Surfc Product Roadmap

Source of truth: Linear — Surfc Product Roadmap Last synced: 2026-05-06

Product intent

Surfc helps serious readers build a living index of ideas across everything they read. The roadmap is now less about proving the core concept and more about turning that concept into a product that is launchable, distributable, commercially testable, and increasingly generative.

Roadmap principles

Lead with outcomes, not feature lists.
Sequence work around the biggest near-term adoption risks.
Keep monetization tied to visible value, not artificial friction.
Expand capture through the workflows readers already use.
Treat trust hardening as a continuous enabling stream, even when it is not the headline phase.

Milestone overview

Milestone	Status	Target
v1.1 — Foundation	✅ Done	—
v1.2 — Focus group: prove the core knowledge loop	✅ Done	2026-04-17
v1.3 — Soft launch: activation, onboarding clarity, and controlled access	✅ Done	2026-04-24
v1.4 — Distribution readiness: package Surfc for app stores and support early users	🔄 98%	2026-05-15
v1.5 — Monetization: test willingness to pay and expose upgrade moments	🔄 37%	2026-05-22
v2.0 — Expansion: import from existing reading workflows	⏳ Not started	2026-05-29
v2.1 — Discovery: make the idea graph reviewable and shareable	⏳ Not started	2026-05-29
Off-roadmap — Trust hardening and enablers	🔄 Ongoing	—

Goal-Oriented Roadmap

v1.3 — Soft launch: activation, onboarding clarity, and controlled access ✅

Goal Make Surfc easy to enter, easy to understand, and intentionally limited to approved early users.

Why this matters The product is far enough along that the next risk is not whether the concept works, but whether first use feels coherent. Soft launch success depends on reducing confusion, keeping access controlled, and giving early users enough confidence to start using and lightly sharing the product.

Key outcomes

Approved users can enter through a controlled access path.
The first-use experience explains itself without external hand-holding.
Basic support and account flows feel complete enough for early users.
Early users can share Surfc in lightweight ways without turning it into an open public launch.

Representative work

SUR-49 — Hard-gated waitlist onboarding flow
SUR-10 — Centralized API calls through Supabase Edge function
SUR-11 — How to Use page
SUR-124 — Change password flow
SUR-77 — Create help email inbox
SUR-9 — Share button
SUR-194 — Add FAQ link to the How it works page

v1.4 — Distribution readiness: package Surfc for app stores and support early users 🔄 98%

Goal Make Surfc distributable through app-store channels while keeping the product legible, supportable, and trustworthy enough for review and early-user adoption.

Why this matters Near-term delivery has shifted from foundational trust architecture into practical distribution work. If Surfc cannot be packaged cleanly, reviewed successfully, and explained credibly in store contexts, the product remains harder to test with real users regardless of feature quality.

Key outcomes

Surfc can be packaged and submitted through Apple and Google channels.
The PWA-to-app-shell experience behaves predictably enough for review.
Store listing, privacy, safety, demo, and support materials are ready.
Trust is communicated through visible product and operational signals, not just backend architecture.

Representative work

SUR-129 — List Surfc on app store and play store
SUR-132 — Define mobile packaging strategy for PWA
SUR-135 — Build iOS shell for Surfc web app
SUR-130 — List on Apple App Store
SUR-131 — List on Google Play Store
SUR-136 — Prepare app store listing privacy and review materials
SUR-139 — Prepare Play Store listing safety and testing materials
SUR-182 — Create demo and usage videos
SUR-153 — Investigate best way to delete PostHog user data

v1.5 — Monetization: test willingness to pay and expose upgrade moments 🔄 37%

Goal Learn whether users will pay for Surfc by making upgrade moments visible and operable without distorting the core experience.

Why this matters The immediate monetization job is not maximizing revenue. It is validating that pricing, upgrade paths, and plan boundaries create credible signals of willingness to pay once the product is easier to access and distribute.

Key outcomes

Upgrade entry points appear where value is already legible.
Pricing and plans are clear enough to test conversion behavior.
Billing infrastructure exists to support early paid experiments.
Usage tracking supports plan limits and learning.

Representative work

SUR-75 — Upgrade and billing flow
SUR-85 — Stripe setup
SUR-86 — Plans and Pricing page
SUR-87 — Add upgrade paths
SUR-88 — Add upgrade path from Settings
SUR-89 — Add upgrade path from pop-up
SUR-90 — Configure PostHog for product analytics
SUR-92 — Make free-tier limit configurable per user
SUR-128 — Add global Get Pro entry point
SUR-73 — Display managed AI usage in Settings

v2.0 — Expansion: import from existing reading workflows ⏳

Goal Reduce capture effort by bringing external notes and highlights into Surfc.

