charlie
by EveryInccharlie is an AI CFO skill for bootstrapped and profitable startups that need sharper financial decisions. It helps with runway, unit economics, hiring ROI, capital allocation, burn rate, working capital, and forecasting. Use charlie for Finance questions when you need a disciplined, decision-ready framework instead of generic startup advice.
This skill scores 78/100, which means it is a solid listing candidate for users who want a bootstrapped-startup CFO advisor with concrete financial frameworks. The repository gives enough substance for a credible install decision: the skill is clearly positioned, includes benchmarks and case-study references, and outlines the kinds of questions it should activate on. Users should still expect a finance-focused opinionated framework rather than a fully procedural workflow engine.
- Clear activation intent for startup finance questions such as runway, hiring ROI, forecasting, and LTV:CAC.
- Substantive reference material with formulas, benchmarks, and case studies that improves agent leverage beyond a generic prompt.
- No placeholder/demo markers; the SKILL.md contains real content with constraints and practical metrics.
- Workflow execution is only moderately explicit: there is strong financial content, but little step-by-step operational guidance for how the agent should work through tasks.
- No install command in SKILL.md and limited support files beyond references, so adoption depends mostly on the narrative skill content rather than tooling or scripts.
Overview of charlie skill
What charlie is for
charlie is an AI CFO skill for bootstrapped and profitable startups that need sharper financial decisions, not generic startup advice. It helps you answer whether a hire is affordable, how much runway you really have, whether your unit economics are healthy, and how to plan capital allocation with discipline. If you are using charlie for Finance, the main job is turning messy business context into a clear decision framework.
Who should install it
Install charlie if you run or advise a self-funded SaaS, service, or product company and want a fast way to pressure-test financial choices. The charlie skill is especially useful for founders, operators, and finance leads who care about cash preservation, margin quality, and payback periods more than valuation narratives.
What makes it different
charlie is built around bootstrapped constraints: runway, payback, revenue per employee, CAC efficiency, and working capital. That makes it better than a generic prompt when the real question is “should we do this now?” rather than “explain the concept.” The skill is opinionated, which is useful when you want a consistent CFO-style lens instead of open-ended brainstorming.
How to Use charlie skill
Install charlie
Use the skill install flow first:
npx skills add EveryInc/charlie-cfo-skill
After install, charlie should be available automatically in your Claude Code workflow. If your environment uses a different skills path or project layout, keep the skill name charlie consistent so activation is predictable.
Start with decision-ready inputs
The best charlie usage comes from a concrete decision, not a vague request. Give it the business model, current ARR or MRR, gross margin, cash balance, monthly burn, expected hires, and the time horizon you care about. A weak prompt like “review our finances” is hard to use; a stronger prompt names the decision and numbers.
Example: “We are a bootstrapped B2B SaaS with $42k MRR, 82% gross margin, $310k cash, and $38k monthly burn. Should we hire one AE now or wait 3 months? Use runway and payback logic.”
Read these files first
If you want the deepest signal from charlie, read SKILL.md first, then references/metrics-benchmarks.md for formulas and thresholds, and references/case-studies.md for how the financial principles map to real companies. README.md is the quickest install-and-use overview, but the reference files are where you learn the decision rules that change output quality.
Use a workflow, not a one-off prompt
The charlie guide works best in three steps: define the decision, supply the numbers, then ask for the recommendation plus the assumptions behind it. If you already have a spreadsheet or board memo, paste the key metrics and ask charlie to stress-test the plan, identify weak assumptions, and point out where the runway math breaks.
charlie skill FAQ
Is charlie only for bootstrapped companies?
Yes, that is the best fit. charlie is designed for capital discipline, not venture-style growth-at-all-costs planning. If your strategy depends on repeated fundraising, the charlie install may still help with unit economics, but it will not be the right default lens for every decision.
How does charlie differ from a normal prompt?
A normal prompt can explain CFO concepts, but charlie gives you a reusable financial operating frame. That matters when you want the same benchmarks, the same runway discipline, and the same payback logic every time instead of reinventing the prompt. For recurring Finance decisions, the charlie skill is more consistent than ad hoc prompting.
Is charlie suitable for beginners?
Yes, if you can provide basic business inputs. You do not need to be a finance expert to use charlie, but you do need to know your cash, burn, revenue, and margin numbers. If you cannot provide those, the output will stay high-level and less actionable.
When should I not use charlie?
Do not use charlie for tax filing, audit work, legal advice, or investor reporting that requires formal accounting treatment. It is also a poor fit if you want growth advice without cash constraints. charlie is strongest when the question is operational finance, not compliance.
How to Improve charlie skill
Give cleaner numbers
charlie performs better when you provide exact figures instead of rough language. Include current MRR or ARR, cash on hand, monthly burn, headcount, gross margin, CAC, churn, and any planned spend. If numbers are uncertain, say which ones are estimates so the recommendation can include confidence levels.
Ask for a decision memo
The most useful charlie output is usually a recommendation with tradeoffs, not a generic analysis. Ask for “recommend / do not recommend,” the key assumptions, the break-even point, and the biggest risk to runway. That format forces charlie to focus on Finance choices users can actually act on.
Share the constraint that matters most
If your real concern is runway, say so. If it is hiring ROI, say that. If it is working capital, say whether AR, AP, or prepayments are the bottleneck. charlie is strongest when the prompt names the constraint because the analysis can then prioritize the right benchmark and avoid irrelevant detail.
Iterate with scenario ranges
After the first answer, improve charlie by testing best case, base case, and downside case. For example, ask how the conclusion changes if churn rises 1 point, revenue slips 10%, or the hire takes 2 months longer to pay back. That makes charlie more useful as a planning tool and exposes where the model is fragile.