Your Complete Launch Plan

Drag the entire Path To Work ZIP into Netlify's deploy zone at netlify.com. Your site goes live instantly at a free .netlify.app URL. This makes everything else real.

Open pathtowork-app.html on your phone browser. Go all the way through: Welcome → User Type → all 10 questions → Results → Roadmap → Resume. Check a task, verify it saves. Switch language to Spanish. Print the resume.

Go to emailjs.com → create free account → new form → copy your Form ID. Open pathtowork-landing.html, search for YOUR_FORM_ID and replace it. Re-upload to Netlify. Test the form by submitting your own email.

Go to alerts.google.com → search term: Path To Work → All results → As-it-happens → your email. Takes 2 minutes. You'll know the moment anyone mentions your brand online.

Subject: "Path To Work Milestone — Full Platform Live — March 26 2026." List the features, attach a ZIP of the files. This email becomes legal evidence of your creation date.

Go to web.archive.org/save → paste your Netlify URL → Save Page. Do this for the landing page AND the app. Creates an independent, timestamped public record of your platform.

TikTok: Edit Profile → Website. Instagram: Edit Profile → Website. Paste your Netlify URL for pathtowork-mobile.html. Every video you post now sends people directly to the mobile landing page.

Go to copyright.gov/registration → Literary Work or Computer Program → upload source file (pathtowork-app.html) as your deposit copy. This gives you statutory damages rights ($750–$150K per infringement) if anyone copies your code.

Same process — second registration covering the assessment questions, roadmap structure, career path content, and Ability Clip framework. Bundle all written content into one PDF and submit as a collection.

Go to tmsearch.uspto.gov → search "Path To Work" and "Path Forge." If no conflicts found, you're clear to file. Do this search before paying the filing fee.

Create a Google Doc titled "Path To Work Founder Log." Write today's date and 3–5 sentences about what Path To Work is and what you've built. Add an entry every time you work on it. This is court-admissible evidence of your development timeline.

The most important video you'll ever make for Path To Work. Film it in one take, raw and real. Post between 6–9pm. Caption: 1–2 lines max + "Link in bio." Reply to every comment in the first hour.

Copy the B2B founder story post from the Social Kit, paste it into LinkedIn, post at 8am on a weekday. Pin it to your profile immediately after posting. Tag 2–3 relevant organizations.

Search Facebook for groups: "Veterans Employment," "Veteran Transition," "Second Chance Employment," "Workforce Development Professionals." Join them, wait 24–48 hours if required, then post the authentic veteran group script.

Post all 10 tweets in sequence (use the thread feature — reply to your own tweet). Schedule for 8am on a Tuesday or Wednesday. Pin the first tweet to your profile.

Use your phone's screen record feature to capture yourself taking the Path To Work assessment live. This is your most shareable content — people love watching the tool in real time. Cross-post to Instagram Reels immediately (no watermark version).

Priority targets: American Legion (legion.org/contact), DAV (dav.org), local VFW post. Use the VSO email script from the sales kit. Attach the pitch deck PDF. Keep it to 5 sentences max.

This is your highest-probability local target — 10,000+ member church in your own city. Use the church email script. Ask for 20 minutes with their career ministry or outreach director.

Search "[your county] workforce development board" and "America's Job Center [your city]." These are government-funded workforce programs with mandates to serve exactly your target population. Offer the Free Evaluation pilot (5–10 users, $0).

Go to uspto.gov/trademarks/apply → TEAS Plus application → Class 41 (Education & Training Services). You can use ™ immediately after filing. The ® comes 8–18 months later when approved.

Search every HTML file for "Path To Work" (the name, not variables) and add the ™ symbol after the first prominent instance on each page. Update the landing page logo, app title, and pitch deck cover slide.

Create a free Substack account → publication name "The Forge" → publish Issue #1: "The One Thing Keeping People Stuck." Share the link on all platforms. This builds an email list you own — more valuable than any social following.

Screen record yourself doing the full Path To Work experience with voiceover. Upload to YouTube with the optimized title and tags from the Social Kit. This is your highest-SEO content and will drive organic traffic for years.

Join r/Veterans, r/careerguidance, r/jobs, r/cscareerquestions. Answer 3 questions per day for 2 weeks. Build karma and credibility first. After 2 weeks of genuine participation, you can organically mention Path To Work when directly relevant.

Elk Grove and Sacramento neighbors are your most accessible early adopters. A simple, personal post — "I'm a local Marine vet who built a free career tool, sharing in case it helps anyone" — can get 50–200 local users who actually talk to each other.

Target: Sacramento City College, Cosumnes River College, American River College, Folsom Lake College, and Sierra College. Look for their "Career Services" or "Veterans Resource Center" director. Offer the Free Evaluation pilot ($0 for 5–10 students).

Create a Product Hunt account → "Ship" → schedule your launch for a Tuesday or Wednesday (best days). Line up 20+ supporters to upvote on launch day. This can generate 500–2,000 free signups in 24 hours and can attract press attention.

Search Spotify/Apple Podcasts for "veteran career," "military transition," "second chance employment." Find shows with 1K–20K listeners. Email the host directly: "100% disabled Marine veteran built a free career tool — compelling story for your audience?" Attach your one-paragraph bio.

This is your highest-leverage church target — 80,000 churches in their open-source network. Go to open.life.church → find their community or partnerships contact. A single endorsement from them could activate thousands of local churches.

Print the NDA from pathtowork-ip-strategy.html, sign it, scan it, and email it to the partner before you share outcome data, pricing details, or your methodology. Or use HelloSign Free (3 docs/month) for e-signatures.

This is your legal framework for the pilot — what you provide, what they're responsible for, data privacy, IP protection, and feedback obligations. Get it signed before the pilot starts, not after.

On Netlify, you can set up redirect rules so yoursite.com/veterans-first goes to the app. This lets you track which partner is sending users and looks more professional than a raw URL. Netlify redirects are free and take 5 minutes to configure.

Open pathtowork-pitch-deck.pptx in PowerPoint → View → Master Slide → add a subtle "CONFIDENTIAL" text watermark in light gray across each slide. Re-export as PDF before sending to anyone. This matters legally if slides get shared without your permission.

A free Google Sheet: columns for Pilot Partner Name, Start Date, # Users, Week 1 check-in, Week 4 outcomes, Testimonial (Y/N). This becomes your results data that proves Path To Work works — the foundation of your next round of outreach and any future investment conversation.

After your first pilot users complete the assessment, ask 2–3 of them for a one-sentence quote. Replace the placeholder testimonials in pathtowork-mobile.html with their real words. Real quotes convert 3x better than placeholders.

File Articles of Organization with the California Secretary of State. $70 filing fee + $800/year minimum franchise tax. This separates your personal finances from Path To Work's liability. Transfer IP ownership from "Path To Work" to "Path To Work LLC" once formed.

Supabase (free tier) for user data and real impact counter. Resend for automated follow-up emails to assessment completers. Stripe for processing pilot payments. This moves Path To Work from a static tool to a real platform. See the deploy guide for the full Phase 2 stack.

The assessment answers POST to your Supabase function, which runs the scoring and returns results. This removes your proprietary algorithm from client-side JavaScript where anyone can read it. The single most important technical IP and security improvement.

One-time consultation ($300–600/hour) to review your copyright registrations, trademark status, assess patent options for the scoring algorithm, and ensure your NDA and pilot agreement are airtight. Money well spent before investor conversations.

Create the server with the channel structure from the Social Kit. Invite your pilot participants first — they become your founding community and your most powerful social proof. Real user conversations in your Discord are worth more than any marketing copy.