StartupFundingAgent - Production-Grade MCP

From Zero to Funding Pitch in 60 Seconds

StartupFundingAgent (also known as Grant Hunter MCP) is an enterprise-ready Model Context Protocol (MCP) server designed to autonomously hunt for non-dilutive funding, generate winning pitches using advanced AI frameworks, and seamlessly integrate with Google Workspace for execution.

📖 Table of Contents

• Core Features

• Architecture

• Security & Resilience

• Technical Stack

• Setup Instructions

• API Reference

• Environment Variables

• Project Structure

• MCP Integration

• Development

• Contributing

• Future Roadmap

🚀 Core Features

This MCP exposes three powerful, production-hardened endpoints:

1. /query_grants - Intelligent Grant Discovery

• Real-Time Search: Direct integration with Grants.gov API.

• Smart Filtering: Deduplicates and sorts opportunities by deadline.

• Keyword-Based Discovery: Search funding opportunities with flexible keyword matching.

• Resilient: Implements a 5x Retry Policy with Exponential Backoff to handle government API instability.

2. /generate_pitch - AI-Powered Pitch Architect

• Gemini Integration: Leverages Google's Gemini 2.0 Flash for high-speed, high-quality generation.

• 150-Word Precision: Generates compelling, concise funding pitches optimized for grant applications.

• Triple-Horizon Framework: Enforces a strict prompt structure (Acute Pain Point, Technical Deviation, Macro-Economic Lock) to maximize scoring potential.

• Graceful Fallback: Automatic template fallback ensures business continuity even if AI services are disrupted.

3. /manage_google_services - Secure Execution

• Gmail Integration: Auto-drafts personalized emails to grant officers.

• Calendar Sync: Automatically adds hard deadlines to your Google Calendar.

• Least Privilege: Operates with ephemeral OAuth tokens passed securely at runtime.

🏗️ Architectural Excellence

We have evolved the legacy Flask MVP into a Containerized FastAPI MCP Server, representing a paradigm shift in reliability and scalability.

• Microservices-Ready: Stateless architecture designed for orchestration.

• Type-Safe: Fully typed Python codebase for maintainability.

• Dockerized: "Write Once, Run Anywhere" deployment.

🛡️ Security & Resilience Pillars

We treat security and reliability as first-class citizens, not afterthoughts.

1. Lethal Trifecta Mitigation (Security)

• Zero Hardcoded Secrets: All API keys and Client IDs are sourced strictly from os.environ.

• Ephemeral Tokens: OAuth tokens are consumed via request body and never stored persistently.

• Secure Configuration: Comprehensive .gitignore ensures no secrets are committed.

2. Network Resilience (Reliability)

• Production AgentOps Standard: We overrode the legacy MAX_RETRY_ATTEMPTS=2 policy.

• 5x Retry Loop: All external API calls (Grants.gov, Google Services) implement a robust 5-attempt retry mechanism with exponential backoff to survive transient network failures (5xx/429).

3. Input Validation (Safety)

• Strict Pydantic Schemas: Every endpoint is protected by rigorous data models (GrantsQueryInput, PitchGenerateInput, etc.).

• Injection Prevention: Validated inputs prevent XSS and injection attacks before they reach business logic.

4. Logging Hygiene

• No PII in Logs: Email bodies and pitch drafts are never logged.

• Configurable Log Level: Set LOG_LEVEL=INFO for production; DEBUG for development.

🛠️ Technical Stack

• Runtime: Python 3.11 (Slim Docker Image)

• Framework: FastAPI (High-performance Async I/O)

• Server: Uvicorn (Standard ASGI)

• AI: Google Generative AI (Gemini 2.0 Flash)

• Integration: Google API Client (Gmail, Calendar)

• Validation: Pydantic v2

⚡ Setup Instructions

Get the agent running in seconds.

Prerequisites

• Docker (recommended) OR Python 3.11+

• A Gemini API key (get one at Google AI Studio)

• (Optional) Google OAuth credentials for Google Services integration

1. Configure Environment

Required variables:

• GEMINI_API_KEY: Your Google Gemini API key

2. Build the Container

3. Run the Agent

4. Verify

Access the auto-generated OpenAPI documentation: http://localhost:8080/docs

Alternative: Run Without Docker

The server will be available at http://localhost:8000.

📚 API Reference

Health Check

Returns server health status.

POST /query_grants

Search for grant opportunities.

Request Body:

Response:

POST /generate_pitch

Generate an AI-powered funding pitch.

Request Body:

Response:

POST /manage_google_services

Create Gmail draft and Calendar event for grant deadlines.

Request Body:

Response:

🔐 Environment Variables

See .env.example for a complete list of available variables.

📁 Project Structure

🔌 MCP Integration

This server follows the Model Context Protocol specification. Use the mcp_definition.yaml file to configure your MCP client.

Using with Claude Desktop

1. Update mcp_definition.yaml with your server URL

2. Add the MCP server to your Claude Desktop configuration

3. Start using grant discovery and pitch generation in conversations

🧪 Development

Running Tests

Linting

Security Notes

• Never commit - Contains sensitive API keys

• OAuth tokens are ephemeral - Passed at runtime, never stored

• All inputs validated - Using Pydantic models with strict validation

• No hardcoded secrets - All credentials loaded from environment variables

🤝 Contributing

1. Check TODO.md for prioritized tasks

2. Follow the existing code style

3. Ensure all tests pass before submitting PRs

4. Never commit secrets or API keys

🔮 V2 Scope (Future Roadmap)

While this MVP delivers a complete "Grant Hunter" loop, our vision extends further:

• Advanced UI: React/Next.js dashboard for visual pipeline management.

• Team Collaboration: Multi-user support with role-based access control (RBAC).

• Analytics Engine: Dashboard for tracking win rates and funding funnel metrics.

• Full OAuth2 Flow: Implementing a dedicated auth service for token lifecycle management.

• Async Network Layer: Migration from requests to httpx planned for V2 to handle >10k concurrent connections (currently optimized for single-tenant stability).

• Brazil Adaptation: Support for Brazilian grant sources (Transferegov, etc.)

📄 License

MIT License - See LICENSE file for details.

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