seed-closer

4 files shipped with this skill. Inline text is the catalog copy. The upstream link is the source repository.

• seed-closer/SKILL.md13 KB6b71f2252002upstream ↗

  ---
  name: seed-closer
  description: >-
    The Closer. Sends personalised outreach emails to investors, manages the
    conversations and keeps following up until an investor call is booked,
    and nothing leaves the user's inbox without their yes. Drafts one RFC 5322
    .eml per investor from seed/investors.json and a template (a real personal
    line, the sender's real name and an opt-out line, generic lines refused),
    shows the batch, records the user's yes word for word, enforces a daily cap
    of 20, then Claude sends through the user's own Gmail connector where the
    Allow once card is a second check. Schedules follow-ups on +3 and +7
    business days (3 touches at most, never after a reply), sorts replies into
    interested / question / not now / no / out of office, stops a thread for
    good on a no, an opt-out or a bounce, writes a valid .ics invite and shows
    the funnel. Reads seed/config.json and seed/investors.json, writes
    seed/pipeline.json, seed/outreach/ and seed/calls/. Use when the user says
    "email the investors", "send the outreach", "follow up with everyone who
    hasn't replied", "who do I follow up with today", "sort my replies", "book
    the call", "send her an invite", "how is the raise going", or after
    /seed-investors ranks the list.
  argument-hint: "[draft | batch | due | inbox | book | status]"
  ---
  
  # seed-closer
  
  The Closer does the part of a raise that eats the founder's week: one
  personal email per investor, the follow-ups nobody remembers to send, the
  replies sorted, and the call on the calendar. It writes everything; it never
  sends anything. Claude sends through the user's own Gmail, only after the
  user said yes to that exact batch in the chat, and Claude's own "Allow once"
  card asks again for every email. All the user has to do is say yes, show up
  and pitch. Investors decide; nothing here promises a check.
  
  `${CLAUDE_SKILL_DIR}` below is this skill's folder (where this SKILL.md lives).
  
  ```bash
  python3 "${CLAUDE_SKILL_DIR}/closer.py" draft --top 20          # one .eml per investor, status drafted
  python3 "${CLAUDE_SKILL_DIR}/closer.py" batch                   # recipients, their personal lines, the first email in full
  python3 "${CLAUDE_SKILL_DIR}/closer.py" approve --batch 3f9a1c2e --reply "yes"   # the user's reply, word for word
  python3 "${CLAUDE_SKILL_DIR}/closer.py" outbox --json           # exactly what to send: to, subject, body, thread
  python3 "${CLAUDE_SKILL_DIR}/closer.py" log --id maya-chen --event sent --thread-id 18c2f0a1
  python3 "${CLAUDE_SKILL_DIR}/closer.py" due --today 2026-10-29  # who gets a follow-up today
  python3 "${CLAUDE_SKILL_DIR}/closer.py" followup --due --extra "Here's our 60-second demo: https://..."
  python3 "${CLAUDE_SKILL_DIR}/closer.py" inbox --file replies.json            # sort replies, then --write
  python3 "${CLAUDE_SKILL_DIR}/closer.py" reply --id maya-chen --body-file answer.txt
  python3 "${CLAUDE_SKILL_DIR}/closer.py" book --id maya-chen --start "2026-11-05 10:00" --tz America/New_York --link https://meet.google.com/abc-defg-hij
  python3 "${CLAUDE_SKILL_DIR}/closer.py" status                  # the funnel
  ```
  
  Every command takes `--dir` (default `./seed`) and `--today YYYY-MM-DD` (pin
  the date). `--json` on batch, outbox, due, inbox and status.
  
  ## What it reads and writes
  
  | file | what |
  | --- | --- |
  | `seed/config.json` | `startup` (name, one_liner, optional tagline, raise, stage), `founder` (your real name, the address you send from, company_address), `outreach` (daily_cap 20, followup_days [3, 7], max_touches 3, business_days true, optional holidays) |
  | `seed/investors.json` | from /seed-investors: id, name, firm, email, sources, fit, reasons, personal_line |
  | `template.txt` | the intro and the two follow-ups (this folder; copy it to `seed/template.txt` to make your own) |
  | `seed/outreach/<id>-<n>.eml` | each draft: a valid RFC 5322 message (CRLF, From, To, Subject, Date, Message-ID, plain text); follow-ups carry In-Reply-To |
  | `seed/pipeline.json` | one row per investor: status, touches, next_due, labels, notes, the waiting draft, the Gmail thread id, the call, the history |
  | `seed/calls/<id>.ics` | the invite: RFC 5545, CRLF, folded at 75 octets, UTC times, UID, SEQUENCE, ORGANIZER, ATTENDEE, the video link |
  
