Opportunities › Reference management with better document integration › Proposed app
Shelfmark
Shared references and PDFs in one library that stays in plain BibTeX
- Score
- 58
- confidence 34
- Evidence
- 3
- items on the page
- Rivals
- 2
- named in sources
- First version
- 35 d
- estimate
- Type
- Desktop app
- PWA: runs in the browser, installs on Mac and Windows
- Market since
- 1985
- Mature market · AI estimate
ScreensConcept
Desktop app: Research teams browse, annotate, and organize dense reference collections with PDFs—sustained focus and keyboard work best done at a desk. Sample screens on a computer, in the proposed brand. Their numbers are sample data.
Library
4 added this week1,248
About this appAI proposal
Shelfmark is a shared library for research groups. Each reference and its PDF live together as one item, and the whole library opens in a browser. Everyone on the team sees the same collection, notes and attachments.
The library is built on plain BibTeX. Import a .bib file and your citation keys stay as they are. Export one at any time, or point a LaTeX project at a live link that serves the current version. Your data is never held in a format only we can read.
It is for labs, reading groups and small R&D teams who keep a .bib file in one place and PDFs in another, or who find their reference database hard to get out of.
- Tagline
- Your references and papers, together and always yours to take.
- Voice
- PlainCalmPrecise
- Why this name
- A shelfmark is the label that tells you where a book sits in a library. It suits a tool that keeps each reference and its file in one place.
In the first version
Members say which features they would use. It tells PWAS what people want; it changes no score.
Reference and PDF as one item
Every entry holds its PDF, supplementary files and notes. Rename or move an item and its files follow.
No member yet
BibTeX in, BibTeX out
Import .bib files with citation keys kept. Export a collection or the whole library whenever you want.
No member yet
Live .bib link
Each collection has a stable URL that serves its current .bib file, so a paper repo always cites the latest data.
No member yet
Shared collections
Invite the group, set read or edit rights per collection, and see who added or changed each entry.
No member yet
Brand identityAI proposal
Check the name against trademark registers before using it.
Palette
#1F4D45Ink Green · primary#F7F3EAPaper · surface#23282BCharcoal · text#D9962BOchre · accent#5A7A96Slate Blue · data
Typography
Aa
Shelfmark
ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ 0123456789
Your references and papers, together and always yours to take.
PricingAI proposal
The material gives no competitor prices. These tiers, priced by user count and storage as the opportunity suggests, are a starting point to test.
Solo
Free
- 1 user
- 1 GB of PDF storage
- BibTeX import and export
- Live .bib link
Group
$8 a month
- Per user, up to 15 users
- 50 GB shared storage
- Shared collections with rights
- Duplicate and key checks
Department
Contact us
- Unlimited users
- Custom storage
- Single sign-on
- Priority support
Would you pay Group · $8 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. A collection's live .bib link and read-only share page go into paper repos, lab sites and reading-list posts. Readers see the library's name and can open the shared collection.
- Do they become customers?
- Readers are often researchers who run their own libraries, so some could sign up. It must be tested whether people who open a shared list start their own library.
- First customers
- Research labs of 5 to 20 people in one field that writes in LaTeX, where one person keeps a shared .bib file and PDFs sit in a shared drive.
- Where to reach them
- Hacker News and forums: Post a Show HN and answer threads on BibTeX and Zotero interoperability with the import and export tool.
- Lab outreach: Offer a free migration of one group's .bib and PDFs to PIs and lab managers in a single field.
- First milestone
- Five research groups in one field migrate a real library and three of them pay for a Group plan.
Why people already pay for this
- Public claimResearch groups switch from BibTeX to Zotero for PDF storage and web-based browsing
- Public claimUsers perceive Zotero's database as siloed with weak interoperability
- Public claimInteroperability with BibTeX is a significant pain point
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 · File storageS3-compatible object storagePDFs and supplementary files need cheap, large storage with signed download links.
- This app · BibTeX parsingOpen-source BibTeX parser libraryRound-trip import and export must keep keys, fields and odd entries intact.
RisksAI inference
- CommercialZotero is open source and free to start. Groups may find a paid tool not worth it unless the shared library and live .bib link clearly save time.
- TechnicalBibTeX files vary widely. Keeping keys and unusual fields intact on import and export is hard and must be tested on real group libraries.
- DataPDFs add storage cost, and some are publisher-copyrighted. Hosting shared copies may need terms of use and access limits.
- CommercialThe evidence is only public claims from one forum. Real demand and willingness to pay in research groups are unverified.
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.