Raising Capital, Differently Practical insights for neurodivergent founders navigating the funding world on their own terms.

I was a founder with ADHD. These days, I sit on the other side of the cap table. My neurodiversity taught me there isn't a 'right' way to think, process and build. I've mentored dozens of neurodiverse founders and they are some of the most inventive, systems-minded, and intuitive people you'll ever meet. But because neurodiverse founders don't fit the traditional mold, they get filtered out of rooms where decisions are made. They are forced to either dilute themselves to be "fundable," or miss out on capital entirely. You shouldn't change who you are, but you do need to help investors understand how what you bring turns into value. Connect the dots between your cognitive edge and your market advantage and you'll be golden.

The Challenges
The traits that make neurodivergent founders uniquely suited to entrepreneurship - can become barriers to raising capital. Let's take a few examples:
● Communication style: Many neurodiverse founders struggle with directness, verbosity or nonlinear storytelling. They might focus on product details instead of business outcomes. Investors who read clarity as confidence and brevity as competence, may perceive this as uncertainty.
● Social "ins": Venture is a relationship game. Warm intros, accelerators, alumni networks - all of it requires social fluency. Neurodivergent founders who struggle with networking often lack access to the informal but critical circles where early trust is built.
● Imposter syndrome: Many of these founders have spent a lifetime being told they're " "not focused," "disorganised" or "hard to manage."

Cultivate Conviction not Charisma and Find Your "Flavor" of Fundable
You don't have to be super charismatic to raise capital but you do need conviction. If you're willing to take a risk and go off on your own, chances are you've got it. That being said, you have to practice your conviction. Connect to your driving force before meetings. Let this guide you. Scaling requires you to leave your comfort zone, you'll have to connect with your 'why' to keep going on the hard days.

Similarly, instead of trying to present yourself as a 'fundable' archetype, find your version of fundable. Put yourself in the shoes of an investor, what traits would you look for in a founder? Find an authentic way to highlight these qualities without hamming it up. Like putting in reps in the gym, you also need to practice your social fluency. Focus on building relationships with people who share your passion and/or vertical. Slow speech signals trust and confidence. Good posture and body language go a long way. Be gracious and don't forget to highlight the excellence of your team.

Tend to and Leverage Your Sensory Needs
Neurodivergent brains often struggle with overstimulation and sensory processing differences. Raising capital is stressful and emotional. If you struggle with emotional dysregulation, learn to regulate yourself in stressful situations to keep your cool. Squeeze your wrist under the table while you exhale when you feel your heart rate rising.

If you need to fidget to focus, incorporate it into your body language in a way that centers you without distracting others. I recommend tapping your foot to keep tempo. Once you've found the hacks that work for you, you can start to leverage your sensory needs. Your sensitivity to stimuli should be your starting point for immersive storytelling. Use strong visual aids, if relevant, bring a prototype to touch. Incorporate grounding colors and wear calming scents. Anything you find overstimulating will probably be a distraction.

Cut the Jargon, Learn to Translate
A few years ago, I mentored a brilliant neurodiverse founder with a game-changing product but their pitch (and website) was saturated with technical detail and confusing jargon. I had to ask a dozen questions to figure out the value prop. We worked together to streamline their messaging to focus on outcomes. Investors fund outcomes. They went on to secure a few million in funding and reached a valuation of 8m. The takeaway? The key to strong communication is clarity, but what is clear to you might not be clear to your audience.

Technical people don't need to dilute their expertise, simply translate it into a story. Generalists need to know what sorts of questions investors will ask or where there may be gaps in their logic. If you are a technical expert, practice your pitch with a generalist, if you are a generalist refine your pitch with an expert in your vertical. You'll learn where you lose people, where you shine, and what resonates. Let early iterations be messy and awkward. You might want to have two versions of your pitch, one specialized VCs and the other for VCs that invest in a variety of verticals.

Practice With People Who Won't Fund You
You're probably always thinking about your idea. And if you're neurodiverse, you're neurologically prone to rumination, overthinking and repetitive thoughts. Meaning, you're thinking in a silo. And let's get real, most investors you fund you. ADHDers, like myself, commonly struggle with Rejection Sensitivity Dysphoria (RSD). But rejection is part of the process so leverage it.

Remember, investors fund outcomes and they are experts at accessing feasibility and fundability. The second most valuable thing an investor can give you is feedback. Eager entrepreneurs are tempted to pitch to their dream fund first, instead pitch to VCs that are unlikely to be an immediate match. Take notes on the questions they ask, where they poke holes in your thesis and what parts of your value prop they seem skeptical about. Use it to iterate and incorporate. Play the long game.

Make It Urgent
Timing is critical when it comes to investing. Meaning your 'what' and 'why' are just as important as your 'when' and your 'when' should be right now! Early investors of unicorns reap the benefits and everybody wants to get in on the next big thing. Leverage your unique way of thinking to tap into the cultural zeitgeist. What problem are you solving and why is the solution needed right now? Why will it be profitable now? Your pitch should take investors on the hypothetical journey from seed to exit. Help them see why your idea is the next big thing and why they need to jump on ASAP.

Find the Right Rooms
Look for founder-led communities that support cognitive diversity. Spaces like Neurodiversity in Business, or even ADDA (for those with ADHD) offer resources and peer support. Don't wait for an invitation, build your own table. Create a peer accountability group. Start a substack. Host a founder huddle. Try to find people three steps ahead of you and try to pay it forward to those three steps behind. You don't need everyone to get it. You just need the right people to recognise what you bring to the table!