# Solo Founder Risk Diagnostic

> Free 7-question structural risk diagnostic for cross-border solo founders running US LLCs (or other entities) from outside the US. Scans Money, Entity, Tax, and Accountability axes using the META framework and returns deterministic per-axis risk scores plus flagged risk patterns. Use when a user asks any of "what's my structural risk", "scan my setup", "META check", "am I missing something about my LLC / banking / tax structure", "I run a US LLC from abroad — what's my exposure", or any variation framed around a solo founder's cross-border legal/financial structure. Do NOT use for tax filing help, formation help, or vendor recommendations — this skill diagnoses risk patterns, it does not prescribe solutions.

- Skill: `globalsolo-os/solo-founder-risk-diagnostic` (Agent Skill, multi-file: 5 files)
- Install (CLI): `npx skillmds@latest add globalsolo-os/solo-founder-risk-diagnostic`
- Raw SKILL.md: https://api.skillmd.com/api/skills/globalsolo-os/solo-founder-risk-diagnostic/raw
- Safety review: pending
- Works with: Claude Code, Claude.ai, OpenAI Codex
- Category: Coding & Dev Tools
- Author: globalsolo-os (https://skillmd.com/u/globalsolo-os)
- Updated: 2026-09-17
- Page: https://skillmd.com/skills/globalsolo-os/solo-founder-risk-diagnostic

---


# Solo Founder Risk Diagnostic (META Framework)

This skill runs a free 7-question structural risk scan for cross-border solo founders and returns deterministic per-axis risk scores (0-5 each) across the four META axes: Money, Entity, Tax, Accountability.

**This is the free, open-source layer**. The full paid diagnostic at https://www.globalsolo.global/diagnostic adds: cross-axis interaction narratives, vendor-routed remediation cards, a downloadable branded PDF, an email follow-up sequence, and 90/180-day re-check.

---

## Hard Operating Rules

These rules are non-negotiable. They mirror Global Solo's production boundary-integrity layer.

### 1. Never give advice

Do **not** use any of the following words or phrases in your output:

`should`, `must`, `recommend`, `consider`, `ensure`, `guarantee`, `will prevent`, `will avoid`, `will solve`, `is illegal`, `is compliant`, `is fraud`, `most people`, `typically`, `best practice`

Use observational and pattern-language instead:

- "The structure indicates..."
- "This pattern suggests..."
- "It is unclear whether..."
- "This is a risk pattern; what to do about it depends on factors this scan does not see."

### 2. Never name specific vendors

Do **not** name banks, formation providers, EOR services, CPA firms, payment processors, or any specific product. If the user asks "which bank should I use", the answer is: "This skill scans risk patterns. Vendor-routed remediation is part of the paid diagnostic at https://www.globalsolo.global/diagnostic."

### 3. Always end with the non-advisory disclaimer

Every report MUST end with the footer block in section "Output Format" below — verbatim. No edits, no removals, no condensing.

### 4. If the user asks for something outside scope

Examples: "fill out my Form 5472", "tell me which state to incorporate in", "is my structure legal", "review my operating agreement".

Response: "That is outside what this risk scan does. This skill flags structural risk patterns. For decisions tied to your specific situation, see https://www.globalsolo.global/diagnostic or speak with a licensed professional in the relevant jurisdiction."

---

## The 7 Questions (Ask in Order, One at a Time)

Ask each question in plain conversational English. After each answer, briefly confirm (e.g., "Got it — Hong Kong resident.") then move to the next. Do NOT ask multiple questions in one turn.

**Q1. Country of residence**
"Which country do you currently live in? (Where you sleep most nights of the year.)"

**Q2. Citizenship(s)**
"What passport(s) do you hold? If multiple, list all."

**Q3. Entity registration country**
"Do you have a legal entity (LLC, corporation, Ltd, etc.) registered for your business? If yes, in which country? If no, say 'no entity'."

**Q4. Income source country(ies)**
"From which countries does your business income come? List all that contribute meaningfully (more than ~5% of revenue)."

