udacity/cd14715-claude-code-classroom/company-analysis

Company Analysis Skill

This skill teaches Claude how to conduct thorough company research and generate structured reports.

When to Use This Skill

Use this skill when the user requests:

• "Research [Company Name]"
• "Analyze [Company Name]"
• "Tell me about [Company Name]"
• "Generate a company profile for [Company Name]"
• "What does [Company Name] do?"

Research Methodology

Phase 1: Initial Discovery (5 minutes)

Gather Basic Information:

• Company name and website
• Industry/sector
• Company size (employees)
• Headquarters location
• Founding date

Quick searches:

"[Company Name] official website"
"[Company Name] about"
"[Company Name] crunchbase"

Phase 2: Detailed Research (10-15 minutes)

Products & Services:

• Main products/services offered
• Target market (B2B, B2C, enterprise, SMB)
• Pricing model (if public)
• Key features and differentiators

Business Information:

• Business model (SaaS, marketplace, ecommerce, etc.)
• Revenue model (subscription, transaction, ads, etc.)
• Customer segments
• Competitive positioning

Leadership & Team:

• Founders and founding story
• CEO and executive team
• Notable advisors or board members
• Company culture highlights

Technical Details:

• Technology stack
• Infrastructure and platforms
• API/developer ecosystem
• Open source contributions

Recent Activity:

• Latest product launches
• Funding rounds (last 2 years)
• Press mentions and news
• Partnerships and acquisitions

Phase 3: Analysis & Synthesis (5 minutes)

Connect the dots:

• What problem does the company solve?
• Who are their main competitors?
• What's their growth trajectory?
• What makes them unique?

Standard Report Format

Use this structure for all company research reports:

# Company Research Report: [Company Name]
 
## Executive Summary
 
[2-3 sentence overview of what the company does, who they serve, and why they matter]
 
## Company Overview
 
**Founded**: [Year]
**Founders**: [Names]
**Headquarters**: [City, State/Country]
**Company Size**: [Number of employees]
**Industry**: [Primary industry/sector]
**Website**: [URL]
 
## Products & Services
 
### Core Offerings
 
**[Product/Service Name]**
-**Description**: [What it does]
-**Target Market**: [Who uses it]
-**Key Features**: [Main capabilities]
 
**[Product/Service Name]**
-[Same structure]
 
### Business Model
 
[How they make money - subscription, freemium, transaction fees, etc.]
 
## Leadership Team
 
### Founders
-**[Name]**, [Title] - [Brief background]
 
### Executive Team
-**CEO**: [Name] - [Brief background]
-**CTO**: [Name] - [Brief background]
-**[Other C-suite]**: [Name] - [Brief background]
 
## Technology & Stack
 
**Frontend**: [Technologies]
**Backend**: [Technologies]
**Infrastructure**: [Cloud providers, databases]
**Developer Tools**: [APIs, SDKs, open source projects]
 
## Market Position
 
**Target Customers**: [Description of ideal customer]
**Competitive Landscape**: [Main competitors and differentiation]
**Market Size**: [If available - TAM, SAM]
 
## Recent Developments
 
**Last 12 Months:**
-[Funding rounds, acquisitions, product launches]
-[Key hires or leadership changes]
-[Partnerships or integrations]
-[Notable press or awards]
 
## Key Metrics (if public)
 
-**Funding**: [Total raised, latest round]
-**Valuation**: [Last known valuation]
-**Growth**: [User count, revenue growth, etc.]
 
## Sources
 
-[URL 1 - Company website]
-[URL 2 - Crunchbase]
-[URL 3 - News article]
-[URL 4 - Tech blog]

Research Tips

Finding Company Information

Official Sources (highest priority):

1. Company website (about, products, team pages)
2. Company blog and press releases
3. LinkedIn company page
4. Official social media accounts

Third-Party Sources:

1. Crunchbase (funding, team, metrics)
2. TechCrunch and tech news sites
3. Industry analyst reports
4. GitHub (for tech companies)

Technical Stack Research:

1. Company careers page (technologies they hire for)
2. Engineering blog posts
3. GitHub repositories
4. BuiltWith or Wappalyzer
5. API documentation

Search Patterns That Work

# Basic company info
"[Company] about"
"[Company] what we do"
 
# Funding and growth
"[Company] funding"
"[Company] series A/B/C"
"[Company] raised"
 
# Technical details
"[Company] tech stack"
"[Company] engineering blog"
"site:github.com [Company]"
 
# Leadership
"[Company] leadership team"
"[Company] founders"
"[Company] CEO"
 
# Recent news
"[Company] news [current year]"
"[Company] launched [current year]"

Example Analysis

Research Request: "Research Stripe"

Step 1: Initial Discovery

• Search "Stripe official website"
• Visit stripe.com
• Found: Payment processing platform, founded 2010, San Francisco

Step 2: Detailed Research

• Products: Payment processing, Stripe Connect, Stripe Atlas
• Tech stack: Ruby, JavaScript, APIs
• Leadership: Patrick & John Collison (founders)
• Recent: Embedded finance, crypto support

Step 3: Generate Report [Use standard format above]

Quality Checklist

Before delivering the report, verify:

• [ ] All sections have relevant information (or marked "Not available")
• [ ] Sources are cited for key facts
• [ ] Information is current (check dates)
• [ ] Technical details are accurate
• [ ] Leadership information is up-to-date
• [ ] No speculation - only facts
• [ ] Formatted consistently

Common Pitfalls to Avoid

❌ Don't:

• Include outdated information without noting the date
• Speculate about company strategy or financials
• Mix up different companies with similar names
• Include unverified rumors
• Copy marketing language verbatim

✅ Do:

• Focus on verifiable facts
• Note when information is unavailable
• Cite sources for all claims
• Use neutral, analytical tone
• Update research if company has changed significantly

Delegating to Subagents

When appropriate, delegate portions of research:

Use `web-researcher` for:

• Gathering product information
• Finding tech stack details
• Collecting company metrics

Use `people-finder` for:

• Leadership team research
• Founder backgrounds
• Organizational structure

Example:

Let me delegate to specialized subagents for thorough research:
-Using `web-researcher` to gather company and product details
-Using `people-finder` to identify leadership team
-I'll synthesize the information into a comprehensive report

Report Variations

Quick Profile (2-3 paragraphs)

When user asks for a "quick overview" or "brief summary":

[Company Name] is a [industry] company founded in [year] that provides [core offering]. They serve [target market] with products including [main products]. The company was founded by [founders] and is headquartered in [location]. [Recent notable achievement or funding].

Technical Deep Dive

When user asks specifically about technology:

Focus on:

• Architecture and infrastructure
• Programming languages and frameworks
• APIs and developer tools
• Open source projects
• Engineering blog highlights

Competitive Analysis

When user asks "Compare [Company A] to [Company B]":

Create side-by-side comparison table:

Success Criteria

A good company research report should:

1. ✅ Answer the user's question comprehensively
2. ✅ Provide accurate, current information
3. ✅ Include proper source citations
4. ✅ Use clear, professional formatting
5. ✅ Distinguish facts from speculation
6. ✅ Be actionable (user can make decisions from it)