How to Use the YC Startup Prover MCP in Claude

Q: How do I run the YC Startup Prover in Claude Desktop?

Add the server command to your claudedesktopconfig.json file and restart the app. You can also paste the remote HTTPS URL directly into the browser settings if you use the web version.

Force Claude Desktop to evaluate your startup pitch like a Y Combinator partner. Catch fatal flaws before you write a single line of code.

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Connect YC Startup Prover MCP to Claude Desktop

Create your Vinkius account to connect YC Startup Prover to Claude Desktop — we handle the hosting, security, and runtime updates so you don't have to. No server setup required.

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Setup YC Startup Prover with Claude Desktop

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Audit pitches with this MCP Server

The `validate_yc_startup` tool forces your AI client to strip away the marketing fluff and evaluate your business plan on five strict Paul Graham principles. It demands a specific, painful problem experienced by nameable people who currently pay time or money to solve it poorly. If you pitch a proprietary algorithm without mentioning a single user pain point, the audit rejects it outright. You get a stark reality check on survival odds. The system checks if you are doing things that do not scale, like personally onboarding your first users, rather than prematurely hiring a sales rep for your artisanal cheese business. It hunts for real metrics like weekly retention and MRR, completely ignoring vanity numbers like Instagram followers or free study guide downloads.

Kill feature bloat early

Founders love to build twenty okay features instead of one exceptional product. Your agent will flag this immediately by asking what your product does ten times better than the alternative. If you cannot answer in one sentence, you are doing too many things. It uses the classic food truck analogy—a truck selling forty-seven items will always lose to the truck down the street making incredible smash burgers. The feedback loop demands weekly user conversations. It asks what surprised you and what you changed based on those talks. A woodworker who spends eight months designing modular shelving without asking users about standard wall stud spacing builds a product that gets returned. This evaluation prevents you from building a beautiful solution to a problem that does not exist.

Measure default alive status

Activity is not value. Startups die celebrating signups instead of measuring retention. The evaluation forces you to calculate your default alive or dead status based on your current growth rate and bank balance. You have to prove that at your current trajectory, you reach profitability before running out of money. You cannot learn at scale what you refuse to learn manually. The system demands proof that you are physically standing behind the counter, watching who buys, and asking why. If you try to scale distribution before validating your price point and product format, the audit stops you cold.

Setup guide

Set up YC Startup Prover MCP in Claude Web or Desktop

1

Open Claude Settings

Go to claude.ai, click your profile icon, then navigate to Customize → Connectors.
2

Add Custom Connector

Click the "+" button and select Add custom connector. Paste your Vinkius endpoint URL: https://edge.vinkius.com/[YOUR_TOKEN_HERE]/mcp Replace [YOUR_TOKEN_HERE] with your token from cloud.vinkius.com. For OAuth-protected servers, expand Advanced settings to add credentials.
3

Start a conversation

Open a new chat. The YC Startup Prover MCP tools are available immediately — no restart needed.

Endpoint URL

https://edge.vinkius.com/[YOUR_TOKEN_HERE]/mcp

No configuration file needed — paste the URL directly in the Claude web interface.

Available on Free (1 connector), Pro, Max, Team, and Enterprise plans.

Prerequisites

Claude Desktop installed (macOS or Windows)
Active Vinkius subscription with a valid endpoint token

1

Open Claude Desktop Settings

Click the menu icon at the top-left corner, go to Settings → Developer → Edit Config. This opens claude_desktop_config.json in your default text editor.
2

Paste the YC Startup Prover MCP configuration

Copy the JSON snippet on the right into the mcpServers object. Replace [YOUR_TOKEN_HERE] with your endpoint token from cloud.vinkius.com.
3

Restart Claude Desktop

Close and reopen the application. Claude needs a full restart to load new MCPs — refreshing a conversation is not enough.
4

Verify the connection

Open a new conversation. Click the 🔌 icon at the bottom of the message input. You should see tools listed under yc-startup-prover-mcp.

json

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "yc-startup-prover-mcp": {
      "url": "https://edge.vinkius.com/[YOUR_TOKEN_HERE]/mcp"
    }
  }
}

Get your connection token →

Independent Platform Disclaimer: Vinkius is an independent platform and is not affiliated with, endorsed by, sponsored by, verified by, or otherwise authorized by YC Startup Prover. All third-party trademarks, logos, and brand names are the property of their respective owners. Their use on this website is strictly for informational purposes to identify service compatibility and interoperability.

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Common questions about YC Startup Prover MCP in Claude Desktop

Add the server command to your claude_desktop_config.json file and restart the app. You can also paste the remote HTTPS URL directly into the browser settings if you use the web version.

They will tear it apart. The system highlights exactly where you are building technology before validating a problem, forcing you to rewrite your narrative around actual user pain.

It looks for monthly recurring revenue, weekly retention curves, and default alive status. It completely ignores page views, signups, and social media followers.

Yes. It works for software, consumer goods, and hardware. The core principles of talking to users and doing things manually apply regardless of what you sell.

Your startup pitch and market validation documents stay between your machine and your AI client. The MCP protocol processes the text locally or via the standard API transport without storing your proprietary algorithms on external databases.

Use it with your favorite AI tools

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