October 2026 · 9 min read · 31 skills, free

31 Claude Skills for New Founders, From Your Last Job to Your First Clients

Decide what you sell, price it from your own numbers, tell people, start with those who already know your work, prepare the first conversations, then win the first client and keep going. Claude prepares; you write and send.

01What these skills are

The first months on your own, from your last job to your first clients, as installable Claude skills

This pack is for new founders of one-person practices who left a senior employed role and now find their own clients: consultants, coaches, advisers and trainers.

The skills follow the first months in order, in seven stages, from deciding what you sell to a short first proposal, the price conversation and a start note, then keeping going once delivery starts.

The red line: Claude prepares from your real career, your own contacts and your own numbers, never from a former employer’s files. You choose who to talk to, put it in your own words and send it yourself, and nothing is invented, automated or sent for you.

Every proof comes from your own career, in words you are allowed to use. Every number is yours: costs, runway, floor, price and goals come from your records or stay as [placeholders].

Each skill is one artifact or one named method, and each one hands over to the next. Nothing grades, ranks or scores people.

Download all 31 skills

One zip: ready-to-install skill zips, readable SKILL.md files, and the sources behind every method. Free, no signup. The same 31 skills live in our open repo, if you would rather read them before you install them.

Download the zip Browse on GitHub

Install in Claude Code

Two lines, and every skill in the pack loads at once.

/plugin marketplace add polar-bear-org/claude-skills
/plugin install new-founders-pack@polar-bear-skills

Using Claude on the web instead? Download the zip above and upload each skill from its install folder under Customize → Skills.

02The catalog

The 31 skills you get

The set follows the first months in seven stages: decide what you sell, package and price it, tell people, start with people who know you, reach out and talk, win the first client, then keep going.

1 · Decide what you sell

Career Proof Inventory

Use when: Your whole track record sits inside a former employer
Output: One row per piece of past work, who saw it, what you may say in public, your three strongest proofs

Ideal Client Profile

Use when: You would say yes to anyone who asked
Output: The situation and trigger, the job they hire you for, who decides, red flags for a first call

Point of View Statement

Use when: Twenty years of opinions and none written under your own name
Output: Up to three beliefs in your words, the shift behind each, your evidence, where you might be wrong

Positioning Statement

Use when: Former colleagues like you and cannot say what you do now
Output: Honest alternatives, capabilities with proof, one line a contact can repeat, a repeat-back test

2 · Package and price it

First-Year Runway Plan

Use when: You left a salary and do not know how many months you have
Output: Monthly costs from your records, months of runway, the income you need by when, three dated scenarios

Floor Rate Calculator

Use when: Your only reference for a price is your old salary
Output: Fully loaded monthly cost, real billable days, floor per day and per hour, what moves it most

Productized Service Offer

Use when: Every conversation ends with "send me something"
Output: One named offer, fixed scope and timeline, exclusions, a price checked against your floor, a paid first step

3 · Tell people

Writing Voice Guide

Use when: Every draft sounds like everyone else's
Output: How you open, ask and sign off, words you use and never use, an AI-tell checklist, a before and after

LinkedIn Headline

Use when: Your headline is your last job title, or "Founder" and nothing else
Output: Buyer words with their source, five options that differ on purpose, a read-aloud test, your pick

LinkedIn About Section

Use when: Your About was written to get you hired
Output: The two opening lines, the buyer's situation, how you work, two proofs, one way to start a conversation

LinkedIn Experience Section

Use when: Twenty years of job titles and no entry for the business you run
Output: A current entry for your practice, past roles as problems solved, a confidentiality check per line

Independence Announcement

Use when: You have told nobody you are on your own
Output: Points for a public post in your words, a direct message version, what not to claim, a grammar check

One-Page Offer

Use when: Someone says "send me something I can pass on" and all you have is a CV
Output: One page a contact can forward: who it is for, the problem, the offer, one proof, how to start

4 · Start with people who know you

Former Employer Terms Check

Use when: You want to call former clients and colleagues and do not know what your contract allows
Output: The clauses in your own contract, quoted with dates, what each may touch, questions for an adviser

Former Colleagues List

Use when: The list of people who know your work exists only in your head
Output: Who saw your work at each past employer, where they are now, a reason to write, a first run you pick

LinkedIn Data Export Guide

Use when: You want your whole network in one list without a tool that logs in as you
Output: Request steps, files to use and leave out, column cleanup, where the copy lives, a deletion date

