JBMD Creations, LLC Product Ready

Product Readiness

URLsToGo is a production-grade URL shortener running on Cloudflare's edge. Here's where it stands.

Infrastructure Cost
$0.83
/month for 100 users
Break-Even
1
paying user covers 14 months
Margin at Scale
95%+
Cloudflare edge pricing
Time to Billing MVP
5-7
days of focused work

Feature Readiness Scorecard

FeatureStatusNotes
URL shortening + redirectsLIVE~50ms edge latency, 302 redirects
Click analytics (geo, device, browser)LIVEPer-link + global dashboard
Google OAuth (Clerk)LIVE10K MAU free tier
API keys (scoped read/write)LIVEProgrammatic access
Categories + tagsLIVEFull organization system
Shared collectionsLIVEToken-based public pages
GitHub integrationLIVEAuto preview link workflows
Link expiration + passwordsLIVEPer-link security
WaitlistLIVEEmail + geolocation capture
Import/exportLIVEFull data portability (JSON)
Stripe billingNEEDEDSubscriptions, portal, webhooks
Usage limit enforcementNEEDEDLink caps per tier
Landing page + pricingPOLISHNeeds pricing section, CTAs
Onboarding flowPOLISHFirst-link wizard
Email notificationsNEEDEDWelcome, alerts, conversion
Custom domains (user)FUTUREBusiness tier feature
Team workspacesFUTUREBusiness tier feature

Cost Projections by Scale

ScaleCF WorkersCF D1Clerk AuthDomainTotal CostRevenue (Pro mix)Profit
100 free users$0$0$0$0.83$0.83/mo$0-$0.83
50 free + 50 Pro$0$0$0$0.83$0.83/mo$600+$599
100 Pro users$5$0$0$0.83$5.83/mo$1,200+$1,194
500 mixed$5$0-2$0$0.83$5-8/mo$3,850+$3,842
1,000 mixed$5$0-4$0$0.83$6-10/mo$8,900+$8,890

Launch Strategy

The Founding 100 program drives initial adoption at zero cost, building word-of-mouth before charging.

The Founding 100 Program

Founding Spots
100
6 months Pro free
Founding Rate
$9/mo
25% off Pro forever
Cost to You
$0.83
per month for 100 users
Trust Signal
Links never break
even without subscription

Conversion Funnel

100%
Landing page visit
40%
Sign up (Google OAuth = 1 click)
30%
Create first link (<30 seconds)
20%
Active weekly user
10%
Convert to paid

Three-Phase Rollout

Phase 1: Founding 100 (Weeks 1-2)

  • 100 users get full Pro features for 6 months free
  • Recruit from Reddit, personal network, Product Hunt
  • Waitlist already built into the product
  • After 6 months: auto-convert at founding rate ($9/mo)
  • Links never break, even if they don't convert (Free tier)

Phase 2: Next 100 at 50% Off (Weeks 3-6)

  • Display "Founding 100 is FULL" on landing page
  • Next 100: 50% off for life ($6/mo Pro, $14.50/mo Business)
  • Progress bar: "73 of 100 spots remaining at this price"
  • Scarcity drives conversion urgency

Phase 3: General Availability (Month 2+)

  • Full pricing: $12/mo Pro, $29/mo Business
  • Free tier always available (25 links)
  • Referral program: 1 month free per referral who subscribes

Revenue Targets

MetricMonth 1Month 3Month 6Month 12
Total Users1002005001,000
Paying Users020-30100-150300-400
MRR$0$240-$360$1,200-$1,800$3,600-$5,200
Links Created5003,00015,00050,000
Monthly Clicks5,00050,000250,0001,000,000

Marketing Channels

Zero-budget marketing strategy focused on developer communities and build-in-public storytelling.

