accelerator-application
When the user wants to apply to startup accelerators, incubators, or fellowship programs. Also use when the user mentions "YC application", "Techstars", "accelerator", or "apply to programs".
59
49%
Does it follow best practices?
Impact
Pending
No eval scenarios have been run
Advisory
Suggest reviewing before use
Optimize this skill with Tessl
npx tessl skill review --optimize ./skills/accelerator-application/SKILL.mdQuality
Discovery
44%Based on the skill's description, can an agent find and select it at the right time? Clear, specific descriptions lead to better discovery.
The description excels at specifying when to use the skill with excellent trigger terms and a clear niche, but critically fails to describe what the skill actually does. Without any concrete actions or capabilities listed, Claude cannot understand the skill's functionality, only its activation conditions.
Suggestions
Add concrete actions describing what the skill does, e.g., 'Drafts and reviews startup accelerator applications, helps craft compelling founder narratives, and structures responses to common application questions.'
Restructure to lead with capabilities (the 'what') before the 'Use when...' clause, following the pattern: '[actions]. Use when [triggers].'
| Dimension | Reasoning | Score |
|---|---|---|
Specificity | The description does not list any concrete actions or capabilities. It only describes when to use the skill, not what it actually does (e.g., draft applications, review essays, fill out forms). | 1 / 3 |
Completeness | The description answers 'when' clearly but completely fails to answer 'what does this do'. There are no capabilities described—only trigger conditions. The 'what' is very weak/missing. | 1 / 3 |
Trigger Term Quality | Includes strong natural trigger terms users would say: 'YC application', 'Techstars', 'accelerator', 'apply to programs', 'startup accelerators', 'incubators', 'fellowship programs'. These cover common variations well. | 3 / 3 |
Distinctiveness Conflict Risk | The domain is very specific—startup accelerator/incubator applications—with distinct trigger terms like 'YC application' and 'Techstars' that are unlikely to conflict with other skills. | 3 / 3 |
Total | 8 / 12 Passed |
Implementation
55%Reviews the quality of instructions and guidance provided to agents. Good implementation is clear, handles edge cases, and produces reliable results.
The skill is highly actionable with a clear workflow, concrete output templates, and practical examples, but it suffers severely from bloat. The inline 40+ accelerator directory with time-sensitive investment terms and URLs is the biggest issue — it consumes enormous token budget and will quickly become outdated. The content would be dramatically improved by extracting the directory into a separate reference file and trimming explanatory text that Claude can infer.
Suggestions
Extract the accelerator directory tables into a separate file (e.g., ACCELERATOR_DIRECTORY.md) and reference it from the main skill with a one-line link, reducing the main file by ~60%.
Add a disclaimer or move time-sensitive data (investment amounts, equity percentages, URLs) to a dedicated reference file with a 'last verified' date, since these change frequently.
Trim the 'Frameworks & Best Practices' section — much of the application writing advice (6th-grade reading level, be honest, use specific numbers) is general writing guidance Claude already knows. Keep only accelerator-specific insights.
Remove or condense the 'Context Required' section — Claude can infer what information it needs to ask for from the workflow steps themselves.
| Dimension | Reasoning | Score |
|---|---|---|
Conciseness | The skill is extremely verbose at 150+ lines, with a massive directory table of 40+ accelerators that includes investment amounts, equity percentages, and URLs that are time-sensitive and will quickly become outdated. Much of this reference data could be in a separate file. The frameworks section, while useful, includes advice Claude could largely infer. | 1 / 3 |
Actionability | The skill provides highly concrete, actionable guidance: a clear 6-step workflow, specific output format with markdown template, concrete examples of good outputs for different prompts, specific writing principles with examples ('1,200 users, 40% WoW growth' vs 'rapidly growing'), and detailed interview prep questions. | 3 / 3 |
Workflow Clarity | The 6-step workflow is clearly sequenced and logical: match → research → draft core narrative → customize per program → prepare video → prepare for interviews. Each step has specific sub-tasks. The output format template serves as an implicit validation checkpoint ensuring all components are addressed. | 3 / 3 |
Progressive Disclosure | This is a monolithic wall of text with the entire 40+ accelerator directory inlined. The directory tables alone consume the majority of the content and should be in a separate reference file. Related skills are mentioned at the bottom but the main content has no progressive disclosure structure — everything is dumped into one file. | 1 / 3 |
Total | 8 / 12 Passed |
Validation
90%Checks the skill against the spec for correct structure and formatting. All validation checks must pass before discovery and implementation can be scored.
Validation — 10 / 11 Passed
Validation for skill structure
| Criteria | Description | Result |
|---|---|---|
frontmatter_unknown_keys | Unknown frontmatter key(s) found; consider removing or moving to metadata | Warning |
Total | 10 / 11 Passed | |
- Repository
- shawnpang/startup-founder-skills
- Commit
4ad31b4
- Reviewed
Table of Contents
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