Hanselminutes Podcast by Scott Hanselman

The Hanselminutes podcast

Fresh Tech Talk from Fresh Faces
Focus Friend by Hank Green is #1 in the App Store with Bria Sullivan

Focus Friend by Hank Green is #1 in the App Store with Bria Sullivan

Show #1011 Aug 21 2025 Podcast Player with Transcript Help edit or fix transcripts here!

In this episode, Scott sits down with Bria Sullivan, developer and founder of Honey B Games, to unpack the viral success of Focus Friend—the cozy productivity app that dethroned ChatGPT at the top of the App Store. Co-created with Hank Green, Focus Friend gamifies focus with a sock-knitting bean companion, offering users a whimsical yet effective way to reclaim their attention. Bria shares the app’s origin story, the design philosophy behind its ADHD-friendly features, and how iteration and storytelling shaped its meteoric rise. It’s a conversation about building with empathy, designing for delight, and what it means to make tech that gives people their time back.

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