Edgecraft

The One-Liner

"Turn any book, course, or transcript into a structured skill graph with prerequisite paths, diagnostic trees, and coaching cues. Not just what to learn -- what's wrong and how to fix it."

Positioning

Position against: Notion/Obsidian knowledge management, Anki/spaced repetition, traditional course outlines, and AI-summarizer tools (Blinkist, Shortform). Their shared weakness: they organize information, not skill progression. None of them tell you "you're stuck here because of this root cause, and here's the fix."

Your position: Counterculture / Category-creating. "Knowledge management tools organize what you know. Edgecraft organizes what you need to learn next -- and diagnoses why you're stuck."

Good/Better/Best placement:

Good: Notion wiki / Obsidian vault (DIY, unstructured, no progression logic)
Better: Skill-specific course platforms (Coursera, Udemy) -- linear progression, no diagnostics
Best: Edgecraft -- prerequisite DAGs, level-gated progression, diagnostic trees (symptom --> root cause --> fix), coaching cues

Elevator pitch test: "Oh, like a Notion knowledge base?" --> "Notion organizes notes. Edgecraft extracts the actual skill structure from content -- prerequisites, progression levels, and most importantly, diagnostic trees. When you're stuck, it tells you the root cause and the fix, like a coach would. It's the difference between a filing cabinet and a training program."

The Math Academy comparison (for people who know it): "It's like Math Academy's prerequisite-gated knowledge graph, but for any domain -- shooting, marketing, hunting, whatever you study."

Smallest Viable Audience

The ONE person: A 28-40 year old self-directed learner who reads 20+ books per year and takes detailed notes but feels like the knowledge doesn't compound. Probably uses Obsidian or Notion. Consumes podcasts and YouTube for skill development. Has tried multiple "second brain" systems and found them great for storage but useless for diagnosing what to practice. Likely in a skill-intensive domain: martial arts, music, coaching, programming, or a sport.

Secondary persona: A coach or trainer who builds curriculum and needs to create diagnostic frameworks for their students. They have deep domain expertise but no system for structuring it into "if you're stuck on X, the root cause is Y, and the fix is Z."

Who it is NOT for:

Casual note-takers who want a prettier Notion template
People looking for AI to auto-learn for them
Academic researchers organizing citations (Zotero/Mendeley territory)
People who don't actively practice skills (no struggling moment)

Where they hang out:

r/ObsidianMD (180K members) -- knowledge management obsessives
r/Zettelkasten (50K members) -- people who take note-taking seriously as a practice
r/learnprogramming (4M members) -- skill learners who understand prerequisite trees
r/selfimprovement (2.5M members) -- broader, but skill-development posts land
r/ProductivityApps (various)
Obsidian Discord (extremely active, 100K+ members)
HackerNews (knowledge tools, learning systems, graph visualization)
Twitter/X: #pkm, #secondbrain, #obsidian community
Podcasts: Building a Second Brain (Tiago Forte), The Knowledge Project (Shane Parrish)

Product-Channel Fit

Primary channel: Reddit + Obsidian community (community-driven, niche)

r/ObsidianMD is obsessed with knowledge graphs, linked thinking, and visualization -- Edgecraft is a natural conversation topic
r/Zettelkasten cares about structured knowledge extraction -- diagnostic trees are a novel structure for this community
These communities reward open methodology sharing and build-in-public approaches
Channel economics: $0 CAC, community driven, $50 LTV works fine at organic scale

Secondary channel: HackerNews / Show HN

"Show HN: I built a tool that turns books into prerequisite skill graphs with diagnostic trees" -- this is HN catnip
The technical architecture (YAML knowledge graphs, DAG visualization, Next.js) appeals to the HN audience
HN drives significant traffic to developer-oriented tools and can create a burst of early users

Tertiary channel: Twitter/X #pkm community

The "personal knowledge management" community on Twitter is active and shares tools frequently
Tiago Forte, Nick Milo (Linking Your Thinking), and others have large followings
A single retweet from a PKM influencer could drive 500+ visits

NOT a fit:

Paid ads (LTV too low, category too niche for broad targeting)
Instagram/TikTok (knowledge graph visualization doesn't compress into short-form)
LinkedIn (too corporate, Edgecraft is for individual skill learners)

The Offer

Hook (first 5 seconds):

Problem-aware: "You've read 50 books on your craft. Can you tell me, right now, the exact prerequisite chain for your weakest skill? Or what root cause is holding you back? That's the gap Edgecraft closes."
Solution-aware: "Second brain tools store what you've learned. Edgecraft structures what you need to learn next -- with diagnostic trees that tell you why you're stuck."
Unaware: "The difference between an expert and a well-read amateur isn't how much they know. It's that the expert has a mental model of prerequisites, root causes, and progression paths. Edgecraft makes that model explicit."