Warm Network Map

Use when: Years of connections and no idea who to talk to this week
Output: A brief first, visible match with its reason, fit and closeness set by you, a run of about 10

5 · Reach out and talk

Reconnect Message

Use when: The first time they hear from you in years is the week you need work
Output: A reason to write you choose, talking points with sources, a grammar-only check, a follow-up date

Introduction Ask

Use when: Asking former colleagues for help feels like begging
Output: The moment check, one specific introduction, the easy no, what you offer in return

Warm Introduction Request

Use when: Someone you know knows the person you need
Output: The path check, the ask to the connector, a forwardable blurb, double opt-in steps, the thank-you

Coffee Chat Prep

Use when: You fear turning a catch-up into a sales meeting
Output: What you know with sources, three questions, one thing to offer, what you will not pitch

Discovery Call Guide

Use when: A contact says "we might need help with that"
Output: An agenda to agree, questions written for this person, the cost of doing nothing, the next step

Discovery Call Recap

Use when: A week later nobody remembers what was agreed
Output: The problem in their words, how they decide, open questions, the next step, an email you send

6 · Win the first client

First Client Proposal

Use when: They asked for a proposal and you have never written one in your own name
Output: One or two pages: their objective, phases, one to three real options, the fee, a dated next step

Price Conversation Prep

Use when: You already know you will offer a discount before they ask
Output: Your number and floor, your real alternative, their interests, your first two sentences, your trades

Former Employer Engagement Plan

Use when: Your first client is your old employer and it feels like your old job
Output: Scope and end date, how requests reach you, the share of income you allow, questions for an adviser

First Client Onboarding Note

Use when: They said yes and there is no process behind you any more
Output: A welcome note, the first two weeks, what you need from them, contact rhythm, invoicing, a first date

7 · Keep going

90-Day Practice Plan

Use when: You have never had to sell and nobody will give you a target
Output: One goal from your numbers, a warm-first channel mix, weekly actions you control, three checkpoints

Weekly Selling Hour

Use when: The first engagement started and you have written to nobody since
Output: Follow-ups due, warm signals, three people to reconnect with, one conversation to book, a log line

Conversation Log

Use when: You told three people "I will send you that" and forgot which three
Output: Who and when, what they need, what was promised by whom and by when, the next date

Monthly Practice Review

Use when: One client pays every bill and you have not looked past that contract
Output: Income by client and source, your largest client's share, runway left, one thing to stop and one to change

03How to use it

Pick the workflow that matches your week

Start with the career proof inventory: it decides what you may say about your old work. After that, bring the thing that is in front of you.

Decide what you sell

Your track record sits inside a former employer and you cannot yet say who you are for.

Career Proof Inventory
Ideal Client Profile
Point of View Statement
Positioning Statement

Price it from your numbers

You left a salary and need a floor, a scope and a price.

First-Year Runway Plan
Floor Rate Calculator
Productized Service Offer

Tell people

Your profile still describes your last job and nobody knows you are on your own.

Writing Voice Guide
LinkedIn Headline
LinkedIn About Section
LinkedIn Experience Section
Independence Announcement
One-Page Offer

Find who to talk to

You want to start with the people who already know your work.

Former Employer Terms Check
Former Colleagues List
LinkedIn Data Export Guide
Warm Network Map

Reconnect and get introduced

You have a run of about 10 people and no reason to write yet.

Reconnect Message
Introduction Ask
Warm Introduction Request
Coffee Chat Prep

Win the first client

A contact says they might need help.

Discovery Call Guide
Discovery Call Recap
First Client Proposal
Price Conversation Prep
First Client Onboarding Note

Keep selling during delivery

The first engagement started and delivery is taking all your time.

90-Day Practice Plan
Weekly Selling Hour
Conversation Log
Monthly Practice Review

04Setup guide

Install it in five minutes

In Claude Code · two lines

/plugin marketplace add polar-bear-org/claude-skills
/plugin install new-founders-pack@polar-bear-skills

In Claude.ai or Claude Desktop · seven clicks

Download the pack, then open Settings
Unzip the pack: its skills folder holds all 31 skills. In Claude, click your name at the bottom left, then Settings.
Download the zip
Open Skills and click Add
Under Customize, choose Skills. Click Add, then Upload a skill.
Drop in a skill file
Drag the skill's file into the box, or click to browse. You can add several at once.
Pick the skill from the pack
In the pack folder, open skills, then the skill you want, and select its SKILL.md — start-career-proof-inventory is a good first one.
Check the preview and upload
Claude shows the skill's name and what it does. Click Upload.
Make sure it is switched on
The skill opens on its own page. Its toggle should be on.
Try it in a new chat
Type / and the skill's name, then say what you need.

