/cs:office-hours — Six-Question Founder Interrogation¶

C-Level Advisory office-hours Source

Command: /cs:office-hours <topic>

Before any advice, the founder must answer six questions. Modeled on YC office hours: no analysis until the founder has done the thinking. This is the cognitive forcing function that prevents drift into solutionism.

When to Run¶

Before starting any major initiative
Before fundraising
Before a strategic pivot
When the founder is excited (excitement is a tell — pressure-test)
When the answer is "obvious" (the obvious answer is usually wrong)

The Six Questions¶

The founder must answer all six in writing before any C-role weighs in.

1. Problem¶

Whose problem is this, and how do they describe it in their own words? - Not your framing. Their words. - If you can't quote a customer, you don't have a problem worth solving.

2. Customer¶

Who is the ICP? Name one real person who would buy this today. - Real human. Real company. Real seat. - If you can't name one, the ICP isn't ready.

3. Distribution¶

How does the customer first hear your name? - Channel, intent, search query, friend, conference — name it. - If the answer is "we'll figure out marketing later," the answer is no.

4. Defensibility¶

If this works, what stops a competitor from copying it in 6 months? - Network effects, switching costs, data moat, regulatory moat, brand — pick one. - "We'll execute better" is not a defense.

5. Capital¶

What does this cost, when does it pay back, and what's the alternative use of the money? - Total spend, payback months, opportunity cost. - If you don't know, don't approve it.

6. Founder Fit¶

Why are you the right person to do this — and why does this matter enough to spend the next 3 years on it? - Founder-market fit is the strongest predictor of survival. - If the answer is mercenary, the company will be too.

Output Format¶

After the founder answers all six, this command produces a one-page brief:

# Office Hours Brief: <topic>
**Date:** YYYY-MM-DD
**Founder:** <name>

## 1. Problem
> [founder's verbatim answer]

## 2. Customer
> [founder's verbatim answer]

## 3. Distribution
> [founder's verbatim answer]

## 4. Defensibility
> [founder's verbatim answer]

## 5. Capital
> [founder's verbatim answer]

## 6. Founder Fit
> [founder's verbatim answer]

---

**Assessment** (one of):
- 🟢 GREEN — ship the brief to /cs:boardroom
- 🟡 YELLOW — sharpen Q[N] before proceeding
- 🔴 RED — kill or redefine; do not proceed

Routing¶

After the brief is GREEN, route to: - Single-role question → corresponding /cs:{role}-review - Multi-role question → /cs:brief then /cs:boardroom

Why This Works¶

Most bad decisions don't fail at execution — they fail at framing. Forcing six concrete answers surfaces the framing weaknesses before anyone burns time on analysis. The founder either fills the gaps or recognizes the question wasn't ready.

This is the YC office hours pattern adapted for Claude Code: the interrogation is the value.

/cs:brief — turn the answers into a one-page strategy brief
/cs:boardroom — multi-role deliberation
/cs:founder-mode — let the system pick the next step

All cs-* advisors consume the brief output
cs-chief-of-staff triggers /cs:office-hours when intake is unclear

Version: 1.0.0