Opportunities › Persistent timer interface for ADHD productivity › Proposed app
Marginline
A focus timer that stays in view as a slim bar, so you never lose the block
- Score
- 43
- confidence 49
- Evidence
- 5
- items on the page
- Rivals
- 1
- named in sources
- First version
- 15 d
- estimate
- Type
- Desktop app
- PWA: runs in the browser, installs on Mac and Windows
- Market since
- 2009
- Mature market · AI estimate
ScreensConcept
Desktop app: Knowledge workers use it continuously while working at their desk, requiring persistent visibility and keyboard integration with their primary work applications. Sample screens on a computer, in the proposed brand. Their numbers are sample data.
New block
Ready25:00
About this appAI proposal
Marginline is a focus timer for people with ADHD or time-blindness. Instead of hiding when you switch windows, it shrinks into a slim coloured bar that floats above your other apps and keeps the time block in the corner of your eye.
It is built for knowledge workers who already use pomodoro or time-blocking and lose the timer once it is minimised. The bar changes colour as the block runs down, so you sense time passing without opening anything.
It is an installable web app, so there is nothing to download from a store. Where the browser allows a floating window, the bar stays on top. Where it does not, Marginline falls back to the tab title and the app badge.
- Tagline
- The timer you can't forget, because it never leaves.
- Voice
- calmdirectkind
- Why this name
- The margin is where your eye rests while you work. The bar is a line of time kept at the edge of the screen.
In the first version
Members say which features they would use. It tells PWAS what people want; it changes no score.
Always-visible floating bar
Pop the timer out into a thin always-on-top bar that stays over your work. Needs a browser with floating-window support; others get a fallback.
No member yet
Colour that shows time left
The bar drifts from calm to warm as the block runs down, so you read time at a glance without reading numbers.
No member yet
Collapse, never vanish
Expand to full controls or shrink to a hairline bar. There is no state where a running timer is fully hidden.
No member yet
Block presets
Save your own blocks, such as 25/5, 50/10 or a 90-minute deep block, and start one in a single tap.
No member yet
Brand identityAI proposal
Check the name against trademark registers before using it.
Palette
#FFF8ECPaper · surface#2B2A33Ink · text#E4572EEmber · primary#1B7F79Lagoon · accent, calm state#F2B134Honey · data, warning state
Typography
Aa
Marginline
ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ 0123456789
The timer you can't forget, because it never leaves.
PricingAI proposal
The material gives no competitor prices. These tiers are a starting point to test; the opportunity suggests a one-time purchase, small subscription or freemium.
Free
Free
- One floating bar
- Two presets
- Tab title and badge fallback
Plus
$19 a year
- Unlimited presets
- Full colour and sound controls
- Intent line and daily history
- Repeat nudges
Would you pay Plus · $19 a year?
Your answer tells PWAS which prices people accept. It changes no score.
No answers yet.
What it could be worthEstimate
What a software business making this much sells for today, from real deals. Pick a monthly revenue.
If it makes
Worth about
$194,000
Sale range $132,000 to $263,000
$120,000 a year in revenue
From 87 software businesses listed and sold on Empire Flippers in the last year, revenue vetted by the broker: they sell for about 19× their monthly revenue, most between 13× and 26×.
Measured on profit, the middle deal is 32× monthly net profit: about 2.7 years of profit.
An estimate, not an offer or financial advice. A real price depends on profit, growth, churn, how much of the work is the owner's, and the buyer.
How it would growAI proposal
How the product would reach new customers through its own use, and how the first ones would be found. A plan to test, not a result.
- Built-in loop
- No loop in the product. It reaches customers through content, communities and search. Timer use is private, and the floating bar shows no outward-facing name or shared output.
- Do they become customers?
- Test whether ADHD and productivity communities convert to paid use. Exposure is not a loop here; a share-a-block feature could be tested later.
- First customers
- Adults with ADHD who work as remote knowledge workers on macOS and already use pomodoro or time-blocking, such as developers and writers.
- Where to reach them
- Hacker News: Show HN post in the thread where people discussed forgetting timers, with a free working demo.
- ADHD productivity communities: Offer the free tier in subreddits and forums on ADHD work tools, and gather feedback on the bar.
- Productivity creators: Give early access to ADHD-focused YouTubers and newsletter writers for honest reviews.
- First milestone
- Fifty active free users who run a block daily for two weeks, and ten who pay for Plus.
Why people already pay for this
- VerifiedHacker News post received 17 points and 4 comments
- Public claimExisting pomodoro timer apps disappear from user awareness even when running, causing users to forget about them and lose track of time.
- Public claimPeople with time-blindness and ADHD benefit from a constant visual reminder of an active timer to stay on track.
- Public claimA persistent, always-on-top sidebar that collapses into a minimal progress bar keeps timers visible and prevents users from forgetting about them.
Tech stack
Every proposal builds on the same PWA base, installable from the browser on any phone or computer. Dashed boxes are what this app adds.
- AppNext.js and TypeScript
- PWAManifest and service worker
- UITailwind CSS
- Data and authSupabase Postgres
- PaymentsStripe
- EmailResend
- HostingVercel
- This app · Floating windowBrowser Document Picture-in-Picture APIGives an always-on-top bar from a web app in supported browsers, without a native app.
- This app · Background timingTimestamp-based timer with Web AudioBrowsers throttle hidden tabs, so time is computed from start time and sounds are played via Web Audio.
RisksAI inference
- PlatformAn always-on-top bar depends on the browser's floating-window support, which is not available in every browser. The fallback is weaker, and the core promise may need a native macOS wrapper.
- CommercialThe material shows little interest so far (a Hacker News post with 17 points and 4 comments) and no pricing evidence. Willingness to pay is untested.
- TechnicalBrowsers throttle hidden tabs and may close floating windows on navigation, so timing and bar persistence need careful testing.
- CommercialFree menu-bar timers and simple native tools may already cover this need, so the difference rests on how well the bar works for time-blindness.
Everything marked AI proposal or AI inference was written by a model from the evidence on the opportunity page. The proposed name must be checked against trademark registers before it is used.