Reddit (Primary Channel)

r/SideProject — Show and Tell

Post: Tuesday 8-9am EST
Angle: "I built this" — show the dashboard, explain the stack, invite feedback
Title: I built a URL shortener that runs on Cloudflare's edge for <$5/mo

Hey r/SideProject! I've been building URLsToGo — a developer-friendly URL shortener that runs entirely on Cloudflare Workers + D1.

It costs me less than $5/month to run, even with hundreds of users. Looking for 100 founding users to test it free for 6 months.

[screenshots]

What would you want to see in a URL shortener?

r/webdev — Technical Deep-Dive

Post: Thursday 8-9am EST
Angle: Architecture breakdown — Workers, D1, Clerk auth, CI/CD pipeline
Title: How I built a full-featured URL shortener with Cloudflare Workers + D1 (vanilla JS, no framework)

Wanted to share the architecture of URLsToGo. No React, no Next.js — just a single Worker with D1 for storage.

- Auth: Clerk (Google OAuth)
- DB: D1 (SQLite at edge)
- Analytics: click_events table with geo/device/browser
- CI/CD: GitHub Actions auto-deploy on push
- Cost: ~$5/mo at 1000 users

[code snippets + architecture diagram]

r/Entrepreneur — Business Angle

Post: Wednesday 8-9am EST
Angle: Micro-SaaS economics — the exact cost math that makes this viable
Title: My SaaS infrastructure costs $5/month for 1000 users — here's the breakdown

I see a lot of SaaS founders spending $200+/mo on infrastructure before they have 10 users. Here's how I keep URLsToGo running for nearly free:

[cost breakdown table]

Total cost for 1000 users: $8.83/month
Revenue at 30% paid conversion: $3,600/month
Margin: 99.7%

r/SaaS + r/selfhosted + r/CloudFlare

Post: Stagger across Week 2
Angle: Tailor to each community's interests (SaaS metrics, self-hosting alternative, CF architecture)

Product Hunt

Product Hunt Launch

Launch: Tuesday (highest traffic day)
Tagline: "Fast, developer-friendly URL shortener on Cloudflare's edge"
Prep checklist:
- 5+ high-quality dashboard screenshots
- 60-second Loom demo video
- Maker's comment with the cost/margin story
- 10+ authentic first-day reviews lined up
- "Founding 100" offer exclusive to PH users

Other Channels

Indie Hackers
Show IH
Monthly MRR transparency posts. IH loves revenue-transparent founders.
Twitter/X
#buildinpublic
Thread: "Every decision I made building a URL shortener SaaS." 2-3 posts/week.
Dev.to / Hashnode
Technical SEO
"How I replaced Bitly for $5/mo" — gets indexed by Google, drives long-tail traffic.
AI Communities
Facebook + Reddit
Claude/AI groups love free tools. "I built this with Claude Code" is a compelling hook.

Posting Rules

  • Post at 8-9am EST, Tuesday-Thursday (peak engagement)
  • Be genuine — show the build story, never be salesy
  • Respond to every comment within 2 hours (algorithm boost)
  • Include screenshots of the actual dashboard
  • Never say "startup" — say "side project" or "tool I built"
  • End every post with a question to drive comments

Email Campaigns

8-email sequence over 6 months for Founding 100 beta users. Designed to onboard, engage, and convert.

Email Provider

Resend (Recommended)
3,000/mo free
Then $20/mo for 50K emails. Modern API, great DX.
Postmark
100/mo free
Then $15/mo for 10K. Best deliverability.

Beta User Sequence (8 Emails / 6 Months)

Post-Conversion Emails

  • Monthly usage digest (top links, total clicks, new milestones)
  • Feature announcements (new capabilities, integrations)
  • Annual renewal reminder with discount ($99/year vs $108)
  • Referral program nudges ("Give 1 month, get 1 month")

Pricing Strategy

Undercutting the market by 50-66% while maintaining 95%+ margins thanks to Cloudflare's edge pricing.