Value equation:

Dream outcome: "See the complete skill structure of any domain -- what depends on what, where you are, what to work on next, and what's causing your plateau"
Time delay: "Ingest a book or transcript and see the extracted skill graph immediately"
Perceived likelihood: "4 domains already built (practical shooting: 36 skills, marketing: 42 skills). You can see the output before you commit."
Effort reduction: "Drop a transcript into the ingestion pipeline. The system extracts skills, prerequisites, diagnostics, and coaching cues. You review and refine, not build from scratch."

Lead magnet: "The Diagnostic Tree Template"

A fillable template (Notion or Markdown) for creating diagnostic trees for any skill: Symptom --> Root Cause --> How to Diagnose --> Fix --> Coaching Cue
One-step-of-many type: they build one diagnostic tree and realize how powerful the structure is, but building an entire domain's worth of them manually is brutal
CTA: "Edgecraft automates this extraction from raw content. See the marketing domain (42 skills) at edgecraft.vercel.app"

Alternative lead magnet: "Your Domain in 5 Minutes"

Service type: user submits a domain and a book/source. Edgecraft produces a mini skill graph (5-10 skills) with prerequisites and 2-3 diagnostic trees
Free trial / taste test: they see structured output from their own domain
Creates massive deprivation: "If 5 skills look this useful, imagine the full 40-skill graph"

Content Strategy

SPCL application:

Status: Show the actual knowledge graphs. A screenshot of the practical shooting skill graph (36 skills, prerequisite DAG, color-coded by level) is inherently impressive and demonstrates access to a novel system.
Power: Teach the diagnostic tree framework. "Here's how to structure any troubleshooting problem as Symptom --> Root Cause --> Fix. I'll show you with a real example from [domain]." When someone applies this to their own coaching or learning, you've demonstrated power.
Credibility: 4 domains already built. "42 marketing skills extracted from Hormozi, Godin, Ellis, Suby, and Balfour transcripts -- with full source attribution." The depth of existing work IS the credibility.
Likeness: "I built this because I was consuming 100+ hours of content and couldn't tell what I actually needed to practice. Notes didn't compound into a training plan." Builder story.

Three repeating content themes:

"Inside the Graph" -- showcase a specific skill from an existing domain. "Here's the diagnostic tree for 'grip' in practical shooting. 4 symptoms, 4 root causes, 4 fixes. This is what a structured skill looks like." Visual + educational.
"Knowledge Extraction is Broken" -- problem-aware content. "You highlighted 200 passages in that book. Can you build a training plan from them? No? That's because highlights aren't structured knowledge." Attacks the current workflow.
"How Experts Actually Think" -- framework content. "An expert doesn't just know more. They have prerequisite chains, diagnostic patterns, and coaching cues organized hierarchically. Here's what that structure looks like." Unaware-level hooks that introduce the concept.

Content-to-product pipeline:

Reddit post (diagnostic tree example) --> profile click --> blog post (full methodology) --> edgecraft.vercel.app (explore the graph)
HN "Show HN" --> direct traffic --> explore existing domains
Obsidian Discord share --> edgecraft.vercel.app

Reddit Playbook

Target subreddits (ranked by priority):

r/ObsidianMD (primary) -- 180K, knowledge graph enthusiasts. Posts about "how to structure knowledge" are constant and highly engaged.
r/Zettelkasten (primary) -- 50K, people who take knowledge structuring seriously. The diagnostic tree is a novel note type for this community.
r/learnprogramming (secondary) -- 4M, understands prerequisite trees intuitively (you can't learn recursion before loops). The skill graph concept resonates immediately.
r/selfimprovement (secondary) -- 2.5M, broader audience interested in skill development. "Here's how to diagnose why you're plateauing at anything."
r/productivity (occasional) -- when "how to actually use the notes you take" discussions come up.

Value-first comment examples:

On a r/ObsidianMD post "How do you structure notes from books?":

"In an effort to add value -- I spent a year trying to make book notes useful in Obsidian and kept hitting the same wall: I had 500 linked notes but couldn't answer 'what should I practice next?' The missing piece was structure beyond links.

What I landed on: every skill gets a standardized structure -- prerequisites (what must you know first?), progression levels (what does beginner vs advanced look like?), and diagnostic trees (if you're stuck, what's the root cause?). The diagnostic tree is the highest-value part: Symptom --> Root Cause --> How to Diagnose --> Fix --> Coaching Cue. One of these per common error is worth 50 highlighted passages.

Example from practical shooting: Symptom: shots going left. Root cause: sympathetic grip squeeze during trigger press. How to diagnose: dry fire and watch the sights -- if they dip left at the break, it's grip. Fix: isolate trigger finger movement with ball-and-dummy drills. Coaching cue: 'Press the trigger like you're pressing an elevator button -- one finger moves, nothing else.'

