The 3-agent solo founder stack (Research / Content / Ops) compressed into the 5 elements every AI agent needs: 1. Knowledge base: top 10 competitors, voice docs, ICP, anti-examples 2. MCP tools: web search, email, calendar, CMS, analytics 3. Workflow: recurring trigger (weekly sweep / monthly content / daily triage) 4. Quality gates: auto-score + auto-rewrite below threshold 5. Output format: executive summary + 1 action per item + one page max The 80/20 line worth saving: "The agent handles 80% of the production. You handle 20% of the soul." Math: 3 hires = $180K/year. 3 agents = your Claude bill. 70-80% role coverage in 12-18 months. Build order: Research (week 1) → Content (week 2) → Ops (week 3). Running this stack solo for 6 months on TweetsMash + LinkedMash. The math holds.

@code_rams the underrated bit is quality gates. most 3-agent stacks become 3 interns generating more review work. the stack starts compounding only when bad outputs are auto-rewritten or escalated.

@code_rams the real AI skill isn't prompting. it's knowing when the output is wrong without being told

@code_rams agent 4: collect invoices