Focusmate
Focusmate is a New York-based virtual coworking platform that pairs users for 25/50/75-minute live video accountability sessions to combat procrastination. It serves individual remote workers, freelancers, students, and ADHD/neurodivergent users via a freemium subscription ($8/month annual).
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2015
- HeadquartersNew York, United States
- Headcount1–10
- GTM typeB2C
- OfferingSoftware
What Focusmate does
Focusmate is a New York-based, venture-backed private company that operates a virtual coworking platform built around 1:1 "body doubling" sessions. Founded in 2015 by Taylor Jacobson (with co-founder Mike Galanos), the platform connects users with matched accountability partners via in-browser live video for structured 25-, 50-, or 75-minute sessions, where each user declares goals at the start and reports progress at the end. The underlying technology stack is intentionally lean and outsourced: Daily.co provides WebRTC-based video infrastructure (no downloads required), Stripe processes payments, AWS hosts the platform, and tools like Amplitude, Intercom, Sentry, and New Relic provide analytics, support, and monitoring. A public API launched in 2022 enables developer integrations.
The business model is a freemium consumer subscription anchored by a generous free tier (3 sessions per week, no credit card) and a Plus plan priced at $8/month billed annually ($96/year) or $12/month billed monthly for unlimited sessions. Gift cards provide a secondary one-time transaction revenue stream, and a nascent Business tier offers custom-priced enterprise and learning community licensing via a separate inquiry flow. The platform serves a broad persona mix — remote workers, freelancers, students, solopreneurs, and notably neurodivergent users (especially those with ADHD) — with self-serve web signup as the primary acquisition motion and organic/earned media (NYT, BBC, CNN, HBR, Forbes, WSJ) driving awareness.
Go-to-market is primarily product-led and community-led: users join directly through the browser, refer Favorite Partners, and engage via an active Facebook group and Product Hunt presence. Investors include Amasia, Betaworks, Upfront Ventures, CoVenture, Remote First Capital, and angel backers Nir Eyal, Balaji Srinivasan, and Cindy Bi. As of 2023–2024, the platform reports 12M+ completed sessions, 500M+ minutes of focus, users in 150+ countries, and a 99%+ partner match rate.
Focusmate firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Focusmate
- Legal name
- Focusmate Inc.
- Website
- https://focusmate.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2015
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 1–10 employees
- Short description
- Focusmate is a New York-based virtual coworking platform that pairs users for 25/50/75-minute live video accountability sessions to combat procrastination. It serves individual remote workers, freelancers, students, and ADHD/neurodivergent users via a freemium subscription ($8/month annual).
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Focusmate industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Virtual Coworking & Productivity Software
- NAICS
- Computing Infrastructure Providers, Data Processing, Web Hosting, and Related Services (5182)
- SIC
- Services-Prepackaged Software (7372)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Mentorship, Coaching & Office-Hours Platforms (MPACALAG)
- akta.pro secondary industry
- Group Work, Breakout & Collaborative Document/Workspace Tools (EDAFAGAE)
Keywords
Where Focusmate is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- New York
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Markets served
Focusmate business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2C
- Offering type
- Software
- Cost components
- Technology or R&D, Infrastructure, Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Operations
Revenue model
- Focusmate Plus Subscription: The primary revenue stream is a monthly or annual subscription called Focusmate Plus, offering unlimited virtual coworking sessions. Free users receive 3 sessions per week at no cost. The Plus tier is priced at $8/month billed annually ($96/year) or $12/month billed monthly. A Business plan for enterprises, small businesses, and learning communities is also offered.
- Focusmate Business: Enterprise and group licensing tier for businesses, learning communities, and small teams. Pricing details are available via a separate business inquiry page (Notion link). This represents a potential B2B revenue stream targeting organizations that want to offer virtual coworking to their members or employees.