That structure turned 40 hours of podcast transcripts into something I actually train from. For context, I've been building this extraction system for about a year now."

On a r/Zettelkasten post "My notes don't help me get better at things":

"This is the gap between knowledge management and skill development. Zettelkasten is brilliant for connecting ideas. But it doesn't encode: (1) what depends on what (prerequisite order), (2) what level you're at (progression), or (3) what's wrong and how to fix it (diagnostics).

The concept that changed everything for me was the diagnostic tree -- borrowed from medical diagnosis but applied to any skill. When a student is stuck, you don't just say 'practice more.' You say 'your symptom is X, the root cause is Y (here's how to confirm), and the fix is Z.' THAT is the knowledge that actually makes people better. And it's extractable from any good book or expert interview -- they're constantly describing symptom-cause-fix chains, we just don't capture them in that structure."

90-day plan:

Weeks 1-2: Build account, lurk r/ObsidianMD and r/Zettelkasten. Study what frustrates people about their PKM systems. Note recurring complaints about "notes I never look at again."
Weeks 3-6: Comment 2-3x daily on knowledge structuring threads. Share the diagnostic tree framework. Share specific examples from existing domains (shooting, marketing). Never mention Edgecraft by name.
Weeks 7-8: First long-form post on r/ObsidianMD: "I Tried to Turn Books Into Training Plans. Here's the Note Structure That Finally Worked." Show the diagnostic tree format, progression levels, prerequisites. Include screenshots of the actual skill graph visualization. Mention Edgecraft at the end as context.
Weeks 9-10: Submit "Show HN: I built a tool that turns books into prerequisite skill graphs with diagnostic trees." Include technical details (Next.js, YAML, DAG visualization). Link to live demo.
Weeks 11-12: Post in Obsidian Discord. Share the Diagnostic Tree Template as a free download. Begin engaging r/learnprogramming with "how to structure what you're learning" content.

First 10 Users

Specific tactics:

Show HN post: "Show HN: Knowledge graph extraction -- turns books/transcripts into skill graphs with diagnostic trees." Include: live link, screenshot of the marketing domain graph (42 skills), one example diagnostic tree. HN loves novel knowledge tools.
r/ObsidianMD showcase post: "I built a system that extracts structured skill graphs from books and transcripts. Here's what 42 marketing skills look like as a prerequisite DAG." Include screenshots of the visualization, link to the live app.
Obsidian Discord share: Post in #share-showcase channel with screenshots and live link. The Obsidian community is the most likely early-adopter base.
DM 5 PKM content creators on Twitter/X: People like Nick Milo (Linking Your Thinking), Danny Hatcher, or Eleanor Konik who write about knowledge management. "I built a knowledge graph system that adds prerequisite paths and diagnostic trees to any domain. Would love your take -- here's the live version with 4 domains."
Product Hunt launch: "Edgecraft -- Structured skill graphs from any content." Product Hunt's audience is tool enthusiasts. Timing: launch on a Tuesday for maximum visibility.
Find 3 coaches/trainers in the practical shooting community (which already has a 36-skill domain). Show them the practical shooting graph and ask: "Would this be useful for your students?"

Sean Ellis PMF survey for Edgecraft:

"How would you feel if you could no longer use Edgecraft?"

Very disappointed: "I'd lose the only system that turns what I read into a structured training plan. I'd go back to unstructured notes that I never act on."
Somewhat disappointed: "I'd miss the visualization but could probably recreate the YAML structure manually with enough effort."

Activation moment: The first time a user explores an existing domain graph, clicks on a skill, reads the diagnostic tree, and thinks "THAT is exactly why I'm stuck at [thing]." The aha moment is the diagnostic tree -- not the skill list, not the DAG, but the moment they see their own symptom mapped to a root cause and fix.

Activation optimization:

Landing page should drop users directly into the interactive graph for one domain (marketing is broadest appeal)
First click on a skill node should show the diagnostic tree prominently -- this is the differentiator
"Explore 4 domains" navigation visible immediately
No signup required to explore existing domains

Word of Mouth Trigger

What makes someone tell a friend: "I found this tool that turned a bunch of marketing books into a skill graph with 42 skills, prerequisites, and diagnostic trees. Click on any skill and it tells you why you're stuck and how to fix it. It's insane."

