Opportunities › Markdown note-taking with scientific document support › Proposed app
Lemmapad
Markdown notes with math that renders as you type, on any desktop, Linux included
- Score
- 39
- confidence 47
- Evidence
- 4
- items on the page
- Rivals
- 2
- named in sources
- First version
- 45 d
- estimate
- Type
- Desktop app
- PWA: runs in the browser, installs on Mac and Windows
- Market since
- 2017
- Established market · AI estimate
ScreensConcept
Desktop app: Writing academic notes with LaTeX requires keyboard work and a full editor—research and study done at a desk. Sample screens on a computer, in the proposed brand. Their numbers are sample data.
Spectral theorem
Rendered live- InlineA = QΛQᵀ
About this appAI proposal
Lemmapad is a Markdown note editor built for people who write equations every day. LaTeX renders inline as you type, in the same note as your plain text, links and tags. Notes are ordinary Markdown files you keep, so nothing is locked in.
It is a progressive web app, so it runs the same in any modern browser on Linux, macOS, Windows or a tablet, with no platform-specific build. Notes work offline and sync when you reconnect.
It is for researchers, students and academics who now switch between a Markdown tool and a LaTeX tool, or put up with weak math support. The first goal is to be fast and stable with long, formula-heavy notes.
- Tagline
- Notes where the math just works.
- Voice
- PreciseCalmPlainspoken
- Why this name
- A lemma is a small proven step toward a larger result, like a note. Pad says it is a place to write. Short and easy to say.
In the first version
Members say which features they would use. It tells PWAS what people want; it changes no score.
Live LaTeX rendering
Inline and block math renders as you type, with numbered equations, macros and cross-references inside normal Markdown.
No member yet
Plain Markdown files
Import and export folders of .md files. Your notes stay readable in any other editor.
No member yet
Same on every platform
One web-based app means the same rendering and speed on Linux, Mac, Windows and tablets.
No member yet
Offline first
Write on a plane or in a lab with no signal. Changes sync when you are back online.
No member yet
Brand identityAI proposal
Check the name against trademark registers before using it.
Palette
#1D5C63Deep Teal · primary#F7F4ECPaper · surface#1F2A2EGraphite · text#D9822BAmber · accent#6B7F2EMoss · data
Typography
Aa
Lemmapad
ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ 0123456789
Notes where the math just works.
PricingAI proposal
Based on Obsidian's pricing page (verified): six paid plans from $5 to $10 a month, plus a free plan. These tiers sit in that range and are a starting point to test.
Free
Free
- Markdown editing
- Plain-file import and export
- Offline use on one device
Scholar
$5 a month
- Live LaTeX rendering
- Sync across devices
- PDF and LaTeX export
- Math snippets
Lab
$10 a month
- Everything in Scholar
- Shared notebooks
- Version history
- Priority support
Would you pay Scholar · $5 a month?
Your answer tells PWAS which prices people accept. It changes no score.
No answers yet.
What it could be worthEstimate
What a software business making this much sells for today, from real deals. Pick a monthly revenue.
If it makes
Worth about
$194,000
Sale range $132,000 to $263,000
$120,000 a year in revenue
From 87 software businesses listed and sold on Empire Flippers in the last year, revenue vetted by the broker: they sell for about 19× their monthly revenue, most between 13× and 26×.
Measured on profit, the middle deal is 32× monthly net profit: about 2.7 years of profit.
An estimate, not an offer or financial advice. A real price depends on profit, growth, churn, how much of the work is the owner's, and the buyer.
How it would growAI proposal
How the product would reach new customers through its own use, and how the first ones would be found. A plan to test, not a result.
- Built-in loop
- Shared outputs. Users publish a note or export a PDF with rendered math. Shared pages carry a small 'Written in Lemmapad' link, and readers can open a copy of the note.
- Do they become customers?
- Readers are often students and peers who take notes themselves, so some could sign up. This needs testing: how many shared-page visitors start a free account.
- First customers
- Physics, maths and engineering graduate students who take notes in Markdown and use Linux.
- Where to reach them
- Hacker News: Show HN post with a demo of a long formula-heavy note, answering the LaTeX and Linux comments.
- University lab groups: Offer free Lab seats to a few research groups in exchange for feedback.
- Linux and academic forums: Share a free import tool and a guide for moving existing notes over.
- First milestone
- Ten paying Scholar users from graduate students after a free trial, with half still writing weekly after a month.
Why people already pay for this
- Public claimLaTeX support is a missing feature that prevents adoption of new markdown editors
- Public claimObsidian has rendering and performance issues on Linux that motivate users to switch
- Public claimThere is active interest in new markdown note-taking applications
- VerifiedObsidian's pricing page lists 6 paid plans, from $5 to $10 a month, plus a free plan
Tech stack
Every proposal builds on the same PWA base, installable from the browser on any phone or computer. Dashed boxes are what this app adds.
- AppNext.js and TypeScript
- PWAManifest and service worker
- UITailwind CSS
- Data and authSupabase Postgres
- PaymentsStripe
- EmailResend
- HostingVercel
- This app · Math renderingOpen-source LaTeX renderer for the browserFast inline and block math without a server round trip.
- This app · EditorExtensible browser code-editor frameworkLive Markdown with math widgets and virtualised rendering of long notes.
RisksAI inference
- PlatformBrowser file-system access differs by browser. Folder editing may be limited in some, so users could depend on import, export and sync instead of live files.
- CommercialObsidian and Zettlr have existing users and plugins. Users may not pay to switch if their current tool is good enough, and the Linux complaints are public claims only.
- TechnicalSmooth live rendering of very long, formula-heavy notes inside a browser is hard, and it is the main promise. It needs early testing on real thesis-length notes.
- CommercialFree math rendering is common in editors. LaTeX alone may not justify a subscription, so Pro must offer more, such as sync and export.
- DataSync conflicts could corrupt or lose notes. Researchers will not tolerate lost work, so versioning and local backups are needed from the start.
Everything marked AI proposal or AI inference was written by a model from the evidence on the opportunity page. The proposed name must be checked against trademark registers before it is used.