- Gift Cards: Users can purchase and send Focusmate gift cards to others. Gift cards are sold via the platform and represent a one-time revenue transaction.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Freemium | Monthly | Free tier: 3 sessions per week, no credit card required |
| Subscription | Annual | Plus: Unlimited sessions for $8/month (annual) or $12/month (monthly) |
| Subscription | Monthly | Business: Custom pricing for enterprises and teams |
Go-to-market motion2 records
Distribution channels3 records
Marketing channels8 records
Focusmate product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Focusmate is a web-based virtual coworking platform that pairs individual users in 1:1 live video accountability sessions (25, 50, or 75 minutes) to help them complete tasks ranging from desk work to housework. The platform uses the body-doubling technique — the presence of a matched accountability partner on camera — to combat procrastination and improve focus, with structured goal-setting at session start and check-in at end. It is offered as a freemium subscription (Free: 3 sessions/week; Plus: unlimited from $8/month annual), with a Business tier for organizations, and is fully browser-native with no app download required.
Product overview
Focusmate is a virtual coworking platform built around the body doubling technique, offering a single unified product with tiered subscription plans. The core Focusmate Platform enables users to book video sessions with accountability partners in 25, 50, or 75-minute durations. The service operates under three tiers: a Free plan (3 sessions/week), Plus plan ($8/month annual or $12/month monthly for unlimited sessions), and Business plan for enterprise teams. Key features include Favorite Partners for repeat collaborations, Task Modes (Desk, Moving, Anything) for different work styles, Quiet Mode for mic-free sessions, Native Video with built-in video calling, Calendar Integration with major calendar apps, Session Chat for text communication, Picture-in-Picture for multitasking, and Desktop Notifications for session reminders. The platform also offers a Public API for developer integrations.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Focusmate Free Free tier of the Focusmate virtual coworking platform, offering 3 sessions per week at no cost with no credit card required. Users can book 25-, 50-, or 75-minute sessions with a matched accountability partner and access core features including browser-native video, calendar sync, in-session chat, and favorite partners.
- Focusmate Plus Paid subscription tier of the Focusmate virtual coworking platform providing unlimited 1:1 accountability sessions. Priced at $8/month when billed annually ($96/year) or $12/month billed monthly, with all session durations (25, 50, 75 minutes) and full feature access including Favorite Partners, Quiet Mode, Task Modes, calendar sync, and developer API.
- Focusmate Business Enterprise subscription tier of the Focusmate virtual coworking platform, offered to enterprises, small businesses, and learning communities. Provides team-based virtual coworking for employee productivity, engagement, and well-being, with custom pricing available via a separate business inquiry page.
- Focusmate Gift Cards One-time gift card purchases on the Focusmate platform, allowing users to send Focusmate Plus access to friends, family, or colleagues. Sold directly through the platform and redeemable as subscription credit.
Quantifiable outcome
- 143% average productivity increase across all members
- +9 more outcomes
Companies that use Focusmate
Customer profileNamed customers10 records
Segments7 records
Ideal customer profiles2 records
Focusmate technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- Yes
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Integration3 records
Feature11 records
Focusmate partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Seven partnerships are on record, tiered core.
- BeemindercoreBeeminder integration allows users to set daily/weekly/monthly goals for Focusmate sessions, visualize progress with graphs, and optionally add financial stakes ('reminders with a sting'). Users authorize Focusmate data access via an OAuth-style external authorization screen. Beeminder regularly pulls session counts and applies penalties for missed commitments.
- Daily.cocoreDaily.co provides the underlying video infrastructure for Focusmate's live video sessions. Focusmate uses Daily.co's WebRTC-based video API for in-browser video calls without requiring additional downloads.
- StripecoreStripe processes all payment transactions on the Focusmate platform, including subscription billing and gift card purchases.
- Google (Calendar, Analytics, Firebase)coreGoogle Calendar integration allows sessions to appear in users' calendars (Apple, Google, Outlook). Google Analytics and Firebase provide marketing/product analytics and authentication services respectively.
- Amazon Web Services (AWS)coreAWS provides cloud hosting and email delivery services for the Focusmate platform.
- New ReliccoreNew Relic provides infrastructure and application monitoring to ensure platform reliability and performance.
- SentrycoreSentry provides error logging and bug tracking for Focusmate's application.
Scale indicators18 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights5 records
Focusmate competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Flow Club: Virtual coworking platform offering group focus rooms and 1:1 accountability sessions on a subscription model. Competes head-to-head with Focusmate on the same body-doubling use case but skews more toward group coworking rather than Focusmate's strict 1:1 paired sessions.
