Refreshie: Reminding you to Take a Breather

Spending tedious hours in front of the computer can take quite a toll on one’s health. With the culture of working from home getting more popular, it isn’t easy to coordinate the hours spent in front of a screen without a colleague to distract you or closing hours to push you to stop. Refreshie is a desktop app that poses a solution to this problem. It reminds you to take a break when you have been staring at a screen too long.

In conversation with Refreshie’s Founder, Deepak Thomas, we get to know more about the app and how the idea came out of his own necessity. Read on to know more!

What is the startup/product about? Give us a brief description of it.

It’s easy to lose track of time while you’re in front of a computer. You need an ally to help you out. Refreshie is a nifty little desktop app that gives you cues when you’ve been stressing out in front of a screen for too long. 

How many co-founders are there? Please introduce them and their backgrounds. If there are multiple co-founders, please mention how did you meet one another.

Refreshie is a single-person weekend pet project built by Deepak Thomas. 

I have been making web apps and startups for quite some time now. I am keenly interested in UI/UX and apps.

How did you come up with the idea? What motivated you to do this?

Refreshie was born from a need. I found it increasingly hard to take a break once I got in front of the PC. We often forget the long continuous hours in front of the computer without even knowing it. 

I wanted a very minimalistic tool to help me with reminding breaks once a while. My search for such an app turned futile as what I found was either too much (Pomodoro) or too bland for my requirement. 

So I built one for myself, and a few months later, enhanced it so that it could be distributed and used by anyone 

Who is your target market? Why do you think your product will appeal to them?

Earlier, when we were working from an office space, a colleague would distract you, or you’d get up for a short tea break. These small acts actually save your eyes from constant focus and your spine from a continuous strain. 

This is missing when we’re working from home. We just forget to take a short breather. So I’d say people who are working from home would benefit the most.

What are the future plans with the product/startup? Any new features you are planning on?

It would be lovely to see Refreshie being taken up by startups and corporates to be given to their staff who are working from home. A fatigue-free person is a more productive and healthier person. 

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