Competitive Landscape

ServiceFree TierPro/StarterBusiness/TeamEnterprise
Bitly10 links/mo$35/mo$300/moCustom
Dub.co25 links/mo$24/mo$59/moCustom
Short.io50 links$19/mo$49/moCustom
TinyURLBasic$12.99/mo--
URLsToGo25 links$12/mo$29/moCustom

URLsToGo Tier Details

Free
$0
25 short links
Basic click counts
URLsToGo-branded links
1 category
No API access
Pro (Most Popular)
$12/mo
1,000 short links
Full analytics (geo, device, browser)
Custom slugs
Unlimited categories + tags
API access (scoped keys)
Link expiration + passwords
Shared collections
Import/export
Priority support
Business
$29/mo
Unlimited short links
Everything in Pro
Custom domains (BYO domain)
Team workspaces (5 members)
Webhook events
Advanced analytics + CSV export
GitHub integration
99.9% uptime SLA

Feature Comparison Matrix

FeatureFreePro $12Business $29Bitly $35
Short links251,000Unlimited500/mo
Click analyticsCount onlyFullFull + CSVFull
Custom slugsNoYesYesYes
API accessNoYesYesYes
Custom domainsNoNoYes$500/mo plan
TeamsNoNo5 members$300/mo plan
Geo analyticsNoYesYes$35/mo
Link expirationNoYesYes$35/mo
Password protectionNoYesYesNo
Shared collectionsNoYesYesNo
GitHub integrationNoNoYesNo
Data exportNoJSONJSON + CSV$300/mo plan

Founding Member Pricing

CohortPro PriceBusiness PriceDuration
Founding 100 (first 100)$9/mo (25% off)$22/mo (25% off)Forever
Early Adopter (next 100)$6/mo (50% off)$14.50/mo (50% off)Forever
General Availability$12/mo$29/moStandard
Annual discount$99/yr (save $45)$249/yr (save $99)Yearly billing

Cost Infrastructure

Detailed breakdown of every cost component. TL;DR: 100 free users costs you $0.83/month.

Cloudflare Workers

TierRequestsPriceURLsToGo Usage (100 users)
Free100,000/day$0~2,000/day (well within)
Paid10M/month$5/mo~65,000/mo (needed at ~500 users)
OveragePer million$0.50Not needed until 10K+ users

Cloudflare D1 (Database)

TierReadsWritesStoragePrice
Free5M/day100K/day5GB$0
Paid25B/mo50M/mo5GB + $0.75/GB$5/mo (bundled with Workers)

D1 read/write costs are essentially free for URL shortener workloads. Even at 1,000 users, total DB operations are well under free tier limits.

Clerk Authentication

TierMAUPriceGoogle OAuthNotes
Free10,000$0IncludedMore than enough for launch
Pro10,000+$25/mo + $0.02/MAUIncludedAt 10K users: $225/mo

Google OAuth Costs

  • Google OAuth via Clerk: $0 — Google never charges for OAuth sign-in
  • Google API console quotas are generous — no practical limit at our scale
  • Clerk handles all OAuth complexity — we just pay Clerk's MAU pricing
  • No Google API sign-up limits for basic OAuth consent flow
  • At 10K+ MAU: evaluate self-hosted auth (Lucia, Better Auth) vs Clerk cost

Other Costs

ItemCostNotes
Domain (urlstogo.cloud)~$10/yearCloudflare registrar
SSL/TLS$0Free via Cloudflare
CI/CD (GitHub Actions)$0Free for public repos / 2000 min/mo private
Email (Resend)$0-$20/mo3K/mo free, then $20/mo for 50K
Stripe fees2.9% + $0.30/txnOn revenue only — no base cost

Total Cost by Scale

ScaleWorkersD1ClerkEmailDomainTotal/moPer User
100 users$0$0$0$0$0.83$0.83$0.008
500 users$5$0$0$0$0.83$5.83$0.012
1,000 users$5$0-2$0$0$0.83$6-8$0.007
5,000 users$5$2-5$0$20$0.83$28-31$0.006
10,000 users$5-10$5-10$25$20$0.83$56-66$0.006

