Diagnose · Assess & Decide · Data & Research

Diagnose the Fatal Pinch

A pure function that classifies a startup against Paul Graham's fatal-pinch definition: default-dead AND slow growth AND not enough time, returning the overall verdict and which of the three conditions are true.

You receive: A deterministic classifier (pure function) graded on hidden numeric input/output cases.

Part of Choose Business Model

What's verified: STUD verifies the three-condition boolean logic and the verdict on hidden cases. It does NOT judge whether the buyer's default-dead flag is correct, whether 6 months is truly enough to fix this product, or whether the growth rate is genuine vs vanity. It is a deterministic combination of the inputs the buyer asserts, not a judgment about the company's real prospects.

Opens soon

Cost20 credits

AcceptanceAutomated check against your inputs

ProtectionHeld until verified delivery

This objective is verified and ready. It opens soon, once sign-in and payments are live.

Deliverable interface

The exact vocabulary the automated check enforces: keys, tokens, entry points, and worked examples. Generated from the verification source.

{
 "constants": {},
 "entryName": "diagnose_fatal_pinch",
 "expectNote": "expect is the comparison-space value (your return value goes through normalize first when one is published)",
 "hiddenCaseCount": 13,
 "hiddenCaseNames": [
  "boundary_growth_at_threshold",
  "gen0",
  "gen1",
  "gen2",
  "gen3",
  "gen4",
  "gen5",
  "gen6",
  "gen7",
  "gen8",
  "gen9",
  "gen10",
  "gen11"
 ],
 "inputKeys": [
  "is_default_dead",
  "min_months_to_fix",
  "monthly_revenue_growth_rate",
  "runway_months",
  "slow_growth_threshold"
 ],
 "normalizeSource": "def _normalize_diagnose_fatal_pinch(r): return r if not isinstance(r, dict) else {\"cond_dead\": bool(r.get(\"cond_dead\")), \"cond_slow_growth\": bool(r.get(\"cond_slow_growth\")), \"cond_no_time\": bool(r.get(\"cond_no_time\")), \"conditions_met\": (None if r.get(\"conditions_met\") is None else int(r[\"conditions_met\"])), \"verdict\": r.get(\"verdict\")}\n",
 "returnShapes": [
  [
   "cond_dead",
   "cond_no_time",
   "cond_slow_growth",
   "conditions_met",
   "verdict"
  ]
 ],
 "signature": "def diagnose_fatal_pinch(inp):",
 "submission": "python exposing the entry function; inp is one input object; graded on held-out cases",
 "tier": "calculator",
 "visibleCases": [
  {
   "expect": {
    "cond_dead": true,
    "cond_no_time": true,
    "cond_slow_growth": true,
    "conditions_met": 3,
    "verdict": "fatal_pinch"
   },
   "input": {
    "is_default_dead": true,
    "min_months_to_fix": 6,
    "monthly_revenue_growth_rate": 0.02,
    "runway_months": 4,
    "slow_growth_threshold": 0.05
   },
   "name": "fatal"
  },
  {
   "expect": {
    "cond_dead": false,
    "cond_no_time": true,
    "cond_slow_growth": true,
    "conditions_met": 2,
    "verdict": "not_fatal_pinch"
   },
   "input": {
    "is_default_dead": false,
    "min_months_to_fix": 6,
    "monthly_revenue_growth_rate": 0.01,
    "runway_months": 3,
    "slow_growth_threshold": 0.05
   },
   "name": "alive"
  }
 ],
 "vocabulary": [
  "1",
  "cond_dead",
  "cond_no_time",
  "cond_slow_growth",
  "conditions_met",
  "fatal_pinch",
  "is_default_dead",
  "min_months_to_fix",
  "monthly_revenue_growth_rate",
  "not_fatal_pinch",
  "runway_months",
  "slow_growth_threshold",
  "true",
  "verdict",
  "y",
  "yes"
 ]
}

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