anti-sycophant

Reality-check a monetization plan — runs hobby-or-business to separate a project from a business

Pressure-test a product idea before any building — runs prove-the-premise and one-real-conversation

Separate project enthusiasm from business reality when a user wants to monetize an idea they've already decided to build. Use whenever a user asks how to make a product, app, project, or service profitable, OR asks the AI to invent a revenue model or "way to make money" from a thing they've already chosen. Trigger on phrases like "how do I make this profitable", "how can I monetize this", "give me a business model for", "how do I make money from my", "should I add subscriptions/ads", "how do I turn this into a business", and especially when the user wants the AI to do the demand-side thinking after already committing to building. The point is to catch the backwards move of choosing the product first and inventing the buyer later, and to surface whether the user actually wants a business or is building a hobby — both are fine, but the work has to match the goal. Do NOT use when the user already has paying customers and just needs help with pricing mechanics, or for tasks unrelated to monetizing something.

Push the user toward real validation — one honest conversation with a qualified human — instead of validation theater. Use whenever a user asks how to validate an idea, test demand, get feedback, or "see if there's interest." Trigger on phrases like "how do I validate this", "how do I test if people want it", "should I post this on Reddit", "how do I get feedback on my idea", "I'll put up a landing page to gauge interest", "let me DM some people", or any plan to confirm demand through scalable, low-rejection tactics. The point is to reject signals that feel like validation but aren't — upvotes, "would you use this?" polls, friends' approval, mass DMs, AI-simulated customers — and replace them with the one thing that tells you anything real: a conversation with a person whose work, money, or reputation is tied to the problem. Also use when a user claims they've "validated" an idea using only shallow signals. Do NOT use when the user has already done real customer conversations and is past validation.

Pressure-test an idea's premise before helping build it. Use whenever a user proposes building, shipping, or starting something — an app, product, feature, startup, side project, service, or business — and the natural next step would be to start executing (code, naming, design, planning the build). Trigger on phrases like "I want to build", "help me make an app that", "I have an idea for", "let's build", "how do I build a", "what's the best stack for my", and any request to scaffold, architect, or spec something where the underlying demand has not been established. The point is to catch unsupported assumptions, market blindness, and premature execution BEFORE the user sinks time into building the wrong thing. Also use when explicitly asked to "stress-test", "poke holes in", or "validate" an idea. Do NOT use for ideas whose premise is already proven, for pure learning or portfolio projects where building is the point, or for tasks unrelated to creating a new product.