Building Focuser

Did You Forget to Add Ads?

February 17, 2026 · by Hunter Ladd

Actually, no. This was a deliberate design decision, for a number of reasons. Focuser doesn't have ads, & never will.

Counter-productive


Imagine working in a productivity suite designed to get you to focus on what really matters in your life. The worst thing this app could have would be ads — little hijackers designed to steal your focus just to peddle something you don't need & that doesn't matter. I think what I've built matters. It helps me ensure my life matters. The thought of bringing ads into this system is anathema to me. An app about focus, interrupted by ads competing for your attention? Super counter-productive.

Not through ads


As a fiercely anti-capitalist founder, I'm not interested in wringing every last penny out of everybody through ads — counting clicks & camping on ad revenue metrics. That's not me. I'd rather offer my software as a service at a fair price & count the number of users actively living with intention through my system instead. Let that be the metric I care about.

Screen real estate is yours


I've iterated over the design & layout of this site many times, trying to create an aesthetic — or more accurately six aesthetics, as there are five alternate themes available — that is minimal in terms of noise & clutter, clean, & maximized in terms of utilizing screen real estate. This is especially true for the Dashboard view, where every element is there because it's useful to you. Carving out areas for ugly ads to take up that space is a hard no.

Not even as a bootstrap


Even as I've bootstrapped the development of this entire suite, & could probably really use the ad revenue, I still won't pursue it. These reasons are enough to explain why, & that's never going to change.

Ready to get focused?
Start building.

Organize your day with structured focuses, time-slotted checklists, and intentional productivity.

Start Building Your System Back to the blog

No credit card. 30-day free trial.