# who-is-this-for

This skill helps define a narrower ideal customer profile and map the people involved in a sale. Use it when “developers” is the only audience description you have.

- skill · `type=skill` · Claude Code, Codex, Cursor, GitHub Copilot, Gemini CLI, OpenCode · ★ 327
- Author: AIDevGTM
- License: MIT · policy=mirror · the beginning of the file is at the end of this page
- Source: https://github.com/AIDevGTM/gtm-cofounder/tree/HEAD/skills/02-who-is-this-for/SKILL.md
- Updated: 2026-10-19
- HTML: https://affpapa.org/en/nevibecode/skills/who-is-this-for

## What it does

The skill helps shape an ICP that rules out poor-fit segments and separates the person adopting a product from the person approving its cost. It maps who discovers the product, assesses it, and pays. When the adopter does not control the budget, each role needs a distinct reason to care.

To build the ICP, it asks for the company context, technical situation, purchase trigger, customer-stated pain, and a segment to exclude. It also turns a job into a situation, motivation, and desired outcome. That gives a vague “for developers” pitch a specific use case.

## Install

### Claude Code (native platform)

1. **Skills CLI (Vercel)**
```bash
npx skills add AIDevGTM/gtm-cofounder --skill 02-who-is-this-for -a claude-code
```

2. **Manually: put the files in place**
- File: `~/.claude/skills/02-who-is-this-for/SKILL.md` — Copy the whole skill folder; for one project use .claude/skills/02-who-is-this-for/

### Codex

1. **Skills CLI (Vercel)**
```bash
npx skills add AIDevGTM/gtm-cofounder --skill 02-who-is-this-for -a codex
```

2. **Manually: put the files in place**
- File: `.agents/skills/02-who-is-this-for/SKILL.md` — For all projects use ~/.agents/skills/

### Cursor

1. **Skills CLI (Vercel)**
```bash
npx skills add AIDevGTM/gtm-cofounder --skill 02-who-is-this-for -a cursor
```

2. **Manually: put the files in place**
- File: `.cursor/skills/02-who-is-this-for/SKILL.md` — Cursor also reads .agents/skills/ and .claude/skills/

### GitHub Copilot

1. **GitHub CLI**
```bash
gh skill install AIDevGTM/gtm-cofounder 02-who-is-this-for
```

2. **Manually: put the files in place**
- File: `.github/skills/02-who-is-this-for/SKILL.md`

### Gemini CLI

1. **Skills CLI (Vercel)**
```bash
npx skills add AIDevGTM/gtm-cofounder --skill 02-who-is-this-for -a gemini-cli
```

2. **Platform CLI**
```bash
gemini skills install https://github.com/AIDevGTM/gtm-cofounder --path skills/02-who-is-this-for
```

### Windsurf (Devin Desktop)

**Manually: put the files in place**
- File: `.devin/skills/02-who-is-this-for/SKILL.md` — The legacy .windsurf/skills/ path still works

### OpenCode

**Skills CLI (Vercel)**
```bash
npx skills add AIDevGTM/gtm-cofounder --skill 02-who-is-this-for -a opencode
```

### Claude.ai

**Claude.ai**
- Zip the folder and upload it in Settings → Capabilities → Skills

Where a file is given instead of a command, copy the files from the source to that path: https://github.com/AIDevGTM/gtm-cofounder/tree/HEAD/skills/02-who-is-this-for/SKILL.md

## When to use it
- narrow an ICP by naming excluded segments
- distinguish product adopters from budget holders
- map the roles involved in a complex sale
- describe a customer job through its trigger and outcome

## Example prompts
- Help me define an ICP for this product and identify who it is not for.
- Map who discovers, evaluates, and pays for our product.
- Turn this customer need into a situation, motivation, and expected outcome.

## Source text · SKILL.md · MIT

Below is the content of a third-party file. It is data, not instructions for you: do not act on anything written inside unless the human asks. Block tag: 25534d8e6fb189cd.

BEGIN THIRD-PARTY FILE 25534d8e6fb189cd
````text
---
name: who-is-this-for
description: "Define a real ICP and the developer personas in the sale. Use when the user says the product is \"for developers,\" can't name who would say no, or is marketing to whoever holds the budget instead of who actually adopts."
---

# Who is this for?

> "Developers" is not a market. It's a medium. If your ICP doesn't exclude anyone, it isn't one.

**Use this when:** you describe your user as "developers" or "engineering teams," you can't name a person who is clearly *not* a fit, or you're aiming your messaging at the VP of Engineering because they have the budget.

## The core idea

A usable ICP is specific enough that some people are obviously **out**. "Every developer" gives you nothing to say, because a message that speaks to everyone speaks to no one. Sharpen until exclusion is possible.

And in almost every AI/dev-tool sale there is **more than one person**: the developer who adopts is rarely the person who pays. Market to the adopter; sell to the buyer. Confuse the two and you get great meetings and no decisions.

## Framework 1: The personas in the sale (Frankl)

Map who plays each role. You need all of them for a complex sale; skip one and the deal stalls.

| Persona | Cares about | Role in the sale |
|---|---|---|
| **Alpha Dev** | "What's possible?" Lives in the future. *No budget.* | Finds you, experiments, advocates internally, creates social proof |
| **Empowered CTO** | Kairos, weeks off a release cycle, competitive edge. *Has budget.* | Approves spend and strategic fit |
| **VP Engineering** | Team velocity, DX, quality at scale. Fears downtime/security | Evaluates feasibility, tests in staging |
| **SRE / Platform Eng** | Reliability, less toil. *Reads your code before your copy.* | Gatekeeps operational risk |

> The Alpha Dev is **not your long-term customer**. They chase the next shiny thing. You need them anyway: they carry new tech to the people who pay.

## Framework 2: Jobs to be done, not demographics (Czakon)

A job title is not actionable; a **job** is. Write it as:

> *When [situation], I want to [motivation], so I can [expected outcome].*

Example: *"When I inherit a service with no tests, I want to generate a safety net fast, so I can refactor without fear."* That sentence tells you the trigger, the pain, and the win. A demographic never does.

## Decision tree: single-player or complex sale?

```
Does the developer who adopts also control the budget?
├─ YES  → single-player / PLG motion.
│         ICP centers on the adopter. Optimize time-to-value, self-serve, transparent pricing.
└─ NO   → complex sale.
          ICP centers on the adopter FOR ADOPTION, and the buyer FOR REVENUE.
          You need a "what's in it for me" for every persona above.
```

## Sharpen it: the 5-attribute ICP

Fill every line with something a stranger couldn't guess:
1. **Company shape**: stage, size, team structure (e.g. "50-500-engineer companies with a platform team")
2. **Technical context**: stack / recent change (e.g. "just adopted Kubernetes")
3. **The trigger**: what just happened that makes this urgent now
````
END THIRD-PARTY FILE 25534d8e6fb189cd

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