  ## The rules it enforces
  
  - **A real personal line or no email.** Each intro needs `personal_line`: one
    sentence about this investor from their public record. Refused: empty,
    under 7 words, cut off with "...", a placeholder, a stock opener ("hope this
    finds you well", "big fan", "love what you're doing", "impressive
    portfolio", "came across your profile"), the same line used for two people,
    and a line that names nothing from their row (a deal, a post, a sector, a
    number). Rows without an email or a public source URL are refused too.
  - **Your real name and the opt-out line.** `founder.name` must be a real name
    ("Your Name" is refused). Every intro and follow-up carries "Not a fit?
    Reply 'no' and I won't follow up." A batch whose .eml lost it is refused.
  - **The yes.** `approve` takes the user's reply word for word and the batch id
    `batch` printed. It counts only a reply that starts with "yes" and has no
    condition in it: "sure", "ok", "yes but drop Marcus", "yes tomorrow",
    "yes?" and a count that does not match the batch are not a yes. If the
    drafts changed after the batch was shown, the id no longer matches and
    nothing is recorded. `log --event sent` works only on an approved email.
  - **The daily cap.** 20 cold emails a day by default (intros and follow-ups,
    counting today's sends and every approved one not sent yet), 50 at most
    whatever the config says. Replies in a live conversation do not count.
  - **Three touches.** The intro on day 0, follow-up 1 on +3 business days and
    follow-up 2 on +7 (weekends and `outreach.holidays` skipped), never sooner
    than the planned gap after the touch before, and never once they replied.
  - **Stops.** A no, an opt-out or a bounce ends the thread for good: the
    waiting draft is void, nothing more is recorded, and `draft` refuses that
    address forever. "Not now" is a soft pass: no more follow-ups, and
    /seed-updates can keep them posted if they asked.
  - **Out of office** is not a reply: the follow-up waits until the business day
    after the return date it finds ("until Monday, November 9"), and a follow-up
    already drafted is voided and drafted again then.
  
  Statuses: drafted, approved, sent, replied, interested, booked, and the ends
  passed, bounced, optout.
  
  ## Sending: the Gmail-connector loop
  
  The user connects their own Gmail in Claude (Customize > Connectors) and sets
  the tools that send or draft to **Needs approval**, never Always allow. In
  Claude Code, keep them on ask in `.claude/settings.json` and never in allow.
  In the Claude Gmail connector checked on 2026-10-26 the tools are
  `send_message` (send), `create_draft` (leave it in Drafts), `reply` (answer
  inside a thread), `search_threads` and `get_thread` (read only); another
  Gmail connector may name them differently. Nothing goes out any other way: no
  mail-merge tool, no SMTP, no third-party sender.
  
  1. `closer.py batch`. Show the user what it prints, as it prints it: every
     recipient with their personal line, the first email in full, the count
     against the daily cap. Ask: "Send these N emails from your Gmail? Reply yes
     or no." One batch per question.
  2. `closer.py approve --batch <id> --reply "<their reply, word for word>"`.
     "Not recorded" means it was not a clear yes: ask again, never turn a reply
     into a yes yourself. To send fewer, show a smaller batch (`--ids`, `--limit`).
  3. Only after "Recorded your yes", send each email from the JSON it printed,
     one tool call per email: `send_message` with that to, subject and body (or
     `create_draft` if the user would rather press send in Gmail). A follow-up or
     a reply goes in its thread with `reply` and the `thread_id`. Each call
     raises Claude's "Allow once / Deny" card: the second check.
  4. After each send: `closer.py log --id <id> --event sent --thread-id <id from
     Gmail>`. Denied on the card: `log --id <id> --event denied` (back to
     drafted, it needs a new yes). Stop the loop if anything looks wrong.
  5. Never from a scheduled or background task. A schedule may run `due`,
     `followup --due` and read replies; sending always waits for the user.
  
  ## Steps
  
  1. Check `seed/config.json`: the user's real name, the address they send from,
     a postal address (anti-spam laws such as CAN-SPAM expect one). Read
     `seed/investors.json` from /seed-investors; ask before writing to anyone
     with a personal mailbox.
  2. `closer.py draft --top 20`. Read back what it refused and why. Fix a
     refused personal line from the investor's sources, never by inventing a
     fact, then draft that id again.
  3. Run the Gmail loop above for the batch: batch, the yes, send, log.
  4. Every business day: `closer.py due`. For the ones due, `followup --due`
     (an optional `--extra` line for follow-up 1, `--ask` for the last one),
     then the same loop.
  5. Read new replies with `search_threads` / `get_thread` (read only, for
     example `from:[email protected] newer_than:14d`). Put them in a
     replies.json (`[{"from", "subject", "date", "text"}]`) and run `inbox`.
     Show the user each label and the suggested next step, then `inbox --write`.
     Labelling the threads in Gmail (Interested, Asked a question, Not now) is
     optional: ask first.
  6. A question: draft the answer from `seed/plan.json` and `seed/model.json`
     only (never a number that is not in them), `reply --id ... --body-file`,
     then the loop. The .eml carries no attachment: link the deck, or the user
     attaches the PDF in Gmail.
  7. Interested: find two free slots with the user's calendar (read only, for
     example `suggest_time` or `list_events`) and offer them in a reply. When
     they agree on a time, `inbox --write` that reply, then `closer.py book`.
     Show the invite, ask "Send this invite to Maya? Reply yes or no", and after
     the yes create the event in the user's own calendar with the investor as a
     guest (Google Calendar `create_event` sends the invite), or attach the .ics
     to a reply in the thread.
  8. `closer.py status` for the funnel. Hand off: /seed-coach `agenda` for each
     booked call, /seed-updates `--to prospects` for the soft passes, and
     /seed-terms and /seed-dataroom when an investor asks for next steps.
  
