---
title: "Business Assumption Stress Testing"
type: skill
id: "rezvani-skills/executive-advisor/stress-test"
category: "Operations & leadership"
publisher: "Alireza Rezvani"
license: "MIT"
source: "https://github.com/alirezarezvani/claude-skills/tree/c85b17e"
canonical: "https://labs.pho.chat/en/skills/rezvani-skills/executive-advisor/stress-test"
open_in_pho: "https://pho.chat/customize?item=rezvani-skills%2Fexecutive-advisor%2Fstress-test&utm_source=labs&utm_medium=skill-page&utm_campaign=skills-library"
---

# Business Assumption Stress Testing

Stress-test a plan built on untested assumptions. Use whenever the user bets on a hockey-stick model or long pilot.

Source: Alireza Rezvani (MIT), copied at a pinned commit. Free to use. Part of the Phở Skills library (https://labs.pho.chat/en/skills).
Skill set: Executive advisor (https://labs.pho.chat/en/skills/rezvani-skills/executive-advisor.md).

## What it covers
- Why Most Assumptions Are Wrong
- The Stress-Test Methodology
  - Step 1: Isolate the Assumption
  - Step 2: Find the Counter-Evidence
  - Step 3: Model the Downside
  - Step 4: Calculate Sensitivity
  - Step 5: Propose the Hedge
- Stress Test Patterns by Assumption Type
  - Revenue Projections
  - Market Size
  - Competitive Moat
  - Hiring Plan
  - Competitive Response
- The Stress Test Output

## Other skills in this set
- [Board Deck Builder](https://labs.pho.chat/en/skills/rezvani-skills/executive-advisor/board-deck-builder.md): Use when building a board deck, investor update or QBR from all C-suite perspectives. Structures the narrative and how to deliver bad news.
- [Board Meeting Protocol](https://labs.pho.chat/en/skills/rezvani-skills/executive-advisor/board-meeting.md): Use a strategic question that needs a structured multi-executive deliberation. Runs six phases: context, isolated C-suite views, critic, synthesis, founder review and decision.
- [Chief of Staff](https://labs.pho.chat/en/skills/rezvani-skills/executive-advisor/chief-of-staff.md): Use when a founder question needs routing to the right C-suite advisor, or a cross-functional decision needs a board meeting convened. Loads company context, synthesizes the answers and tracks…
- [Competitive Intelligence](https://labs.pho.chat/en/skills/rezvani-skills/executive-advisor/competitive-intel.md): Use for competitor analysis, battlecards, win/loss review or positioning against alternatives. Builds a tracking system that feeds positioning, sales and roadmap.
- [Change Management Playbook](https://labs.pho.chat/en/skills/rezvani-skills/executive-advisor/change-management.md): Use when rolling out a reorg, pivot, tool switch, leadership change or product kill. Plans it with ADKAR, communication templates and resistance patterns.
- [Internal Narrative Builder](https://labs.pho.chat/en/skills/rezvani-skills/executive-advisor/internal-narrative.md): Use when preparing an all-hands, investor update, recruiting pitch or crisis message, or when stories told to different audiences drift apart. Keeps one company story and flags contradictions.
- [International Expansion](https://labs.pho.chat/en/skills/rezvani-skills/executive-advisor/intl-expansion.md): Use when expanding to a new country: market selection, entry mode, localization, regulation and regional go-to-market.
- [M&A Playbook](https://labs.pho.chat/en/skills/rezvani-skills/executive-advisor/ma-playbook.md): Buy a company or sell yours: diligence, valuation, terms, integration. Use whenever M&A or an exit comes up.
- [Culture Architect](https://labs.pho.chat/en/skills/rezvani-skills/executive-advisor/culture-architect.md): Use when defining company values, turning them into behaviors, assessing culture health or designing rituals. Treats culture as operating behavior, not posters.
- [Founder Development Coach](https://labs.pho.chat/en/skills/rezvani-skills/executive-advisor/founder-coach.md): Use when a founder is the bottleneck, can't delegate, is burning out or is moving from IC to CEO. Covers delegation, energy and calendar audits, blind spots and succession.
- [Pre-Mortem Plan Analysis](https://labs.pho.chat/en/skills/rezvani-skills/executive-advisor/challenge.md): Pre-mortem a plan: assume it failed in 12 months and work back to the assumptions, dependencies and execution risks. Use whenever the user will commit serious resources or feedback seems too positive.
- [Framework for Decisions With No Good Options](https://labs.pho.chat/en/skills/rezvani-skills/executive-advisor/hard-call.md): Use for a decision where every option hurts (layoff vs down round, killing a loved product). Runs 10/10/10 and regret minimization.
- [Honest Analysis of What Went Wrong](https://labs.pho.chat/en/skills/rezvani-skills/executive-advisor/postmortem.md): Use after a failed launch, missed quarter or bad hire. Runs a blameless 5-Whys with a change register.
- [Board Meeting Preparation](https://labs.pho.chat/en/skills/rezvani-skills/executive-advisor/board-prep.md): Use before a board meeting, investor update or fundraising pitch where the numbers will be challenged. Drills numbers cold, anticipates the hard questions and builds a narrative that admits weakness…

## Use it
- In Phở: open https://pho.chat/customize?item=rezvani-skills%2Fexecutive-advisor%2Fstress-test&utm_source=labs&utm_medium=skill-page&utm_campaign=skills-library and press Try, or add it so Phở loads it whenever a request matches. Phở works with your own API key (OpenAI, Anthropic, Google and others).
- Full instructions (original SKILL.md, unchanged): https://labs.pho.chat/skills/raw/rezvani-skills/executive-advisor/skills/stress-test/SKILL.md
- Original files: https://github.com/alirezarezvani/claude-skills/tree/c85b17e (MIT).
- Full machine-readable index: https://labs.pho.chat/skills.json