Prompt Deck

How do you see everything that matters on one page?

The Job​

People don't lack information. They lack alignment. Too many priorities, no way to see which ones actually connect, no way to tell where the gaps are.

The job: "I need to see what I know, what I don't know, and where to focus next."

The hidden objection: "What if I pick the wrong things?" The grid answers that — wrong picks surface fast because the rows won't fill.

The Instrument​

A 5x5 matrix. Five priorities across the top. Five prompts down the side. 25 cells.

The columns are yours. The rows are the Tight Five — the same 5P pattern that structures every industry analysis, every venture, every domain on this site.

Fill in what you know. The empty cells are your strategy.

Why 5x5​

Miller's Number says working memory holds seven, plus or minus two. But holding isn't acting. Five is the sweet spot — enough to capture a complete system, few enough to stay in working memory while you decide.

Five priorities. Five dimensions per priority. One page. If you can't compress your world into 25 cells, you don't understand it yet. If you can, you can see the gaps.

The Tight Five Framework explains the binding: tight means bound (remove one, system collapses), polished (every word earns its place), and incompressible (nothing left to cut).

Modes​

Two modes. Same grid. Different audience.

The first and most important sale is always to yourself. The Pep Talk fills the grid with honest self-assessment. The Pitch fills it with evidence that persuades. Same 25 cells, different standard of proof.

Scales​

The same instrument works at every level. The 5Ps don't change. The content does.

Personal alignment feeds venture clarity. Venture clarity feeds portfolio strategy. The grid recurses.

The Loop​

The grid isn't static. It runs as a cycle.

FILL (what you know)
  → GAPS (what's empty)
    → QUESTIONS (why is it empty?)
      → RESEARCH (find the answer)
        → FILL (update the cell)
          → COMPARE (has the picture changed?)
            → REPEAT

Each pass through the grid produces deeper answers. Recursion, not repetition. Save snapshots. Compare over time. Watch priorities shift as understanding compounds.

This is the VVFL applied to thinking itself.

Demand Validation​

Following the validation stack:

Kill signal: If people fill the grid once and never return, it's a novelty, not an instrument. Retention is the metric.

Shape Up​

Following the stage progression:

Appetite: 6-week cycle. Fixed time, variable scope. The grid view ships first. Card view, history, templates follow.

Architecture​

┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│              PROMPT DECK UI                      │
│  Grid View │ Card View │ History │ Templates     │
├─────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│              DECK ENGINE                         │
│  5x5 Matrix │ Modes │ Scales │ Snapshots        │
├─────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│              DATA LAYER                          │
│  Cells │ Priorities │ Versions │ User State      │
├─────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│              PLATFORM (Stackmates)               │
│  Auth │ Storage │ Sharing │ AI Prompts           │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────┘

The Prompt Deck is a Stackmates surface — same auth, same data layer, same AI agent paths. A human and an AI agent fill the same 25 cells through the same interface.

Features​

V1: The Grid​

V2: The Instrument​

V3: The Platform​

Commissioning​

Pre-existing: Figma template, live prototype, 1,200+ pages of domain content that IS the filled grid at portfolio scale.

The Thesis​

The Tight Five isn't just a framework. It's a product.

Every industry analysis on this site is an instance of the grid. Every venture is scored against it. Every pitch deck, every strategy session, every moment of clarity someone has — they've compressed their world into a small number of things that matter and found the gaps.

The Prompt Deck makes that compression deliberate, repeatable, and visible. One page. 25 cells. The gaps are the strategy.

Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication — Leonardo da Vinci

Next Steps​

1. Refine Grid UI — interactive cells, responsive layout
2. Implement persistence — save and load grids
3. Add Mode toggle — Pep Talk vs Pitch
4. Build Template engine — pre-filled for common domains
5. External validation — get grids in front of people who aren't us

Smallest move: One person outside the team fills a grid and returns to update it. That's the retention signal.

Context​

• Tight Five Framework — The pattern the product implements
• Jobs To Be Done — The job is alignment, not planning
• Validate Demand — Prove someone wants this
• Shape Up — Ship in fixed cycles
• Pitch Deck Specs — The presentation layer
• Mycelium — The portfolio this instrument serves
• Live Prototype — Current build