  ## Example: the reel
  
  Leashly is fictional, and so are the investors. `draft --top 6 --today
  2026-10-26` writes six intros from the founder's own address; Maya Chen's
  (Northlight Ventures, fit 96) reads:
  
  ```
  To: Maya Chen <[email protected]>
  Subject: Leashly: dog walks without the surprise fees
  
  Hi Maya,
  
  Saw you led two pet-care seed rounds, so you know the 20% fee problem better than anyone.
  
  Leashly is a dog-walking app with flat prices and a backup walker on every walk.
  
  We're raising a $1.5M seed. Open to a 20-minute call next week?
  
  Not a fit? Reply 'no' and I won't follow up.
  ```
  
  After the user's "yes", Claude sends the six through Gmail. The reel's 40
  emails would go out over two days at the daily cap of 20. With no reply, `due
  --today 2026-10-29` lists follow-up 1 on Thursday, Oct 29 (+3 business days),
  and follow-up 2 would come on Wednesday, Nov 4 (+7 business days; with
  `business_days: false` it is Monday, Nov 2). Maya replied on Oct 30: "What's
  your take rate, and how do you guarantee the backup walker?" `inbox` labels it
  Asked a question and the follow-ups stop. Claude answered from the plan ("15%
  flat, no owner fee. Every walk is booked with a second walker on standby
  within 1 mile.") and asked "Would Thursday at 10 work for 20 minutes?". Her
  "Thursday 10am works. Send an invite." is Interested, and
  
  ```
  closer.py book --id maya-chen --start "2026-11-05 10:00" --tz America/New_York --link https://meet.google.com/abc-defg-hij
  ```
  
  writes `seed/calls/maya-chen.ics`: "Leashly × Northlight Ventures · Intro
  call", DTSTART 20261105T150000Z, DTEND 20261105T153000Z (10:00 to 10:30 AM
  Eastern; the clocks went back on Nov 1, so it is UTC-05:00). The reel's
  funnel, 40 sent, 12 replied, 5 interested, shows in `status` as drafted 40,
  sent 40, replied 12 (30% of sent), interested 5, booked 1.
  
  ## What it never does
  
  - Never sends, and never lets Claude send, without the user's yes for that
    batch; never "yes to everything from now on"; never from a background task.
  - Never writes to anyone without a public source in their row, never guesses
    an email address, never collects a personal phone number or home address.
  - Never emails a thread again after a no, an opt-out or a bounce.
  - Never invents a fact in a personal line or a number in a reply.
  - Never promises funding. The pack does the work; investors decide.
  

• seed-closer/closer.py92 KB6aae3a36e92dupstream ↗

  Contents are not inlined in the catalog. Open the upstream file.

• seed-closer/template.txt1.3 KBdc753bd2f23bupstream ↗

  # The Closer's email template (seed-closer). Everything above the first
  # "=== ... ===" line is a note for you and is never sent. To make your own,
  # copy this file to seed/template.txt: the Closer uses that copy when it exists.
  #
  # Placeholders the Closer fills: {first_name} {name} {firm} {personal_line}
  # {startup} {one_liner} {one_liner_sentence} {tagline} {raise} {stage}
  # {instrument} {sector} {geography} {sender} {sender_first} {title}
  # {company_address} {signature} {optout} {intro_subject} {intro_day} {extra}
  # {ask}. Write a literal brace as {{ or }}.
  #
  # Keep {personal_line} in the intro and {optout} and {signature} in every
  # section: the Closer refuses a draft without them. Follow-ups stay under 80
  # words before the opt-out line.
  
  === intro ===
  Subject: {startup}: {tagline}
  
  Hi {first_name},
  
  {personal_line}
  
  {startup} is {one_liner_sentence}.
  
  We're raising a {raise} {stage}. Open to a 20-minute call next week?
  
  {optout}
  
  {signature}
  
  === followup 1 ===
  Subject: Re: {intro_subject}
  
  Hi {first_name},
  
  Bumping this up: my note from {intro_day} about {startup}, {one_liner_sentence}. {extra}
  
  Open to 20 minutes next week?
  
  {optout}
  
  {signature}
  
  === followup 2 ===
  Subject: Re: {intro_subject}
  
  Hi {first_name},
  
  Quick one, and my last note on this: {ask}
  
  {optout}
  
  {signature}
  

• README.mdupstream ↗

  Contents are not inlined in the catalog. Open the upstream file.

Plain-text copy, no login: /skill-bundles/jakeschincariol-seed-skill-seed-closer.md