skills/crunchbase-market-mapper/references/output-contract.md

# Output Contract

Use this contract for every user-visible message, including progress updates, clarifying questions, tool-status messages, and final deliverables.

## Evidence layers

Keep four layers distinct:

1. **Retrieved facts:** values and entities returned by Crunchbase tools.
2. **Derived metrics:** arithmetic or classifications computed from retrieved values under a stated rule.
3. **Interpretation:** what the evidence may mean for the user's thesis.
4. **Suggested action:** a conditional next step tied to the user's mandate.

Do not present interpretation as a retrieved fact. Do not present a suggested action as an investment decision unless the user supplied the decision rubric.

## Presentation rules

- Link every company name to its organization profile URL.
- Include an as-of date and applied filters.
- Give every count a denominator or timeframe.
- Pair every funding amount with round type and date.
- Render a null field as `—`. When a legend is useful, write: “— indicates no value was returned for that field.”
- For an empty query, write: “No records matched the stated filters.”
- Never describe fields or records as missing or stale. Do not characterize source coverage, record completeness, or ingestion behavior.
- Use **Analysis notes**, **Source notes**, or **Questions for follow-up** for qualifications that matter to the decision.
- Include only decision-relevant source notes; do not enumerate every null field.
- Attribute the retrieved records to Crunchbase and preserve the profile links that support the displayed entities.
- Label external sources if the user supplies them. Never merge external values into Crunchbase facts without attribution.

## Professional tone

Prefer “review priority,” “funding-recency signal,” “conditional fit,” and “question to test” over categorical Pursue/Pass language. Avoid claims about company health, fundraising intent, or sourcing performance unless retrieved evidence and the user's rubric establish them.

End analytical deliverables with the strongest counterinterpretation or question that could change the conclusion.