Why this matters Once launch and monetization basics are in place, the next growth lever is reducing the work required to populate Surfc. The product becomes more compelling when it fits into reading workflows people already have instead of demanding a blank start.

Key outcomes

Users can import reading material from tools they already use.
Imported content lands with enough structure to be useful quickly.
Capture expands beyond clean highlights into messier real-world reading behavior.
Surfc supports multiple ingestion paths without becoming brittle.

Representative work

SUR-7 — Readwise integration
SUR-8 — Kindle Clippings import
SUR-24 — Notes apps integration
SUR-25 — Email ingestion
SUR-83 — Identify handwritten markups on printed text
SUR-84 — Capture handwritten notes on printed pages as separate notes

v2.1 — Discovery: make the idea graph reviewable and shareable ⏳

Goal Make Surfc more distinctive by helping users review, shape, and eventually share their idea graph.

Why this matters Surfc’s long-term differentiation is not just storing notes but helping readers revisit what matters, expose patterns across sources, and share selected parts of their intellectual map. This phase turns the private index into something more reflective and socially legible.

Key outcomes

Users can review and refine their idea graph over time.
Discovery surfaces expose more relevant ideas without feeling noisy.
Profiles and shareable surfaces make the graph outward-facing when appropriate.
Rediscovery becomes a repeat-use habit rather than a one-off novelty.

Representative work

SUR-15 — Public profiles
SUR-12 — Connection graph
SUR-122 — Create review flow
SUR-93 — Users can tag additional ideas
SUR-187 — User profiles table
SUR-188 — Ship user profiles
SUR-189 — Frontend interface for user profiles
SUR-191 — Dedicated custom ideas screen
SUR-193 — Dedicated idea canon screen
SUR-196 — Make default number of discovered ideas configurable
SUR-197 — Allow manual choice from a secondary set of relevant ideas
SUR-199 — Add see all ideas to note long-press options

Now / Next / Later

Now

Objective: finish distribution readiness and establish the first real monetization test surfaces.

In scope

SUR-129 — List Surfc on app store and play store
SUR-132 — Define mobile packaging strategy for PWA
SUR-135 — Build iOS shell for Surfc web app
SUR-136 — Prepare app store listing privacy and review materials
SUR-139 — Prepare Play Store listing safety and testing materials
SUR-182 — Create demo and usage videos
SUR-75 — Upgrade and billing flow
SUR-85 — Stripe setup
SUR-86 — Plans and Pricing page
SUR-92 — Make free-tier limit configurable per user

Expected result Surfc becomes easier to distribute, easier to evaluate, and ready for the first believable paid-signal tests.

Objective: expand ingestion while continuing selective trust-hardening work that supports the long-term product promise.

In scope

SUR-7 — Readwise integration
SUR-8 — Kindle Clippings import
SUR-24 — Notes apps integration
SUR-25 — Email ingestion
SUR-108 — Build zero-knowledge tag search
SUR-109 — Disable persistent logging for search terms
SUR-114 — Proxy AI processing through secure edge functions

Expected result Surfc becomes easier to populate while continuing to strengthen the privacy posture that underpins long-term trust.

Later

Objective: make Surfc more reviewable, more personally expressive, and more shareable.

In scope

SUR-15 — Public profiles
SUR-12 — Connection graph
SUR-122 — Create review flow
SUR-93 — Users can tag additional ideas
SUR-196 — Make default number of discovered ideas configurable
SUR-197 — Allow manual choice from a secondary set of relevant ideas
SUR-199 — Add see all ideas to note long-press options

Expected result Surfc becomes more than a personal archive by helping readers revisit, shape, and selectively share their intellectual map.

Off-roadmap / trust hardening and enablers 🔄

These items matter, but they stay outside the main execution narrative unless they become the immediate driver of launch, monetization, or retention.

SUR-108 — Zero-knowledge tag search

Summary

The roadmap sequence is:

Finish soft-launch activation and clarity
Get Surfc ready for distribution and review
Test monetization through visible upgrade moments and billing rails
Expand ingestion into existing reading workflows
Make the idea graph more reviewable and shareable

This keeps the roadmap aligned with the live issue set: distribution and monetization are the near-term delivery drivers, while trust hardening continues as an important enabling stream rather than the dominant narrative.