Break-Even Analysis

1 Pro user pays for
14 mo
of infrastructure (100 users)
10 Pro users generate
$120/mo
vs $5.83 infrastructure cost
Stripe takes
~3.2%
$0.35 + $0.30 per $12 charge
Net margin at scale
95%+
after all costs + Stripe fees

Decision Points

TriggerUsersActionImpact
Upgrade Workers plan~300+Switch to $5/mo paid10M req/mo capacity
Add email provider~200+Resend $20/mo50K emails/mo capacity
Evaluate auth costs~8,000+Consider self-hosted authSave $135+/mo vs Clerk Pro
Add CDN/caching~5,000+CF Cache Rules (free)Reduce D1 reads by ~60%

Roadmap

What exists today vs what's needed for a paying-customer launch. Estimated 5-7 days of focused work.

Launch Readiness

Ready to ship
70%

What's Done (12 of 17 features)

  • URL shortening + 302 redirects (~50ms edge)
  • Click analytics (geo, device, browser, referrer, time series)
  • Google OAuth via Clerk
  • Scoped API keys (read/write)
  • Categories + tags + favorites
  • Shared collections (public link pages)
  • GitHub integration (auto preview links)
  • Link expiration + password protection
  • Waitlist with email + geolocation
  • Import/export (JSON)
  • Rate limiting (per IP/endpoint)
  • CI/CD auto-deploy (GitHub Actions)

What's Needed for Launch (5 items)

P0 — Week 1 (Days 1-3)
Stripe Billing Integration
Subscriptions (Pro $12/mo, Business $29/mo), Stripe Customer Portal, webhook handling for subscription lifecycle, founding member pricing logic, annual billing option ($99/yr, $249/yr).
P0 — Week 1 (Days 2-3)
Usage Limit Enforcement
Link count caps per tier (Free: 25, Pro: 1000, Business: unlimited). API rate limits per plan. Upgrade prompts when limits approached. Grace period for Founding 100.
P0 — Week 1 (Days 3-4)
Landing Page + Pricing Section
Redesign landing page with clear pricing tiers, feature comparison, "Founding 100" CTA, social proof area, competitor comparison callout. Mobile-responsive.
P1 — Week 2 (Day 5)
Onboarding Flow
First-link creation wizard (3 steps: paste URL, pick slug, done). Dashboard tour overlay. Welcome modal with quick-start tips. Progress indicator for setup completion.
P1 — Week 2 (Days 5-6)
Email Notifications (Resend)
Welcome email on signup. Usage alerts (approaching limit). Conversion sequence (8 emails over 6 months). Monthly usage digest for paying users.

Future Enhancements (Post-Launch)

P2 — Month 2
Custom Domains (Business Tier)
CNAME verification, Cloudflare SSL provisioning, DNS instructions, domain management UI.
P2 — Month 2
Team Workspaces (Business Tier)
Shared link libraries, role-based access (admin/editor/viewer), team billing, invite system.
P2 — Month 3
Public API Documentation
OpenAPI spec, interactive explorer, code examples in 5 languages, webhook documentation.
P3 — Month 3+
Advanced Analytics
UTM parameter tracking, conversion goals, A/B testing for destinations, CSV/PDF export, scheduled reports.
P3 — Month 4+
Integrations Marketplace
Zapier/Make triggers, Slack notifications, webhook builder, Chrome extension for quick shortening.

