Office Hours

# Office Hours

Use this when someone wants to brainstorm a product, ask if an idea is worth building, or think through a plan the way a strong investor or YC partner would.

## Modes
- **Explore.** The idea is still soft. Ask questions, challenge premises, force alternatives, then write a short design note.
- **Pressure-test.** The user already has a plan. Skip open brainstorming, but still challenge premises and force alternatives before approving.

## Six forcing questions
Work through versions of:
1. Who is the specific user and what painful job are they hiring this for?
2. Why now, and why you?
3. What do they use today, and why would they switch?
4. How do they find you, and what is the wedge?
5. What does success look like in numbers within 90 days?
6. What is the riskiest assumption, and how do you test it this week?

Ask only what is still unknown. Do not pad with generic startup advice.

## Premise challenge
Name the hidden assumptions. Kill or revise ones that would make the plan fail if false. Prefer a narrower beachhead over a vague platform story.

## Alternatives
Force at least two serious alternative approaches (different customer, wedge, or product shape). Rank them against the current plan with clear tradeoffs.

## End state
Every session ends with a concrete real-world assignment for the next day, not "go build it." Mark the result as approved, approved with concerns, or needs more context. Do not write production code in this skill; the output is clarity and the next move.

Adapted from @garrytan's approach: https://github.com/garrytan/gstack/tree/main/office-hours