---
id: research-index
title: "Research Index — All 20 Briefs"
type: reference
status: completed
owner: ivan
created: 2026-02-19
updated: 2026-02-19
tags: [hackathon, research, index]
---
# Research Index — All 20 Briefs (Complete)
All research completed Feb 19, 2026. Results in `research/` folder organized by topic.
---
## Round 1 — Original 8 Briefs
| # | Topic | File | Status |
| --- | ---------------------------------------------------------- | -------------------------------------------------- | ------ |
| 1 | SaaS market collapse, $1T+ wiped | `research/narrative/saas-collapse.md` | Done |
| 2 | Person-level vs company-level intelligence | `research/narrative/person-level-intel.md` | Done |
| 3 | Financial context in sales (greenfield) | `research/narrative/financial-context.md` | Done |
| 4 | Broken GTM stack (CEO departures, layoffs) | `research/narrative/broken-gtm.md` | Done |
| 5 | Competitor landscape (ZoomInfo, Clay, Gong, 6sense, Clari) | `research/competitors/landscape.md` | Done |
| 6 | MCP Apps ecosystem (ext-apps SDK, spec, patterns) | `research/tech/mcp-apps-ecosystem.md` | Done |
| 7 | Apollo API (endpoints, schemas, field mapping) | `research/tech/apollo-api.md` | Done |
| 8 | Deal Intelligence category validation | `research/narrative/deal-intelligence-category.md` | Done |
## Round 2 — 12 Additional Briefs
| # | Topic | File | Status |
| --- | ------------------------------------------------- | --------------------------------------------- | ------ |
| 9 | Hackathon event details (prizes, rules, schedule) | `research/hackathon/event-details.md` | Done |
| 10 | Manufact platform (SDK, Cloud, deploy, pricing) | `research/hackathon/manufact-platform.md` | Done |
| 11 | WorkOS (AuthKit, FGA, Grinich on MCP auth) | `research/sponsors/workos.md` | Done |
| 12 | Cloudflare (Workers AI, AI Gateway, D1) | `research/sponsors/cloudflare.md` | Done |
| 13 | MCP landscape (existing sales/finance servers) | `research/tech/mcp-landscape.md` | Done |
| 14 | Participants (expected profiles, saturation) | `research/hackathon/participants.md` | Done |
| 15 | Jon Xu judge profile (portfolio, thesis) | `research/hackathon/jon-xu-judge.md` | Done |
| 16 | AI sales companions (Vendis.ai, People.ai MCP) | `research/competitors/ai-sales-companions.md` | Done |
| 17 | Anti-handoff sales trend (single-thread selling) | `research/narrative/anti-handoff-sales.md` | Done |
| 18 | YC hackathon → interview conversion | `research/yc/hackathon-to-interview.md` | Done |
| 19 | AI-native naming patterns (2026) | `research/naming/ai-native-naming.md` | Done |
| 20 | Anthropic + OpenAI MCP vision (what they want) | `research/sponsors/anthropic-openai-mcp.md` | Done |
## Previously Committed (Round 1)
| File | Status |
| ---------------------------------- | ------ |
| `research/yc/hackathon-winners.md` | Done |
| `research/sponsors/puzzle.md` | Done |
---
## Key Findings Summary
### Market
- $1T+ SaaS market cap wiped (Feb 2026). HubSpot -70%, ZoomInfo -49%.
- 5 CEO departures in GTM stack (Cognism, 6sense, Outreach, Clari, Salesloft).
- 95-5 Rule: Only 5% of B2B buyers in-market per quarter. Company-level intent = broken math.
- 50-80% of negotiated discounts unnecessary (Professional Pricing Society).
### Anti-Handoff Trend
- 70% of B2B buyers can't track supplier contacts (SBI 2024).
- 46% of SaaS companies returning to full-cycle sales model (Ebsta 2025).
- 86% of purchases stall mid-process (Forrester).
- 61% prefer rep-free experience (Gartner 2025).
### Competitive
- **Vendis.ai** (Greylock): Closest — AI-native sales companion. Private beta. No financial modeling.
- **People.ai**: Announced MCP integration Feb 18 (3 days ago). Enterprise-only revenue intel.
- **No one** owns polished end-to-end in-chat sales companion with financial context.
- Confirmed greenfield for sales + finance in MCP.
### Sponsors
- **Anthropic** explicitly showcases sales/outreach MCP Apps (Clay = launch partner).
- **Both Anthropic + OpenAI** say "apps live inside chat, not separate visits."
- **WorkOS**: 1M MAUs free, RBAC in JWTs, FGA. Grinich thesis = MCP + AI auth.
- **Cloudflare**: Workers AI 10k Neurons/day free, AI Gateway for caching.
- **Puzzle**: No free API tier. Mock with exact terminology.
### Hackathon
- YC interview = **1st place / best team ONLY**.
- 50-150 participants, heavy on engineers. Less saturated: vertical apps with polished UX.
- Pre-seeded data is fine (no pre-built projects rule only).
- Manufact Cloud Hobby tier: 5 deploys, 500k req/mo FREE.
- Jon Xu thesis: agentic AI in regulated B2B. Portfolio: Fenrock, FINNY, Manufact, Maywood.
### YC Conversion
- Standard 10-min Zoom interview. Probes business viability, not just tech.
- April (YC S25): Won hackathon → 150 signups in 7 days → $10 early-access → got in.
- Key: "Ship over polish. Charge early." Treat days between as real interview prep.