Visibility problem and fix: Knowledge tools are used alone. Nobody sees your skill graph. Fixes:

Shareable skill graph screenshots -- the DAG visualization is inherently visual and impressive. When someone screenshots the marketing knowledge graph and posts it in a Slack or Discord, it sells itself. Design the visualization to be screenshot-worthy: clean layout, color-coded levels, clear prerequisite arrows.
"My Skill Map" export -- users can mark their current level on each skill and export a shareable progress map. "Here's where I am in the marketing knowledge graph." This creates the social trigger: "Where did you get that map?"
Domain-specific landing pages -- edgecraft.vercel.app/marketing, /practical-shooting, etc. These are shareable URLs that people drop into relevant communities.
Diagnostic tree cards -- individual diagnostic trees formatted as shareable cards. "Symptom: Your content gets views but no leads. Root cause: Content is optimized for entertainment, not for your avatar." These standalone cards are valuable content that point back to the full graph.

Status play: Dominance + Affiliation.

Dominance: "I have a structured mental model of my skill domain that you don't. Look at this graph." The person sharing looks more organized, more systematic, more serious about their craft.
Affiliation: "We're the kind of learners who structure knowledge, not just consume it." This resonates with the Obsidian/PKM crowd's identity.

The built-in sentence: "It's like Math Academy's knowledge graph, but for anything." This one-sentence description is memorable, communicable, and immediately understood by anyone who knows Math Academy. For those who don't: "It turns books into training plans with diagnostic trees."

Weekly Action Plan (5 hrs/week)

Week 1: Reddit + Community Foundation

Create Reddit account: bio mentions "building structured knowledge tools" (15 min)
Read top 50 all-time posts on r/ObsidianMD -- note recurring frustrations with knowledge management (1 hr)
Read top 30 on r/Zettelkasten -- note what people wish their systems did (45 min)
Comment on 3 knowledge-structuring threads per day with diagnostic tree examples (1 hr)
Create the "Diagnostic Tree Template" -- fillable Notion/Markdown template (1.5 hr)
Set up UTM tracking on Reddit profile link (15 min)

Week 2: Content Foundation + Obsidian Community

Write blog post: "Why Your Book Notes Don't Make You Better -- The Missing Structure" (2 hr)
Continue 3 Reddit comments/day on r/ObsidianMD and r/Zettelkasten (1 hr)
Join Obsidian Discord, lurk in #knowledge-management and #share-showcase (30 min)
Create 3 screenshot-worthy diagnostic tree cards from the marketing domain (1 hr)
Share one diagnostic tree card on r/ObsidianMD as a "here's a note structure I've been experimenting with" (30 min)

Week 3: Long-Form Post + HN Prep

Write and post to r/ObsidianMD: "I Tried to Turn Books Into Training Plans -- Here's the Note Structure That Finally Worked" (3 hr)
Continue daily Reddit commenting (45 min)
Reply to every comment on long-form post (30 min)
Draft Show HN post with technical framing (30 min)
Share Diagnostic Tree Template on Obsidian Discord (15 min)

Week 4: HN Launch + Outreach

Submit Show HN post (30 min)
Monitor and respond to HN comments for 24 hours (1 hr)
DM 3 PKM content creators on Twitter with personalized message + link (30 min)
Post in r/Zettelkasten: "Diagnostic Trees as a Note Type -- How I Structure Troubleshooting Knowledge" (1 hr)
Measure: HN traffic, Reddit profile clicks, edgecraft.vercel.app visitors, template downloads (30 min)
Continue daily Reddit commenting (1 hr)

Metrics to Track

Reddit karma in r/ObsidianMD and r/Zettelkasten
Profile clicks from Reddit (UTM tracked)
edgecraft.vercel.app unique visitors (weekly)
Traffic sources: Reddit vs HN vs Obsidian Discord vs organic
Diagnostic Tree Template downloads
Time on site (proxy for activation -- are people exploring the graph?)
Skills clicked per session (proxy for engagement depth)
IRL responses: DMs, "this is exactly what I've been looking for" comments
GitHub stars (if repo is public -- proxy for developer interest)

Kill Criteria

Stop investing after 90 days if ALL of the following are true:

Show HN gets fewer than 10 upvotes
Long-form r/ObsidianMD post gets fewer than 20 upvotes
Fewer than 50 unique visitors to edgecraft.vercel.app from all channels combined
Nobody has DM'd or commented asking how to build their own domain

If the concept resonates (upvotes, comments) but nobody visits the app, it's an activation/bridge problem. Fix: embed interactive screenshots or GIFs of the skill graph directly in posts so people experience the value without clicking through.

If neither the concept nor the app gets traction, the positioning may be wrong. Test reframing: instead of "knowledge management" (crowded, commodity), position as "coaching infrastructure" targeting coaches and trainers: "Build diagnostic frameworks your students can use to self-correct." This is a higher-willingness-to-pay audience with a clearer pain point.

Seasonal note: No strong seasonality for knowledge tools. However, January ("new year, new learning goals") and September ("back to learning") are natural spikes. If starting in Q4, time the HN launch for early January.

Edgecraft Marketing Playbook