Every time I see something pertaining to a pomodoro timer, I'm reminded of interviewing with a YC founder in downtown san mateo in the early 2010s (he was working on websockets + slide deck/prezi-like tech iirc), and half our interview consisted of him hyping up this technique. The company went under within a year, and I could never respect this technique afterwards

The technique isn't what caused his company to fail. A big part of it was likely his obsession with the technique. He also probably wasted massive amounts of time setting up his other tools instead of using them.

honestly feeling this - I (or my friend who now has the device) don't really follow this religiously either. I think it's great when you have a lot of work to be done and feel a little overwhelmed. Getting down into this rhythm can help you chip away at it.

understandable, it's a very useful way to trick yourself into getting shit done but it's also very possible to turn "making the perfect work tracker-timer-app" into a giant rabbit hole instead of just getting a cheap, goofy-looking kitchen timer and keeping some notes on paper.