- Caveday: Subscription-based virtual deep-work sessions with body doubling and group focus rooms. Closest direct peer to Focusmate in session structure, target user (knowledge workers, ADHD community), and pricing tier, though historically more group-oriented.
- Flown: Community-driven virtual coworking platform founded around deep-work 'flocks' and body doubling. Targets the same freelance/remote-worker persona as Focusmate, with similar session-based subscription pricing.
- Study Together / StudyStream: Live virtual study rooms for students, built around camera-on body doubling and Pomodoro-style sessions. Directly comparable to Focusmate's student segment with a heavier emphasis on the high-school-to-undergrad academic use case.
Emerging players
- Sessions (sessionsapp.com): Virtual coworking and co-working app for remote teams and individuals, with focus rooms and 1:1 sessions. Comparable in core mechanic (video-based coworking) but with a stronger team/enterprise positioning than Focusmate.
- Habitica: Gamified habit-building and productivity app that uses social accountability (parties/guilds) to drive follow-through. Overlaps with Focusmate on accountability-mechanic and indie/early-adopter audience but uses gamification rather than live 1:1 sessions.
- Sunsama: Daily planning and focus tool for knowledge workers that bundles calendar, task prioritization, and timeboxing. Adjacent to Focusmate in serving the same 'intentional deep work' persona but solves planning rather than real-time accountability.
Others
- Beeminder: Goal-tracking and accountability platform with optional financial stakes ('reminders with a sting'). Focusmate has a direct integration with Beeminder; both target self-improvement enthusiasts and the quantified-self/ADHD-adjacent communities.
- Focusmate (alt) — not applicable:
Broad incumbents
- Headspace for Work: Enterprise-grade mental wellness and focus platform with guided sessions, meditation, and focus music. Competes for the same enterprise well-being budget and neurodivergent-friendly employer benefit slot, but solves focus via content rather than live 1:1 accountability.
Market position
Strengths4 records
Weaknesses4 records
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
Focusmate social profiles
Digital presenceFocusmate compliance and trust
Trust signalCompliance4 records
Focusmate financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Focusmate leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles2 records
Focusmate funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds3 records
Investors5 records
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Focusmate M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Focusmate
What does Focusmate do?
Focusmate is a web-based virtual coworking platform that pairs individual users in 1:1 live video accountability sessions (25, 50, or 75 minutes) to help them complete tasks ranging from desk work to housework. The platform uses the body-doubling technique — the presence of a matched accountability partner on camera — to combat procrastination and improve focus, with structured goal-setting at session start and check-in at end. It is offered as a freemium subscription (Free: 3 sessions/week; Plus: unlimited from $8/month annual), with a Business tier for organizations, and is fully browser-native with no app download required.
Is Focusmate a public or private company?
Focusmate is a private company. It is classified as venture growth investor backed and is currently operating.
When was Focusmate founded?
Focusmate was founded in 2015. It employs 1 to 10 people.
Where is Focusmate based?
Focusmate is headquartered in New York, United States, in the North America region.
How does Focusmate make money?
Three revenue lines are on record. Focusmate Plus Subscription is the primary driver. The others are focusmate Business and gift Cards.
Who are Focusmate's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Flow Club, Caveday, Flown and Study Together / StudyStream. Emerging players are Sessions (sessionsapp.com), Habitica and Sunsama. Others are Beeminder and Focusmate (alt) — not applicable. Headspace for Work is listed as a broad incumbent.
Does Focusmate have an API?
Yes. Focusmate's public API allows programmatic access to profile and session data. The initial release enables access to user profile information, session history, and limited public information about other users. Users must explicitly grant permission for applications to access their private data via API keys or the external authorization page. Use cases include counting daily sessions in Google spreadsheets for timekeeping, creating graphs of session history over time, sending SMS reminders before upcoming sessions, and tracking work across different time zones. The API does not currently support booking or canceling sessions. Developer documentation is at apidocs.focusmate.com.
What industry is Focusmate in?
Focusmate's product category is Virtual Coworking & Productivity Software. Its primary akta.pro industry code is MPACALAG, Mentorship, Coaching & Office-Hours Platforms, with a secondary code of EDAFAGAE, Group Work, Breakout & Collaborative Document/Workspace Tools. Its NAICS code is 5182 and its SIC code is 7372.