Accelerator Application Triage MCP Server (Demo)

A small MCP server that turns startup/founder application triage into something any MCP-compatible AI client (like Claude Desktop) can query in plain language, instead of manually digging through a spreadsheet or form tool.

This was originally built with an accelerator in the food-systems and plant-based innovation space in mind — the kind of program that runs a structured pipeline of applications, scoring, and mentor review each cycle. The tools and mock data reflect that context, but the underlying pattern is generic: any accelerator, incubator, or grant program with an application pipeline could point this same server at their own system of record.

This is a portfolio / demo build, so the mock data here answers questions specific to that food-systems accelerator context (sector tags like "alt-protein" and "fermentation," food-sector countries and founders). Swap src/data.ts for a different dataset and the same four tools would answer the equivalent questions for a fintech accelerator, a climate-tech program, or any other domain — what changes is the data, not the architecture. In a real deployment, src/data.ts would be replaced with calls to whatever system of record the organization actually uses (Airtable, Notion, a form tool's API, etc.) — the four tools below wouldn't need to change at all. That's the point of MCP: the AI client doesn't care what's behind the tool.

What it can answer

• "Which alt-protein applications scored 7+ on impact?"
• "What's still sitting in David's review queue?"
• "What hasn't been picked up by any reviewer yet?"
• "Pull up the full file on K4G-2026-058, including notes."
• "Flag Root & Policy Lab for a full panel discussion — team needs co-founder diligence."

Tools

Tool	What it does	Modifies data?
k4g_search_applications	Filter by text, sector, stage, or minimum impact score	No
k4g_get_application	Full detail + reviewer notes for one application	No
k4g_list_pending_review	Everything still needing a decision, optionally by reviewer	No
k4g_flag_for_review	Marks an application for panel discussion and logs why	Yes

Setup

npm install
npm run build

Running it standalone

npm start

It will sit and wait for MCP messages on stdin/stdout — that's normal, it's designed to be launched by an MCP client, not run interactively.

Connecting to Claude Desktop

1. Open Claude Desktop's config file:

   • macOS: ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json
   • Windows: %APPDATA%\Claude\claude_desktop_config.json

2. Add this server (replace the path with wherever you put this folder):

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "k4g-applications": {
      "command": "node",
      "args": ["/absolute/path/to/k4g-applications-mcp-server/dist/index.js"]
    }
  }
}

3. Restart Claude Desktop. You should see "k4g-applications" listed under the tools/connectors icon, and you can ask questions like the ones above directly in chat.

Extending this toward a real deployment

• Swap src/data.ts for a real API client (Airtable/Notion/etc.) — the tool signatures in src/index.ts stay the same.
• Add write tools carefully: k4g_flag_for_review is deliberately the only tool that changes data, and it only ever flags — it never rejects or accepts an application outright, so a human still makes the final call.
• For a hosted/shared version (multiple reviewers, not just local use), swap the stdio transport for Streamable HTTP — see the MCP docs at https://modelcontextprotocol.io.