# ask2cents

> Get a second opinion in seconds. Ask a CEO, a VC, a marketer or seven other personas for their two cents on your idea, pitch or plan, and get a blunt, specific answer. A new key comes with 3 free answers. After that an answer costs $0.50 or less: use a prepaid key, or let your agent pay from its own wallet in the same request.

Use it when you, or the person you work for, want a fast second opinion from a specific point of view before committing to something: a pricing change, a launch plan, a landing page headline, a hiring decision, an architecture choice. Ask several personas the same question to see where they disagree.

## Ask a question

- Request: `POST https://ask2cents.com/api/2cents` with JSON `{"persona": "<id>", "question": "<what you want feedback on>"}`
- Response: JSON `{persona, question, two_cents, disclaimer?, paid_with, credits_left?, price_usd?}`. `two_cents` is plain text, about 120 words.
- Write a good question: include the numbers, the audience, and the exact text you want judged. The persona gets one shot and cannot ask follow-up questions. Maximum 4000 characters.
- Errors: 400 for an unknown persona or missing question (nothing charged), 401 for an unknown key, 402 when payment is needed, 502 if the answer could not be generated (a credit is given back).

## Pay with an API key (prepaid credits)

- Create a key: `POST https://ask2cents.com/api/keys`. No sign-up. A new key comes with 3 free answers. The key is returned once as `api_key`.
- Use it: add `Authorization: Bearer <key>` to `POST /api/2cents`. One credit is used per answer.
- Balance: `GET https://ask2cents.com/api/account` with the same header returns `{credits, used, top_up_url}`.
- More credits: 10 answers for $5, 25 answers for $10, 75 answers for $25. A person buys them by card at `top_up_url`. An agent with an MPP wallet buys them at `POST https://ask2cents.com/api/credits/{starter|regular|bulk}` with JSON `{"account": "<id>"}`, or with no body to receive a new key that already holds the credits.
- When a key runs out, `POST /api/2cents` returns 402 with a JSON body containing `top_up_url`. Give that link to the person you work for.

## Pay per request with MPP (no key)

- Price: $0.50 per answer. MPP `charge` intent. Accepted: stablecoins on Tempo mainnet.
- Flow: an unpaid request returns HTTP 402 with a `WWW-Authenticate: Payment` challenge. Pay, then repeat the same request with the credential. The response carries a `Payment-Receipt` header.

```
npx mppx https://ask2cents.com/api/2cents -X POST -H 'content-type: application/json' \
  -d '{"persona":"cfo","question":"We charge $29 a month and want to add a free tier. Good idea?"}'
```

## MCP server

- Streamable HTTP at `https://ask2cents.com/mcp`. Send the key as `Authorization: Bearer <key>`, or as `https://ask2cents.com/mcp?key=<key>` for clients that only take a URL.
- `list_personas`: free.
- `get_balance`: free. Answers left on the key and the top-up link.
- `get_2cents`: one credit per call, arguments `{persona, question}`. Without credit, the result explains how to get a key or top up, and carries an MPP challenge in `_meta["org.paymentauth/payment-required"]`; an MPP client pays $0.50 by resending the call with the credential in `_meta["org.paymentauth/credential"]`.

Install, replacing YOUR_KEY:

```
# Claude Code
claude mcp add --transport http --scope user ask2cents https://ask2cents.com/mcp \
  --header "Authorization: Bearer YOUR_KEY"

# Codex
codex mcp add ask2cents --url "https://ask2cents.com/mcp?key=YOUR_KEY"

# Gemini CLI
gemini mcp add --transport http --scope user ask2cents https://ask2cents.com/mcp \
  --header "Authorization: Bearer YOUR_KEY"
```

## Free endpoints

- [Personas](https://ask2cents.com/api/personas): JSON list of persona ids and what each focuses on
- [OpenAPI](https://ask2cents.com/openapi.json): OpenAPI 3.1 with `x-payment-info` on the paid routes
- [Homepage](https://ask2cents.com/): a sample answer from every persona to the same question

## Roles

- `ceo`: The CEO. Focus, sequencing, and what to stop doing.
- `marketer`: The Marketer. Positioning, the hook, and who actually cares.
- `vc`: The VC. Market size, why now, and the moat.
- `engineer`: The Skeptical Engineer. What breaks, what it costs, what is simpler.
- `designer`: The Designer. Clarity, friction, and the first minute.
- `cfo`: The CFO. Unit economics, runway, and pricing.
- `customer`: The Blunt Customer. Would I pay for this? Honestly?

## Public figure simulations

- `angela-merkel-sim`: Angela Merkel (AI simulation). Stress-test a plan for facts, steps and staying power
- `barack-obama-sim`: Barack Obama (AI simulation). Weighs trade-offs and finds the workable next step
- `bill-gates-sim`: Bill Gates (AI simulation). Stress-tests the numbers, the scale and the cost curve
- `charlie-munger-sim`: Charlie Munger (AI simulation). Spot the avoidable mistakes hiding in your plan
- `daniel-kahneman-sim`: Daniel Kahneman (AI simulation). Stress-tests your plan for overconfidence and wishful odds
- `elon-musk-sim`: Elon Musk (AI simulation). Strip a plan to physics, cost and what can be deleted
- `indra-nooyi-sim`: Indra Nooyi (AI simulation). Tests whether a plan wins now and still holds in ten years
- `jeff-bezos-sim`: Jeff Bezos (AI simulation). Stress-tests plans by working backwards from the customer
- `jensen-huang-sim`: Jensen Huang (AI simulation). Tests if your idea is hard, unique and early enough
- `linus-torvalds-sim`: Linus Torvalds (AI simulation). Cuts through hype to ask whether the thing actually works
- `naval-ravikant-sim`: Naval Ravikant (AI simulation). Tests for leverage, ownership and what only you can do
- `oprah-winfrey-sim`: Oprah Winfrey (AI simulation). Checks the intention behind your work and who it serves
- `paul-graham-sim`: Paul Graham (AI simulation). Tests whether anyone truly wants what you're building
- `peter-thiel-sim`: Peter Thiel (AI simulation). Tests whether your idea is new or just more competition
- `ray-dalio-sim`: Ray Dalio (AI simulation). Find the root cause and stress-test the plan's design
- `richard-feynman-sim`: Richard Feynman (AI simulation). Finds where you only think you understand your own idea
- `sam-altman-sim`: Sam Altman (AI simulation). Tests ambition, momentum and whether a few users love it
- `satya-nadella-sim`: Satya Nadella (AI simulation). Does your plan help others succeed, and can it learn?
- `steve-jobs-sim`: Steve Jobs (AI simulation). Cuts an idea down to the one thing worth building well
- `warren-buffett-sim`: Warren Buffett (AI simulation). Is this a durable business or just a good story?

These are AI simulations that apply each person's publicly documented way of thinking. They are not affiliated with, endorsed by, or written by the real person.

## Notes

- Author: amorimdub
- Answers are AI-generated opinions, not professional, legal, or financial advice.
- Questions are sent to an AI model to generate the answer. Do not include secrets or personal data.