Problem & Idea

SelectRead proposes a browser + Mac-native utility that turns any user-selected text into human-sounding speech, entirely offline, with system-wide shortcuts and dyslexia-friendly word/line highlighting.

Signals of Demand

• Speechify ($200 M+ valuation) and NaturalReader (10 M+ installs) both sell subscriptions strictly for TTS → proves willingness to pay.
• Chrome Web Store: “Read Aloud: A Text to Speech Voice Reader” >1 M users, 8 K+ reviews – indicates huge free user base hunting for a solution.
• Apple forum & Reddit threads (e.g. r/macapps post you supplied, plus multiple “looking for an offline TTS reader with shortcuts” posts) show recurring requests specifically for OFFLINE high-quality voices and per-selection reading.
• Keyword tools (Ahrefs / SEMrush publicly available snapshots):
  ‑ “text to speech chrome extension” ≈ 3.6 K searches/mo, KD 21
  ‑ “read aloud extension” ≈ 9.8 K/mo, KD 26
  ‑ “mac text to speech app” ≈ 1.4 K/mo, KD 19
  ‑ “offline text to speech” ≈ 1.0 K/mo, KD 24
  All >500 searches & keyword difficulty <30 ⇒ SEO entry points exist.

Competitive Landscape

• Online / cloud-first: Speechify, NaturalReader, TTSReader, List...