Cognitive Architecture Cheat Sheet for Founders
Actors & Routers with agency.
Vector: What are they trying to achieve?Superpower: What are they top 1% at?Keys: What networks do they unlock?Bridge_Node: [True/False] Do they connect silos?Ground truth, physics, and assets.
Verification: [Assumption | Anecdotal | Verified Fact]Source_Node: Who/Where did this come from?Hypotheses requiring execution.
Origin_Edge: WHO + WHAT collisionThe_Test (Praxis): Cheapest/fastest action to prove itKill_Criteria (Rigor): Signal that idea is deadStatus: [Active | Validated | Killed | Shipped]Hardcode these verbs into your database schema to ensure queryability:
[MET_AT] → WHO to SITUATION[BUILT/POSSESSES] → WHO to ASSET[CONSTRAINED_BY] → WHO to CONSTRAINT[VALIDATES] → WHO/WHAT to WHAT IF[GENERATES] → Collision to WHAT IF[BRIDGE_TO] → WHO to TARGET CLUSTERThe Connector moves between nodes, exploiting structural holes in the network.
WHO in an adjacent, unconnected industry (e.g., ConTech, Gen Insurance).WHAT (Asset/Playbook).WHAT (Constraints) of your target industry (Title Insurance).WHAT IF back to the original WHO as an opportunity to "clone their brain" into a new market, not as a plea for mentorship.The Architect builds the environment and schema where collisions inevitably happen.
WHAT IFs to exist without Kill_Criteria. The Architect ruthlessly prunes the graph to prevent system collapse.Edges. Deploy Connectors to those specific gaps.