7 ms·

Joe Hruska, founder and CEO of RescueTime (YC W08), has died

468 points by robby1066 9y ago

balls187 9y ago
RIP.
ludicast 9y ago
Fuck that's sad. Never knew him but from his app/site he definitely "made the world a better place". I don't know how many person-years he had on earth, but he helped people liberate many thousands of their own.
save_ferris 9y ago
I used RescueTime to kick my social media habit and learn to code 5 years ago. I was working in the retail industry and found a way to spend 10 hours a week coding on my own for almost two years before I got my first full-time development job, largely due to RescueTime. I didn't think much of it then, but in retrospect, the impact Joe's product had on my career turned out to be pretty significant. RIP Joe.
- robby1066 9y ago
  Thanks for sharing that. That means a lot to us here at RescueTime, and would have meant the world to Joe.
mrlinx 9y ago
RIP
rhizome 9y ago
RT was innovative, or "innovative enough," when I used it years ago, and it really helped me get a handle on my unfocused internet travels. I hope my freeloading didn't affect his passing. RIP.
chronic6a5 9y ago
A death is always unfortunate. With that said, I've never heard of Joe nor Rescue Time. Why are they important?
- syshum 9y ago
  Probably because they were a YCombinator funded company, and this is a YCombinator site
poirier 9y ago
RIP Amazing application and great mission.
pocketsquare2 9y ago
Awesome vision, product and person. I started using RescueTime back in '09 and it has helped me immensely over the years. I would say incalculably but I can actually calculate the impact quite well. :) RIP and best to his family, friends and team.
maerF0x0 9y ago
A man who helped us get back our own lives has lost his. RIP good sir.
- maerF0x0 9y ago
  :( why downvote?
jayliew 9y ago
Deepest condolences :(
booop 9y ago
RIP and condolences to his family, friends and colleagues. RescueTime looks like a product I should've gotten several years ago. I wish I heard of it earlier from some other news.
stanfordkid 9y ago
RIP -- he seems like a great person.
1123581321 9y ago
I've been an on-and-off paid user of RT for several years and it has probably saved me thousands of hours. Since the software is somewhat popular, I think he had a great impact on the world. Thanks to the RT team for this thoughtful announcement.
lyime 9y ago
Really sad to hear. Big fan of his work. RIP.
therajiv 9y ago
Wow - literally just saw an article about RescueTime on the frontpage of NYT (https://www.nytimes.com/2017/07/05/your-money/where-does-the-time-go-you-can-find-out-if-you-dare.html https://www.nytimes.com/2017/07/05/your-money/where-does-the...). And installed it 5 minutes ago. Coincidence, if I've ever seen one... RIP.
artur_makly 9y ago
His impact... was immeasurable. RIP ..now if Apple would only let RT track all our app use..
petecooper 9y ago
I was not aware of RescueTime or Joe until I read this. Now I know what it is, it looks like a very good fit for me. Horrid circumstances for me to find out about it, and I don't know what else to say about this. Family, friends, colleagues: I am sorry for your loss.
mmaunder 9y ago
My sincere condolences to the whole RescueTime team. I read about this for the first time here, today. I mentioned it to my wife - we met some of the RT team a long time ago and then lost touch. Her first reaction was total shock and then "omg, Joe was such a nice guy." That's the impression Joe left both of us with. I'm sure his passing has left a huge hole in many people's hearts.
edshiro 9y ago
I recently reinstalled RescueTime as I wanted to better track my productivity since I am studying deep learning and soon doing the Udacity self-driving car engineer nanodegree. My condolences to the RescueTime team and Joe's family. Beyond the grave I would like to sincerely thank him for the awesome product he has built.
guantanamo_bob 9y ago
Even though I never knew Joe, it's sad to hear of his passing. RescueTime is one of the most eye-opening products I've ever used, and has improved my life considerably the last few years.
pritianka 9y ago
So so sad. I learned a lot from the RT business model while building WakaTime.
kilroy123 9y ago
I didn't know Rescue Time was from YC and I've used their product for years. Sad to hear about this though.
pj_mukh 9y ago
After using numerous productivity apps I keep coming back to rescuetime. Kudos and RIP.
