Focusmate
Virtual coworking for getting anything done.
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Nir Eyal

Focusmate - Distraction-free productivity via virtual coworking

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Focusmate virtual coworking provides accountability exactly when and how you need it to get things done—live, "in person" from another human being.

Users to work side-by-side, remotely over video, in structured 50 minute sessions.

Let a Focusmate hold your feet to the fire, just like your coworkers might in a real office.

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Taylor Jacobson – Team Focusmate
Maker
Hi PH, Taylor from Focusmate here. Working solo can be liberating, but it is also hard. I’ve been working from home for 7 years, and let’s just say it’s been a long and winding journey 🙃 The big change for me happened when I started working with an accountability partner, remotely over video, to ensure I showed up, chose the right thing to work on, and stayed on task. It may sound weird or extreme, but it worked insanely well. The problem was, we needed more people! So, we built Focusmate—a community of solo workers who have committed to holding one another accountable for finishing their most important work. With Focusmate, you can find an accountability buddy to work with at any time, anywhere, on demand. We’d love for you to give it a try and share your feedback. Also: 😱 How can we reduce the initial fear or hurdle of trying Focusmate? ❤ Are there specific people/groups you’d like to work with on Focusmate? Thanks so much!!
Jake Baker
@taylor_jacobson Amazing product Taylor -- to your question -- is there any way for colleagues of a start-up to work together? Can you choose who you match with?
Taylor Jacobson – Team Focusmate
Maker
@bakerjake that's our next step!
Bram Kanstein (@bramk)
@taylor_jacobson I did not know that this was exactly what I was looking for? I've been working alone a lot and the distractions are ENDLESS - I can see why this would work. Signing up now and think of investing at Republic too 😉 One thing I do want to say - don't put logos of publications on your website to then not link to their respective articles/content (if there are any), now they link to your homepage which is a bit silly.
Taylor Jacobson – Team Focusmate
Maker
@bramk Thanks so much!! Yeah, sorry about that, it's a known issue. The latest press is over at https://blog.focusmate.com/press (a few linked above too). I'm delighted to have you in the fold as a user, and am honored you're considering investing!
Nir Eyal
Hunter
I like to describe Focusmate as, "Chatroulette for work (without all the nasty bits)." I've used the product for quite a while and found it to be a great way to fight distraction by holding myself accountable to another person. I love the product and team and I'm honored they let me invest in the company.
Derek Mei
@nireyal Super cool to see you as an investor and founder on this project, Nir. Looking forward to using this for the first time tonight!
Nir Eyal
Hunter
@_derek_mei Oh, I'm not a founder. Just a user and investor.
Derek Mei
@nireyal Ah, my bad. I actually meant advisor as that's what I saw on the Republic crowdfunding page, but glad to see you're using this product too 😄
Taylor Jacobson – Team Focusmate
Maker
@_derek_mei thanks for your comment. we're excited to have @nireyal on board too 😄
Ryan Hoover
Focusmate is such a weird product, in a good way. I've tried it before and know a lot of others use it to build social accountability. Curious how you see the product evolving over the next few years, @taylor_jacobson.
Jake Baker
@taylor_jacobson @rrhoover I love this comment. The people who use it regularly (and there are a ton) love it. It works for some, may not work for others. Give it a try - why not?
Taylor Jacobson – Team Focusmate
Maker
@rrhoover thanks! Our plan is to create an increasingly personalized and supportive Focusmate experience, e.g. - Customize your tribe: favorite some users, block others - Match w/ people based on how you like to work, shared interests, what you're working on - Join groups for specific affinity groups like your company, the PH community, or a writing class you're taking, and work with others in those groups - Set preferences for session style, e.g. text-only/voice-only/video, longer/shorter - Join events like "office hours" or facilitated "classes" with a coach to help you plan your day, plan your week, do goal-setting, and many more activities
Anna Filou
I procrastinate so much and this seems like a good solution to force me to get started and not get distracted BUT it's kinda weird. I wanna do it but at the same time I'm like "video call with a stranger where we're mostly silent? Yeah..... Riiiight...." 😅
Jake Baker