Then try one

Run start-career-proof-inventory on my CV: [paste it here]

Run start-runway-plan on my last three months of costs: [paste them here]

Run start-former-employer-terms on my employment contract and exit letter: [paste them here]

Paste only what is yours: your own career, contacts and numbers, never a former employer’s files.

Lantern for new founders

Turn your customer calls into posts about what you're building

Lantern drafts a week of posts from your notes and call transcripts, in your voice. You review them and publish the ones you like.

100 free credits, about ten posts. No card needed.

Try for free

05Quick reference

Where to start

Your situation	Skill to run
Your whole track record sits inside a former employer?	Career Proof Inventory
You would say yes to anyone who asked?	Ideal Client Profile
Former colleagues like you and cannot say what you do now?	Positioning Statement
You left a salary and do not know how many months you have?	First-Year Runway Plan
Your only reference for a price is your old salary?	Floor Rate Calculator
Every conversation ends with “send me something”?	Productized Service Offer
Your headline is still your last job title?	LinkedIn Headline
You have told nobody you are on your own?	Independence Announcement
Need to know what your old contract says before you call former clients?	Former Employer Terms Check
Years of connections and no idea who to talk to this week?	Warm Network Map
Need a reason to write that is not a pitch?	Reconnect Message
Someone you know knows the person you need?	Warm Introduction Request
A contact says “we might need help with that”?	Discovery Call Guide
They asked for a proposal and you have never written one in your own name?	First Client Proposal
Need to hold your price tomorrow?	Price Conversation Prep
The first engagement started and you have written to nobody since?	Weekly Selling Hour

06Standards

The quality bar

Every skill in the pack holds the same standard:

Your own career: every proof, claim and example comes from your own career, in words you are allowed to use; nothing comes from a former employer’s files
Your own numbers: costs, runway, floor, price and goals come from your records or stay as [placeholders]. No market rate, no benchmark, no income promise
Sourced facts about people: every fact about another person comes from a public work source, linked, or from your own records; what has no source is dropped or marked unknown
People are not scored: nothing grades, ranks or scores people. Fit is to a brief and set by you; closeness describes how well you know someone, in your words
Warm before cold: the people who already know your work come first, in small runs you pick by hand. No sequences, no automation
Questions for an adviser: contract, worker status, tax and data protection points are question lists that end with “check with a qualified adviser”
The red line: Claude prepares from your real career, your own contacts and your own numbers, never from a former employer’s files; you choose who to talk to, put it in your own words and send it yourself, and nothing is invented, automated or sent for you

07FAQ

Questions people ask

What is in the Claude Guide for New Founders pack?

31 Claude skills that follow the first months of a one-person practice in seven stages: decide what you sell, package and price it, tell people, start with people who know you, reach out and talk, win the first client, keep going. Each skill is one artifact or one named method.

How do I install these Claude skills?

In Claude Code, two lines install all 31 at once. In Claude.ai or Claude Desktop, download the zip, open Settings, Skills, Add, and upload the skills you want. Either way it takes about five minutes.

Do I need Claude Code to use them?

No. The skills work in Claude.ai, Claude Desktop and Claude Code. In the app you upload them yourself; in Claude Code one command installs the whole pack.

Do the skills work with ChatGPT or other assistants?

They are built as Claude Skills, and installing them is a Claude feature. Each one is a plain Markdown file, so you can read it and reuse the method elsewhere, but it will not load and trigger by itself outside Claude.

Will Claude write and send my messages for me?

No. Claude prepares from your real career, your own contacts and your own numbers, never from a former employer’s files. You choose who to talk to, put it in your own words and send it yourself. Nothing is invented, automated or sent for you.

Is the pack free?

Yes. It is free to use inside your company and in client work, and not for resale. There is no signup: the download and the install command are on this page.

08Who made this

Lantern, by Polar Bear

These skills were written by Polar Bear, a people ops consultancy that runs its own company on Claude. The pack is free, and the same skills are open on GitHub.

Lantern is Polar Bear's content workspace. It turns your notes, documents and call transcripts into drafts for LinkedIn and other networks. You review them and publish the ones you like.