yosito 9y ago
RIP
seshagiric 9y ago
It is inspiring to read the story of how Joe continued to be involved and lead despite his illness. RIP>
rexpop 9y ago
RescueTime is a phenomenal piece of technology, one that helps makers with the hardest problem in art — spending time with your ass in the chair. If growth necessitates measurement, RescueTime is a hugely important tool in the belt of anyone who hopes to make their contribution to the human race. This review is maybe slightly tinged by my having just read Pressfield's "War of Art", but I've been using RescueTime for years, and it has helped me celebrate countless victories against Resistance and that has guaranteed them all the more. Thanks, Joe & co.
pmarreck 9y ago
I was just wondering how I could get more productive and just learned about this product via this (odd, eh?)
psyc 9y ago
Oh no. I had a few conversations with him years ago when I interviewed there. Super nice guy. My condolences.
narrator 9y ago
Rescue Time has helped me stay focused on work and to quit doing so much news browsing during business hours. Joe's work has saved a lot of people a lot of hours of their lives, and that's something to be proud of.
skinnymuch 9y ago
This is so sad. I always have subscribed to RescueTime during their sales and pay for a year upfront. So even though I never used it as much after the first couple months, it made sense to continue subscribing year after year. He has helped so many people like myself. RIP Joe. I talked to him twice in the early days of RT. Time to find those emails. RIP.
arasakik 9y ago
Rest In Peace Joe.
ryan-allen 9y ago
Poor guy, Rescue Time is a great product and I use it to keep myself honest. RIP.
mgiannopoulos 9y ago
RT is a major part of my working environment. From the comments here it's obvious his work has touched many lives. R.I.P.
nstart 9y ago
This was a shocker to read. I never really thought of the CEO of RescueTime, but the product that was made truly fit into the mold of "changing lives". I took my habits of random social media visits from 3 hours a day (stuff accumulates terribly), to two planned and focused visits totaling 20 minutes a day. That over a period of 3 years, is almost 87 days of my life saved. I pay for the product because of all the good it has given me. Feels really sad to see someone who gave me back so much time having to leave so soon. RIP Joe. If anyone from the rescuetime team is reading this, stay strong. Condolences to all of you as well.
- robby1066 9y ago
  Thanks so much for sharing that story, and for the condolences. It really does mean a lot. ️
mhartl 9y ago
I'm so sorry to hear this. I was in the same YC batch as Joe and the other RescueTime founders back in 2008. Joe will be sorely missed by all who knew him.
arunabh 9y ago
RIP I have been using RescueTime for almost 2 yrs now
wouterinho 9y ago
When we started out with our company, RescueTime was one of our "competitors": more or less the same technology, but different use cases (discovery vs productivity). I would often find Joe having the same issues and posting in the same support tickets are I did. I have always followed them since and think they actually have a very relevant product in this world of ever increasing interruptions. My condolences.
habeanf 9y ago
RIP
kayhi 9y ago
Seems like this would deserve a black bar here on HN
realdlee 9y ago
Not the first time I heard about RT, but just signed up! RIP Joe.
squidbot 9y ago
I have a very heavy heart from this news. Joe's wife was my son's favorite teacher (he still talks about her two years later) and I'd met and spoken with Joe several times socially, though he was quite ill through much of the time I knew him. We had some good "geek out" times when my wife and his chatted (both are teachers so they'd talk teach and we'd talk tech.) They were a wonderful, loving, caring and giving couple, and Joe was just a good soul. You are missed Joe.
bfioca 9y ago
Thank you all for such a great showing in these comments. It really cements what kind of person Joe was, and how much he meant to us at RescueTime.
ajohnclark 9y ago
Thank you Joe for saving me countess hours and from social media addiction. You certainly left a great great legacy and your family should be very proud.
peternicky 9y ago
Very sad to hear this news. I have used RescueTime for many years and think it is an excellent service.

