The Academy Advanced
Build Your Own Agents, Skills & Commands
What you'll build
Your own working AI-native primitive set, built on valuefirstagent.com: a real agent (front-matter-valid, with a wired expertise reference), at least one skill (valid YAML front matter, correct tier), and one command (authored to the ratified command template) — all runnable, and put through a real 'does it operate?' certification the same way this org certifies its own agents.
The live cadence
How the live thing runs for this path.
Office Hours as a builder clinic to start — author between sessions, bring your agent/skill/command to be reviewed live by the faculty who own this craft (Aegis for agent quality, Hone for skill/command architecture). Cohort later.
The build, step by step
What you'll do, in order.
- Study the living architecture as worked examples Before building, study real ones: open a few agent definitions in the full VFT agent roster, read a skill's front matter, read the command template. The org's own architecture IS the textbook. (open any file under agents/, the roster orientation in agents/README.md, the index in agents/manifest.json, and .claude/commands/_TEMPLATE.md.)
- Author a skill that passes the front-matter contract Write your first skill with valid YAML front matter (title, tier, load_discipline, category, owner_agent, provenance) and the right tier semantics. Keep the two axes distinct: `tier` is arch (always-loaded) vs domain (demand-loaded); `load_discipline` further says when a domain skill loads — always, demand, or per-agent. The contract is enforced, so 'valid' is objective.
- Author a command to the ratified template Build a command following _TEMPLATE.md: Purpose, Execution Context, Inputs, Flow, Procedure, Outputs, Verification — surface-agnostic, inheriting global rules rather than restating them; the five typed calls used correctly.
- Build and ground your agent On valuefirstagent.com, build an agent and ground it the way this org requires: an expertise reference that equips it to challenge and lead — not a yes-man. Learn the three-leg standard: externally grounded, challenge-and-lead, certified-against. (agents/RE-ONBOARDING.md Gate 0 + checklist A.)
- Certify that it operates Put your primitive set through a real 'does it actually run?' certification — the constructive-evidence model where the agent does one real task as proof, exactly how this org certifies its own. (the /certify model + lint pack-wiring checks.)
- Bring it to the builder clinic Join Office Hours and have your agent, skill, and command reviewed live by Aegis (agent quality + re-onboarding) and Hone (skill & command architecture). The live critique is where a working primitive becomes a trustworthy one.
Where the build becomes real
You build it on valuefirstagent.com.
the build destination: author and run your own agent there, with a skill and a command wired to it. The most literal build handoff of all six.
Join
Join the next live session for this path.
Tell us where to reach you and what you want to build. We will send you the next live session details.
Keep watching
Recent conversations to learn from.
The AI-Native Shift May 27, 2026
Pilot — Second Brain for AI, with George B. Thomas
George B. Thomas joins Chris Carolan for the pilot episode of The AI-Native Shift to unpack why AI feels amnesic and how a markdown-based "second brain" turns…
Open the episodeThe Road to UNBOUND May 13, 2026
Reading the Signs
The crew reads the road signs on the way to UNBOUND 2026 — decoding how HubSpot chooses its headliners, what the Loop looks like five years in, and why the…
Open the episodeTech Stack Reimagined March 29, 2026
Tech Stack Reimagined: The Reality of Building an AI-Native CRM
Moving past the "vibe coding" hype to see what actually works. Chris Carolan and Nico Lafakis tackle the LinkedIn civil war over AI-generated CRM replacements,…
Open the episodeThe next step
You're building. Here's where it goes next.
And then, the rest of the path:
- Practice with peersComing soon
- Teach the next personthe Academy