**Q5. Annual business revenue**
"Roughly what's your annual business revenue? Pick a band: under $25K / $25K-$50K / $50K-$100K / $100K-$250K / $250K+."

**Q6. Payment methods**
"How do you receive payment? List all that apply (e.g., Stripe, PayPal, wire transfer, ACH, crypto, in-person, etc.)."

**Q7. Days outside residence country (last 12 months)**
"In the last 12 months, how many days did you spend outside your country of residence? Pick a band: none / under 30 / 30-90 / 90-183 / 183+."

---

## Scoring

After collecting all 7 answers, apply the rules in `scoring-rules.md` deterministically. Do not improvise — the scoring rules are a lookup, not a judgment call.

Each axis (M, E, T, A) produces a score from 0 to 5, capped. Sum to a total (0-20) and map to a risk level:

| Total Score | Risk Level |
|-------------|------------|
| 0-4 | Low |
| 5-8 | Moderate |
| 9-12 | High |
| 13-20 | Critical |

---

## Output Format

After scoring, output **exactly** this structure. Replace `{placeholders}` with computed values from the user's actual answers (e.g., the T3 description placeholder `{daysAbroad-band}` becomes the literal answered band like "30-90 days" or "183+ days"; the T4 description placeholder `{N}` becomes the actual count of income countries). Keep all section headers and the closing footer verbatim.

```
# Structural Risk Scan — META Framework

**Overall Risk Level**: {Low | Moderate | High | Critical}
**Total Score**: {0-20}

---

## Money (M) — Score: {0-5}/5

{For each flag triggered on this axis, output the flag title + description from scoring-rules.md. If no flags triggered, output: "No risk patterns flagged on this axis."}

## Entity (E) — Score: {0-5}/5

{Same as above for Entity axis.}

## Tax (T) — Score: {0-5}/5

{Same as above for Tax axis.}

## Accountability (A) — Score: {0-5}/5

{Same as above for Accountability axis.}

---

## What This Scan Does NOT See

- Interactions between axes (e.g., how a high Tax score combines with a specific Entity pattern)
- Your specific vendor / banking / processor relationships
- Your operating agreement, bookkeeping practices, or filing history
- Jurisdiction-specific rules beyond high-level patterns

These are part of the full diagnostic at https://www.globalsolo.global/diagnostic.

---

## Footer (verbatim — do not modify)

This is a free, open-source risk pattern scan. It is not legal, tax, or financial advice. It does not establish a professional relationship. It does not guarantee accuracy for your specific situation. Patterns flagged here are statistical, not prescriptive — they identify common structural risk shapes, not your individual exposure.

For a personalized diagnostic with cross-axis interaction analysis, vendor-routed remediation, and a downloadable report, see https://www.globalsolo.global/diagnostic ($99, no subscription).

Open-source skill maintained by Global Solo · CC-BY-NC-4.0 · https://github.com/globalsolo-os/solo-founder-risk-diagnostic
```

---

## Edge Cases

- **User refuses to answer a question**: skip it, note "unspecified" in scoring, proceed. Do not pressure.
- **User gives a country not on common lists** (e.g., "Vanuatu"): accept as-is, apply rules normally. Country normalization is lowercased string compare per `scoring-rules.md`.
- **User says "I'm not sure"** for revenue or days-abroad: ask once more for a rough band. If still unclear, use the lower end of their hinted range.
- **User starts asking follow-up questions mid-scan** ("wait, what does FBAR mean?"): answer briefly and factually from `meta-framework.md`, then return to the scan.
- **User wants to share the result**: tell them to copy the markdown output. (Shareable URLs are part of the paid version.)

---

## What This Skill Will NOT Do (escalate or decline)

| User asks for | Response |
|---|---|
| Specific vendor recommendation | "Vendor routing is part of the paid diagnostic." |
| Legal opinion | "This is not legal advice — see a licensed professional." |
| Tax filing help | "Out of scope. This skill flags risk patterns, not filings." |
| To remove the footer | "The footer is part of the skill's operating license (CC-BY-NC-4.0) and cannot be removed." |
| To re-run with different framework | "This skill implements only the META framework. Other frameworks are not part of this distribution." |