Hocus Focus - Expert Help, One-on-One, Pay-Per-Minute

Inspiration

We kept hearing the same frustration:
“I don’t need another course – I just need someone to help me solve this specific problem, right now.”
Hocus Focus was born to offer just that: instant, human clarity from people who’ve done it before.

What it does

Hocus Focus connects users with vetted experts across tech, design, marketing, and more.
You can schedule or start a one-on-one video session instantly, pay per minute, and get AI-powered summaries after each session to retain what you learned.

How we built it

We used Bolt.new to rapidly build the front end
Firebase for auth and data storage
Integrated SendGrid for transactional emails
The video call system is built-in and includes remote screen access
We added Stripe for minute-based billing
AI APIs for auto-summarization

Challenges we ran into

Building a seamless video call experience that works reliably across browsers
Structuring minute-based billing without causing user anxiety
Communicating the concept clearly without it sounding like yet another marketplace

Accomplishments that we're proud of

A complete working MVP with end-to-end flow: expert search → booking → payment → session → AI summary
Built with no-code/low-code tools and live within days
A brand that feels both sharp and magical, just like its name

What we learned

People don’t want long courses – they want precise help
Simplicity in UX is hard but essential
Experts love sharing knowledge when the format respects their time

What's next for Hocus Focus – Expert Help, One-on-One, Pay-Per-Minute

Finalizing a fully functional and stable version of the platform. While the current MVP is live, the project was built solo and without extensive coding experience, so there's still plenty of room for refinement and optimization.
Launching “Follow” mode to let users learn from others’ AI summaries
VIP fast-response booking (expert within 1 hour)
Releasing browser-based screen control for real-time expert interventions
Scaling the marketplace with professional onboarding and trust signals