@anna_0x It's so much more natural and easy than you would think. Everyone there has a shared focus, goal, mission -- work productively. I've seen people voluntarily doing things like sharing their screen (sometimes with a filter, sometimes without) to further enhance accountability -- that's how comfortable they are working together. Try it once -- or ask Taylor the founder to do a session. There's a great Facebook community to ask more people that use it regularly. What's the harm in trying?
Taylor Jacobson – Team Focusmate
Maker
@anna_0x what he said! @bakerjake It feels scary right up until you start, and then it's like, "oh, why was I scared?" This is exactly how I felt too, and now I love the experience of working with enthusiastic, caring, supportive (and focused) people around the world.
Anna Filou
@bakerjake @taylor_jacobson just finished my first session 😁 was nice but I felt pretty awkward (talking to strangers face to face is pretty much out of my comfort zone)
Taylor Jacobson – Team Focusmate
Maker
@bakerjake @anna_0x major kudos 👏 excited to hear more feedback as you use it!
Taylor Jacobson – Team Focusmate
Maker
@cindybisv - gender leans slightly women, which I would guess is due to parenting pushing more women to try remote/freelancing. Age and geographies is insanely diverse. We're in over 100 countries already. US then UK and EU but seeing spikes globally right now. Work functions: still learning. More focused on tasks. Deep work (e.g. writing), test prep, admin work are all huge. But, the diversity is staggering.
Davis Baer
Looks good! So is there any initial get-to-know-each-other chit chat? Is the audio on, or is it just video?
Taylor Jacobson – Team Focusmate
Maker
@daviswbaer You spend the first 60 seconds greeting one another verbally and sharing what you'll be working on. Video stays on, audio is optional while working. At the end you check in verbally again and reflect on how it went and say thanks!
Davis Baer
Jake Baker
@taylor_jacobson @daviswbaer It sounds a bit uncomfortable at first, but everyone in the community is so eager to get work done. The quality of people I've paired with has been one of the best parts of the experience. Try it out!
Taylor Jacobson – Team Focusmate
Maker
@daviswbaer @bakerjake @cindybisv so interesting. Would be interesting to learn more about them.
Pablo Fernández
I wish I had Focusmate when I was working by myself on my own startup (that failed so I'm back at the office).
Jake Baker
@pupeno I’ve tried !Focusmate at the office - takes a bit more chutzpah to use it in a work environment but still works as well as at home!
Taylor Jacobson – Team Focusmate
Maker
@pupeno I resonate with this completely... feels like I lost weeks/months/years at a time to the procrastination vortex (even though I was working hard).
Fajar Siddiq
WOW!!!! this is exactly i need.
Jake Baker
@fajarsiddiq Amen -- give it a try -- there's a ton of available sessions starting immediately today. Check it out!
Taylor Jacobson – Team Focusmate
Maker
@fajarsiddiq great to hear that! let me know what you think!!
Ted Chen
Awesome, definitely gonna try it on executing my next project😄
Taylor Jacobson – Team Focusmate
Maker
@teddd what are you working on now? Why wait? 😄 I'm only half kidding... A lot of people wait for the right moment or right project to try it, and I find it's more helpful to start from, "when do I have an hour or two when I want to be focused?" and then figure out what to work on then.
Jake Baker
@teddd @taylor_jacobson Agreed! Try it out now -- very easy to sign up and lots of sessions available starting immediately. The cool thing is when it becomes habit - you just start to fit it into your day. Check it out!
Jono Schafler
Superb concept and product, fits very well with trends of the modernizing, remote workforce
Jake Baker
@jschafler Love the support from Jono, one of the stars of early stage product launches and investing.
Taylor Jacobson – Team Focusmate
Maker
thanks @jschafler -- really appreciate the love ❤️
G G
Hmmm I guess this is good for people who slack at home...? Other side note is it might create special rendezvous... I mean you get to meet soo many other lonely I mean solitary people. I guess this system would work if a boss forces employees to use this system as a means to improve productivity or oversight in a way.
Jake Baker
@androidlove Honestly -- it works because the productivity boost is addictive. You get hooked on the feeling. I've seen literally zero people abuse over 100s of sessions. People are just motivated and eager to GSD. There are a number of unmatched sessions today at www.focusmate.com -- try it out?
Sad S
@androidlove It doesn't have to be solitary people. It could be people on it after work or before a normal office job. There are a lot of graduate students as well.
Taylor Jacobson – Team Focusmate
Maker
@androidlove thanks for your feedback. Loneliness is actually an epidemic, and I think many people simply don't realize how alone we all are these days, even when we're around other people. One thing I'll say about the "oversight" bit is we really emphasize an opt-in mentality: we encourage people to use Focusmate because you want to crush it, not because you were told to 😄
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