Customers | X | Y | Z | W |
| Net Dollar Retention | XX% | XX% | XX% | XX% |
| Burn Multiple | X.X | X.X | X.X | X.X |
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Scenario Analysis: - Conservative, base, optimistic - Key drivers and sensitivities

Path to Profitability: - Break-even timeline - Key milestones - Unit economics at scale

Section 7: Team & Organization (1-2 pages)

Leadership Team: For each founder/executive: - Name, title, photo (if available) - Relevant background (2-3 sentences) - Key accomplishments - Why they're uniquely qualified

Current Team: - Headcount by department - Key hires and their backgrounds - Advisory board

Hiring Plan: - Year 1-3 headcount growth - Key roles to fill - Recruiting strategy

Organization Evolution:

Current (5 people) → Year 1 (15) → Year 2 (35) → Year 3 (60)
Engineering: 3 → 7 → 15 → 25
Sales & Marketing: 1 → 4 → 12 → 20
Other: 1 → 4 → 8 → 15
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Equity & Compensation: - Option pool sizing - Compensation philosophy - Retention strategy

Section 8: Traction & Milestones (1 page)

Current Traction: - Revenue or user metrics - Growth rate - Key customer wins - Product development progress

Milestones Achieved: - Product launches - Funding rounds - Team hires - Customer acquisition - Partnerships

Upcoming Milestones (12-18 months): - Product milestones - Revenue targets - Customer goals - Team goals - Partnership goals

Section 9: Risks & Mitigation (1 page)

Market Risks: - Market size assumptions - Competitive intensity - Substitute adoption - Mitigation strategies

Execution Risks: - Product development - Go-to-market effectiveness - Hiring and retention - Mitigation strategies

Financial Risks: - Burn rate management - Fundraising market - Unit economics - Mitigation strategies

Regulatory/External Risks: - Compliance requirements - Data privacy - Economic conditions - Mitigation strategies

Section 10: Funding Request & Use of Proceeds (1 page)

Funding Ask: - Amount seeking: $X.XM - Structure: Equity, SAFE, convertible note - Target valuation: $X.XM (if applicable)

Use of Proceeds:

Total Raise: $5.0M
- Product Development: $2.0M (40%)
  • Engineering team expansion
  • Infrastructure and tools
  • Product roadmap execution

- Sales & Marketing: $2.0M (40%)
  • Sales team hiring (5 AEs)
  • Marketing programs
  • Demand generation

- Operations & G&A: $0.5M (10%)
  • Finance/legal/HR
  • Office and facilities

- Working Capital: $0.5M (10%)
  • 6-month buffer
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Milestones to Achieve: - Revenue: $X.XM ARR (X% growth) - Customer: XXX customers - Product: Key features launched - Team: XX employees - Metric: Key metric targets

Expected Timeline: - 18-24 month runway - Achieve milestones in 15-18 months - 6-month buffer for next raise

Next Round: - Series A in 18-24 months - Expected metrics at that time - Target raise amount

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Step 4: Enhance with Visuals

Suggest including: - Charts for market sizing (TAM funnel) - Product screenshots or mockups - Positioning maps - Financial trend charts (revenue, customers, burn) - Organization chart - Timeline/roadmap - Use of proceeds pie chart

Step 5: Provide Additional Sections (Optional)

If Relevant, Add: - Regulatory/Compliance section (for regulated industries) - Technology Architecture (for deep tech) - Clinical/Scientific Data (for biotech/health tech) - Unit Economics Deep Dive (for complex business models) - Strategic Partnerships (if material to strategy)

Step 6: Create Executive Summary Slide

Provide one-page summary for quick review: - Problem & Solution (3 bullets each) - Market: TAM/SAM/SOM - Traction: Key metrics - Team: Founders - Ask: Amount and use - Contact information

Step 7: Save Business Case

Offer to save as markdown: - Filename: business-case-[company-name]-YYYY-MM-DD.md - Suggest converting to PDF for sharing - Provide tips for presentation format

Best Practices

Do: - Lead with customer problem - Quantify everything - Show, don't just tell (use data) - Be realistic on projections - Acknowledge risks honestly - Cite all data sources - Keep executive summary concise - Focus on differentiation

Don't: - Use jargon without explanation - Make unsupported claims - Ignore competition - Be overly optimistic - Skip the "why now" - Forget to proofread - Use generic templates without customization

Integration with Other Commands

This command synthesizes outputs from: - /market-opportunity - Include TAM/SAM/SOM analysis - /financial-projections - Include full financial model

Example Usage

User: /business-case

Claude: I'll create a comprehensive business case document. Let me gather the key information first.

Company name and description?
→ "AcmeCorp - AI-powered email marketing for e-commerce"

Who is the audience?
→ "Series A investors"

What materials do you have?
→ "We have market sizing and financial model done"

[Claude creates comprehensive 15-20 page business case with all sections]
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Notes

• Business case creation takes 1-2 hours
• Result is investor-grade document
• Can be used for pitch deck development
• Update quarterly or for funding rounds
• Customize sections based on audience
• Keep executive summary to 2 pages max

Limitations

• Use this skill only when the task clearly matches the scope described above.
• Do not treat the output as a substitute for environment-specific validation, testing, or expert review.
• Stop and ask for clarification if required inputs, permissions, safety boundaries, or success criteria are missing.