Sidekick: Building a Browser Brand in the Chrome Era
Strategy
Competing against Chrome, Safari, and Arc required a fundamentally different comms approach. Rather than fighting for attention on features alone, we positioned Sidekick as the browser that respects your time. Sidekick was built for founder and executives, professionals who live in their browser for work.
We targeted productivity-focused publications and tech journalists who personally experienced browser fatigue. The strategy involved providing hands-on demo sessions, curating comparison narratives, and timing the funding announcement to maximize the “challenger brand” story angle.
The result was coverage that advocated for a different way of thinking about browsers.
$4M
funding announced
20+
media placements
25K+
users
Coverage
Do you have ADHD? This web browser is designed to make it easier to focus
Sidekick was created by Dmitry Pushkarev, who says he was frustrated with the UX of common web browsers like Safari and Google Chrome.
Sidekick-The Browser Built For Work-Raises $4 million
Sidekick strips out many of the distractions that afflict modern web browsers, including ads, notifications and personal websites during work hours. It's designed to keep people focused on their work, particularly those who suffer from ADHD.
ADHD startups are exploding, and now there's even a dedicated browser | TechCrunch
Now there is a Sidekick, who’s pitch is that it’s a “productivity browser”. Today it's launching a host of features geared to ADHD sufferers and the attention distracted more generally. Sidekick was a 2020 Y Combinator cohort member , and in March 2021 they raised $2M in a round led by Kleiner Perkins.
Sidekick promises a modern, 'distraction-free' cross-platform browser
Sidekick is a relatively new Chromium-based browser with a noble goal in mind: deliver a distraction-free experience for those wanting to stay focused on work and get a great all-around browser.
This might be my new favorite web browser
Sidekick is a browser built for work and productivity, with tools aimed at better focus and cleaner resource management.
How to use Sidekick's split view feature (and why you should)
Split view is one of Sidekick's core productivity features, letting users keep multiple workflows visible inside a single browser window.
Sidekick on a Chromebook: A better browser for ChromeOS
After using a browser called Sidekick on a Chromebook, I think Google could learn a thing or two. I see Sidekick as how ChromeOS browsing should be in many regards.
You Should Be Browsing the Web in Split-Screen
Stop losing your tabs between a million open windows, and browse in split screen instead.
Dmitry Pushkarev - Episode 68 by Holy Sh*t I Have ADHD
This week Robbie and Jordan are joined by Dmitry Pushkarev, founder and CEO of Sidekick. After a career in academia at Stanford University, Dmitry left to work in Silicon Valley and has since founded and sold several companies. His latest project is Sidekick, a web browser designed to keep users focused by minimizing distractions and interruptions. Dmitry tells us about how living with ADHD has impacted his career and sense of self, transitioning from professor to founder, and how he used his industry knowledge of marketing through browser UX to design a browser that was on the user's side. Check out Sidekick at meetsidekick.com and Dmitry's DJ mixes on his Soundcloud. Video version available through our Patreon. Production and music by Jordan Lane. Find HSIHADAD online: anchor.fm/holyshitihaveadhd patreon.com/holyshitihaveadhd HSIHADHD Facebook Twitter: @hsihadhd Instagram: @holyshitihaveadhd Robbie: twitter.com/robertadinvan Jordan: linktr.ee/thefresheye
“I highly recommend you give Sidekick a test. If you're like me and need serious productivity along with better resource management, this browser checks all of the boxes (and then some more).”