468 points by robby1066 9y ago

RIP.

Fuck that's sad. Never knew him but from his app/site he definitely "made the world a better place". I don't know how many person-years he had on earth, but he helped people liberate many thousands of their own.

save_ferris 9y ago

I used RescueTime to kick my social media habit and learn to code 5 years ago. I was working in the retail industry and found a way to spend 10 hours a week coding on my own for almost two years before I got my first full-time development job, largely due to RescueTime. I didn't think much of it then, but in retrospect, the impact Joe's product had on my career turned out to be pretty significant. RIP Joe.

robby1066 9y ago
Thanks for sharing that. That means a lot to us here at RescueTime, and would have meant the world to Joe.

mrlinx 9y ago

RIP

rhizome 9y ago

RT was innovative, or "innovative enough," when I used it years ago, and it really helped me get a handle on my unfocused internet travels. I hope my freeloading didn't affect his passing. RIP.

chronic6a5 9y ago

A death is always unfortunate. With that said, I've never heard of Joe nor Rescue Time. Why are they important?

syshum 9y ago
Probably because they were a YCombinator funded company, and this is a YCombinator site

poirier 9y ago

RIP Amazing application and great mission.

pocketsquare2 9y ago

Awesome vision, product and person. I started using RescueTime back in '09 and it has helped me immensely over the years. I would say incalculably but I can actually calculate the impact quite well. :) RIP and best to his family, friends and team.

maerF0x0 9y ago

A man who helped us get back our own lives has lost his. RIP good sir.

maerF0x0 9y ago
:( why downvote?

jayliew 9y ago

Deepest condolences :(

booop 9y ago

RIP and condolences to his family, friends and colleagues. RescueTime looks like a product I should've gotten several years ago. I wish I heard of it earlier from some other news.

stanfordkid 9y ago

RIP -- he seems like a great person.

1123581321 9y ago

I've been an on-and-off paid user of RT for several years and it has probably saved me thousands of hours. Since the software is somewhat popular, I think he had a great impact on the world. Thanks to the RT team for this thoughtful announcement.

lyime 9y ago

Really sad to hear. Big fan of his work. RIP.

therajiv 9y ago

Wow - literally just saw an article about RescueTime on the frontpage of NYT (https://www.nytimes.com/2017/07/05/your-money/where-does-the-time-go-you-can-find-out-if-you-dare.html https://www.nytimes.com/2017/07/05/your-money/where-does-the...). And installed it 5 minutes ago. Coincidence, if I've ever seen one... RIP.

artur_makly 9y ago

His impact... was immeasurable. RIP ..now if Apple would only let RT track all our app use..

petecooper 9y ago

I was not aware of RescueTime or Joe until I read this. Now I know what it is, it looks like a very good fit for me. Horrid circumstances for me to find out about it, and I don't know what else to say about this. Family, friends, colleagues: I am sorry for your loss.

mmaunder 9y ago

My sincere condolences to the whole RescueTime team. I read about this for the first time here, today. I mentioned it to my wife - we met some of the RT team a long time ago and then lost touch. Her first reaction was total shock and then "omg, Joe was such a nice guy." That's the impression Joe left both of us with. I'm sure his passing has left a huge hole in many people's hearts.

edshiro 9y ago

I recently reinstalled RescueTime as I wanted to better track my productivity since I am studying deep learning and soon doing the Udacity self-driving car engineer nanodegree. My condolences to the RescueTime team and Joe's family. Beyond the grave I would like to sincerely thank him for the awesome product he has built.

guantanamo_bob 9y ago

Even though I never knew Joe, it's sad to hear of his passing. RescueTime is one of the most eye-opening products I've ever used, and has improved my life considerably the last few years.

pritianka 9y ago

So so sad. I learned a lot from the RT business model while building WakaTime.

kilroy123 9y ago

I didn't know Rescue Time was from YC and I've used their product for years. Sad to hear about this though.

