Refocus: AI Focus Coach for macOS

"Not another blocker. An AI coach that nudges you back when you drift."

One-Liner

Focus coaching companion that observes your behavior and provides intelligent, escalating interventions to help you stay on task.

Criteria Score: 19/25

What It Does

Refocus runs in the background, tracking which apps and browser tabs you use. When you start a focus session with a specific goal, it:

• Detects when you drift to distracting apps/sites
• Escalates interventions gradually (floating bar → notification → coaching overlay → friction)
• Tracks metrics like focus time, drift count, and context switches
• Learns your patterns through app/URL classification

Tech Stack

• Frontend: Solid.js + TypeScript + Vite
• Backend: Tauri 2 (Rust)
• Database: SQLite (local, offline-first)
• Browser Extension: Manifest V3 (Chrome/Firefox)
• Platform: macOS (uses native APIs for app tracking)

Current Status

MVP built. Core features working:

• Activity monitoring (frontmost app + browser tabs)
• Focus sessions with goal setting
• 4-stage intervention system
• Smart cooldowns (rate-limited nudges)
• App/URL classification
• Daily metrics tracking

Assumptions Validated

1. Problem: People struggle to focus and need external help

• Status: ✓ Validated
• Evidence: Reddit flooded with complaints — "impulsivity bypasses weak controls", "phone limits don't work", "need physical blocks when impulse control fails"

2. Market: People pay for focus/blocking tools

• Status: ✓ Validated
• Evidence:
  • Freedom: $8.99/mo, $40/year, $100 lifetime
  • Opal: $20/mo or $100/year
  • Cold Turkey: One-time purchase (Pro version)
  • RescueTime: Freemium + paid

3. Solution: Escalating interventions work better than hard blocking

• Status: ⚠️ Uncertain
• Evidence: Most competitors use hard blocking (Cold Turkey) or friction (Opal). Coaching approach is differentiated but unproven

4. Business: macOS-only is viable market

• Status: ⚠️ Uncertain
• Evidence: Major competitors all cross-platform. macOS-only limits TAM

5. Timing: Why now?

• Status: ✓ Validated
• Evidence: Distraction epidemic worsening. AI enables smarter interventions. ADHD awareness rising.

6. Founder-fit

• Status: ✓ Validated
• Evidence: Already built MVP. Listed in "feels like play" and "competitive advantages"

Market Size

TAM → SAM → SOM

Key Numbers

ADHD-Specific Market

Bottom-Up Estimate

Even capturing 1% (10k paying users @ $10/mo) = $1.2M ARR

Existing Landscape

Competitors

Gap in market: Nobody does intelligent, learning-based coaching with escalating interventions.

Communities

• r/ADHD (1.8M+)
• r/productivity (2M+)
• r/nosurf (400k+)
• r/getdisciplined (1M+)
• ADHD Twitter/X community

Creators/Influencers

Pricing Signals

• Market pays $8-20/mo for focus tools
• Lifetime purchases popular ($100-200)
• ADHD users willing to pay more for tools that "actually work"

Differentiation Strengths

Key Risks

1. macOS-only limits market — Cross-device is table stakes
2. "Coaching" approach unproven — Users might want hard blocking
3. Crowded market — Freedom, Cold Turkey, Opal established
4. Churn — Focus tools have try/abandon/try cycle

Verdict

✓ Go — With Caveats

Recommendations

1. Add AI layer — Pattern detection, smart nudges, personalized intensity
2. Position for ADHD — Own the niche, partner with How to ADHD, ADHD coaches
3. Plan cross-device — iOS companion minimum
4. Test coaching vs blocking — A/B test user preferences

Accelerator Pitches

Pitch A: Honest MVP Stage

Refocus is an AI-powered focus coach for macOS. It monitors your activity during focus sessions and provides escalating interventions (nudge → notify → coaching overlay → friction) when you drift to distractions. Unlike dumb blockers like Freedom or Cold Turkey, it learns your patterns and coaches you back to focus.

Current revenue: $0 (MVP built, pre-launch). Tech stack complete: Tauri/Rust backend, browser extension, local SQLite.

Why me: I'm a senior product dev who's built and shipped products before. Focus/ADHD tools are my domain — I use them obsessively and know exactly where they fail. The "coaching" approach is differentiated in a market of $850M+ that's growing 15%+ YoY. I need help positioning the AI layer and finding early users, not building.

Pitch B: Punchier

Refocus: AI focus coach that watches you work and nudges you back when you drift.

Not another blocker. It learns your distraction patterns and escalates interventions intelligently — floating reminder → notification → coaching overlay → friction. Think "AI accountability partner" vs "digital padlock."

Revenue: Pre-launch (MVP complete). $850M anti-procrastination market, 15% CAGR.

Fit: Senior dev, shipped products, obsessed with focus tools. Need go-to-market help, not technical.

Pitch C: ADHD Angle

Refocus is an AI focus coach for adults who can't trust themselves to stay on task (hello, ADHD).

It monitors your Mac activity during focus sessions and provides escalating interventions when you drift — gentle nudge first, then notification, then coaching overlay, then friction. It learns your patterns over time.

Revenue: $0 (MVP built). Market: ADHD apps = $1.9B, growing to $4B by 2029.

Why me: I have ADHD. I've tried every focus tool. They all suck because they're either nuclear-option blockers or passive trackers. Refocus is the middle path — an AI coach that actually helps.

Next Steps

• Add AI pattern detection layer
• Test ADHD positioning with target users
• Build iOS companion (or decide against it)
• A/B test coaching vs hard-blocking preference
• Launch beta to r/ADHD, r/productivity