30-Day Launch Checklist

WeekFocusTasksStatus
Week 1InfrastructureImplement Stripe billingTODO
Add usage limit enforcementTODO
Set up Resend for emailsTODO
Write welcome email templateTODO
Week 2PolishRedesign landing page + pricingTODO
Build onboarding flowTODO
Create "Founding 100" brandingTODO
Prepare 5 screenshots for PHTODO
Week 3LaunchPost on r/SideProject (Tue 8am EST)TODO
Post on r/webdev (Thu 8am EST)TODO
Launch on Product Hunt (Tuesday)TODO
Send founding invite to waitlistTODO
Week 4IterateRespond to all feedbackTODO
Fix top 3 reported issuesTODO
Post Month 1 update on IHTODO
Activate "50% off" if Founding fullTODO

Developer Plugin Acquisition

1p-local-auth is a free Claude Code plugin targeting the exact developer that buys URLsToGo Pro. Own the niche across multiple tools, drive organic sign-ups.

Plugin
1p-local-auth
Free Claude Code plugin — GitHub
Target Audience
OAuth Devs
Building with Better Auth / NextAuth v5
Overlap
100%
Same persona as URLsToGo Pro buyer
Cost to Acquire
$0
Organic — free tool drives authority

What the Plugin Does

Manages local dev OAuth credentials via 1Password. Developers building Google/GitHub/Todoist OAuth apps run one command to inject credentials into their dev server — no more swapping .env files or sharing secrets in Slack.

SkillWhat It Does
/setup-local-authInteractive setup wizard — creates 1Password item, writes .env template, adds dev:auth npm script
/auth-statusRead-only diagnostic — checks all credentials exist in 1Password, flags conflicts
/auth-injectPreflight validation — runs op run dry-run to confirm credentials resolve before starting server
/auth-rotateTargeted credential rotation — updates single field in 1Password, no template changes needed
/teardown-local-authReverses setup — removes template, dev:auth script, .gitignore entry; preserves 1Password item

The Upsell Connection

A developer using 1p-local-auth is:

  • Building an app with OAuth — they will deploy it and need to track preview URLs
  • Already using Claude Code — they're comfortable with developer tooling at $12/mo price points
  • Working with GitHub Actions — the URLsToGo auto-preview-link workflow is immediately relevant
  • Thinking about local vs production environments — they want a stable URL per environment
  • A solo dev building something real — exactly the Founding 100 profile

Cross-Promotion Strategy

In 1p-local-auth → URLsToGo

Placement: references/providers.md + README
Natural context: after setup, developer has a working OAuth app — they need somewhere to manage links for it
Track your OAuth app's preview and production URLs with URLsToGo — developer-friendly link management with a GitHub Actions integration that auto-updates shortlinks on every deploy.

go.urlstogo.cloud/your-app--preview → always points to latest preview build

In URLsToGo → 1p-local-auth

Placement: Email 4 (API power users), Email 2 (features), Help Hub
Trust signal: the same builder made both tools — one free, one $12/mo
Building an OAuth app with Claude Code? I also published 1p-local-auth — a free plugin that injects Google/GitHub/Todoist credentials into your dev server from 1Password. No more swapping .env files.

claude plugin install https://github.com/Aventerica89/1p-local-auth

Reddit + Product Hunt Launch Angle

Timing: post 1p-local-auth first, then URLsToGo
Build credibility with a free tool before asking for money
r/ClaudeAI, r/ClaudeCode, r/SideProject: "I published a free Claude Code plugin for managing OAuth credentials locally via 1Password. Also building a URL shortener for developers — anyone interested in the Founding 100?"

This is the "give before you ask" content marketing playbook.

Authority Stack (All Free Tools)

ToolAudienceURLsToGo Signal
1p-local-authClaude Code devs building OAuth appsDirect: they need URL management for their deployed app
URLsToGo Claude Code pluginClaude Code devs who already use URLsToGoDeepens retention, reduces churn
artifact-managerClaude.ai power usersAdjacent audience — same solo-dev profile

One-Line Pitch

Positioning Copy

Use in bio, Reddit posts, Product Hunt maker comment
Building developer tools with Claude Code. Published 1p-local-auth (free — manage OAuth credentials via 1Password) and URLsToGo ($12/mo — developer-friendly URL shortener with API + GitHub integration). Solo dev, building in public.