pj_mukh 9y ago

After using numerous productivity apps I keep coming back to rescuetime. Kudos and RIP.

yosito 9y ago

RIP

seshagiric 9y ago

It is inspiring to read the story of how Joe continued to be involved and lead despite his illness. RIP>

rexpop 9y ago

RescueTime is a phenomenal piece of technology, one that helps makers with the hardest problem in art — spending time with your ass in the chair. If growth necessitates measurement, RescueTime is a hugely important tool in the belt of anyone who hopes to make their contribution to the human race. This review is maybe slightly tinged by my having just read Pressfield's "War of Art", but I've been using RescueTime for years, and it has helped me celebrate countless victories against Resistance and that has guaranteed them all the more. Thanks, Joe & co.

pmarreck 9y ago

I was just wondering how I could get more productive and just learned about this product via this (odd, eh?)

psyc 9y ago

Oh no. I had a few conversations with him years ago when I interviewed there. Super nice guy. My condolences.

narrator 9y ago

Rescue Time has helped me stay focused on work and to quit doing so much news browsing during business hours. Joe's work has saved a lot of people a lot of hours of their lives, and that's something to be proud of.

skinnymuch 9y ago

This is so sad. I always have subscribed to RescueTime during their sales and pay for a year upfront. So even though I never used it as much after the first couple months, it made sense to continue subscribing year after year. He has helped so many people like myself. RIP Joe. I talked to him twice in the early days of RT. Time to find those emails. RIP.

arasakik 9y ago

Rest In Peace Joe.

ryan-allen 9y ago

Poor guy, Rescue Time is a great product and I use it to keep myself honest. RIP.

mgiannopoulos 9y ago

RT is a major part of my working environment. From the comments here it's obvious his work has touched many lives. R.I.P.

nstart 9y ago

This was a shocker to read. I never really thought of the CEO of RescueTime, but the product that was made truly fit into the mold of "changing lives". I took my habits of random social media visits from 3 hours a day (stuff accumulates terribly), to two planned and focused visits totaling 20 minutes a day. That over a period of 3 years, is almost 87 days of my life saved. I pay for the product because of all the good it has given me. Feels really sad to see someone who gave me back so much time having to leave so soon. RIP Joe. If anyone from the rescuetime team is reading this, stay strong. Condolences to all of you as well.

robby1066 9y ago
Thanks so much for sharing that story, and for the condolences. It really does mean a lot. ️

mhartl 9y ago

I'm so sorry to hear this. I was in the same YC batch as Joe and the other RescueTime founders back in 2008. Joe will be sorely missed by all who knew him.

arunabh 9y ago

RIP I have been using RescueTime for almost 2 yrs now

wouterinho 9y ago

When we started out with our company, RescueTime was one of our "competitors": more or less the same technology, but different use cases (discovery vs productivity). I would often find Joe having the same issues and posting in the same support tickets are I did. I have always followed them since and think they actually have a very relevant product in this world of ever increasing interruptions. My condolences.

habeanf 9y ago

RIP

kayhi 9y ago

Seems like this would deserve a black bar here on HN

realdlee 9y ago

Not the first time I heard about RT, but just signed up! RIP Joe.

squidbot 9y ago

I have a very heavy heart from this news. Joe's wife was my son's favorite teacher (he still talks about her two years later) and I'd met and spoken with Joe several times socially, though he was quite ill through much of the time I knew him. We had some good "geek out" times when my wife and his chatted (both are teachers so they'd talk teach and we'd talk tech.) They were a wonderful, loving, caring and giving couple, and Joe was just a good soul. You are missed Joe.

bfioca 9y ago

Thank you all for such a great showing in these comments. It really cements what kind of person Joe was, and how much he meant to us at RescueTime.

ajohnclark 9y ago

Thank you Joe for saving me countess hours and from social media addiction. You certainly left a great great legacy and your family should be very proud.

peternicky 9y ago

Very sad to hear this news. I have used RescueTime for many years and think it is an excellent service.