The internal playbook for launching PORTL, from TSG mentor soft launch to a Top 5 Product Hunt day. 100 paid customers in 90 days. Aggressive, but doable if we execute.
Based on the “finishing touches” status, we’re at Phase 4 - Early Access - transitioning into Phase 5: Full Launch. Everything below is built around that reality.
Active phase - finishing touches
Public + Product Hunt push
Momentum, case studies, scale
Each phase has its own audience, channel mix, and success target. We move only when the previous phase clears.
The channel architecture behind every launch motion. We build owned assets first, dominate one rented channel, and accelerate with borrowed trust.
Highest leverage. Build the asset you control.
Pick 1-2 channels and dominate them.
Shortcut to trust through other people's audiences.
The first two hours determine front-page ranking. Everyone is on deck - comments answered within 5 minutes.
500-1K+ visitors, real backlinks, instant credibility.
300-500 visitors and a credibility halo.
Backlinks, early adopters, and a moment of compounding social proof.
Carlos is our trojan horse. TSG mentors are a pre-qualified, warm, trusted audience - and the multiplier that turns 20 mentors into 200 customers.
20-30 TSG mentors get exclusive beta access
15-20 join as affiliates AND customers
Each refers 5-10 tax pros in their network
75-200 new customers from the TSG branch alone
Tiered recurring commissions: 10% standard, 15% high performers, 20% for influencers and early TSG adopters - tracked end-to-end through Rewardful on Stripe.
If it isn’t on this board, it isn’t a launch metric. Reviewed weekly with Luis + Carlos.
| Metric | 30 days | 60 days | 90 days |
|---|---|---|---|
| Website visitors | 1-2K | 2-4K | 4-8K |
| Email subscribers | 200-400 | 500-1K | 1-2K |
| LinkedIn followers | +100 | +300 | +500 |
| Blog traffic | 500-1K | 1-2K | 2-4K |
| Metric | 30 days | 60 days | 90 days |
|---|---|---|---|
| Trial signups | 50-100 | 100-200 | 200-400 |
| Paid conversions | 30-60 | 70-140 | 150-300 |
| MRR | $3.5-7K | $8-17K | $18-36K |
| Metric | 30 days | 60 days | 90 days |
|---|---|---|---|
| Active affiliates | 15-20 | 30-40 | 50+ |
| Affiliate referrals | 20-40 | 50-100 | 100-200 |
| Affiliate-sourced MRR | $2-5K | $6-12K | $12-24K |
Launch week is the kickoff - not the finish line. Monthly tactics keep momentum compounding.
Every 4-6 weeks. Even small updates become marketing moments - email, blog, social.
One success story per month. Video testimonials wherever possible.
PORTL vs. TaxDome / SafeSend / Liscio. High-intent traffic converts at 15-25%.
January-April is our Super Bowl. Survival kits, webinars, urgency messaging.
Concrete actions, by day. If something here slips, the launch date slips.
Aggressive - but doable if we execute. Soft launch with TSG, expand through owned and rented channels, then open the floodgates with Product Hunt.