excel-lbo-modeler

I took a look at your excel-lbo-modeler skill and wanted to share some thoughts.

Links:

• GitHub
• Your agentic skill in the SkillzWave marketplace

The TL;DR

You're at 61/100, D-grade territory. This is based on Anthropic's skill best practices rubric. The strongest area is spec compliance (12/15) – your YAML is clean and naming follows conventions. The biggest drag is writing style (4/10) and progressive disclosure architecture (12/30). The good news? These are fixable problems that could bump you up 15-20 points without rewriting the core skill logic.

What's Working Well

• Spec compliance is solid – Your frontmatter is valid, naming conventions are right, required fields all present
• Real financial domain expertise – You're addressing an actual gap (PE/LBO analysis) with proper terminology (EBITDA, MoM, IRR used correctly throughout)
• Good trigger coverage – "Build a leveraged buyout model", "Create an LBO analysis", "PE acquisition analysis" gives the skill multiple natural entry points
• Clear step structure – Your 6-step workflow is logical, even if it needs some polish

The Big One: Missing Reference Files + Monolithic Structure

This is killing your PDA score. Your SKILL.md is 448 lines – no skill should be that large in a single file. You claim there's a resources folder with lbo-template.xlsx, REFERENCE.md, and debt-structures.txt, but they don't exist. This is a trust issue.

Here's the fix: You've got ~150 lines of example formulas, interactions, and variations buried in the main file. Create a references/ directory with:

• references/examples.md – Move your "Example Interaction" and "Common Variations" sections here
• references/formulas.md – Debt schedule, returns calc, sensitivity matrix formulas go here
• Update SKILL.md to reference these with links

This alone gets you +6 points on PDA (token economy + layered structure), and makes your skill actually maintainable.

Other Things Worth Fixing

1. Add a Table of Contents – At 400+ lines, readers need navigation. Add a TOC right after the frontmatter with anchors to major sections (+1 point)

2. Inconsistent voice in examples – Your example response says "I'll create an LBO model..." but instructions should be imperative/neutral. Change to "Creating LBO model for software company with $50M EBITDA" (+2 points on writing style)

3. Strip the marketing language – Phrases like "comprehensive LBO models" and "industry-standard practices" feel promotional. Use neutral descriptions: "Build LBO models with sources & uses, debt schedules, and returns analysis" (+2 points on objectivity)

4. Workflow needs checkpoint clarity – Your 6 steps exist but feel dense. Add a simple checklist format for the model creation process so users know what they're validating at each stage (+2 points on workflow clarity)

Quick Wins

• Create the references/ directory structure (biggest ROI – +6 points)
• Fix voice inconsistency in examples (+2)
• Remove marketing language (+2)
• Add TOC with navigation links (+1)

These four changes would likely push you into the 72-75 range (C-grade) without touching your core financial logic, which is actually solid.

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