This coming January 2023, Sonya and I will celebrate our business’ first year anniversary.  We officially launched Divergent Mind Collective back in January 2022.  From 2020 to 2022, we spent hours nurturing an idea from concept to concrete reality.  Along the way, we took deep dives into topics including neuroscience, psychology, education, social work, marketing, advertising, communication, and management.  Our efforts echoed graduate level research work and explored the intersection of business and mental health.  Launching our start-up was our PhD thesis defense.  Lifelong learners, indeed!  I can think of no better example to set for our children, spanning from toddlerhood to college-aged, than to watch their moms begin with a singular idea and see it to fruition. Here is what I have learned from this experience.  

Over the past year, I reflected on the fundamentals of our business practices.  Early on in our partnership, Sonya and I felt it was important to bring our clients the how-to insight behind what we do.  This is an area we saw missing in our industry.  There is an abundance of information about neurodiversity and the challenges and issues facing this community.  The general attitude is that being neurodiverse is a complicated problem that needs to be solved and fixed.  We certainly recognize the hurdles that many individuals with differently wired brains face, we see it in our kids on a daily basis.  We choose, instead, to focus on what is lacking in this narrative.  We see a need for more positive neurodiversity-affirming conversations that detail how to leverage neurodiverse strengths in both educational and work-place settings.  A new venture’s biggest asset is its human capitol and it is important to take the time to understand yourself and your business partner.  Over the past year, I have come to better understand and appreciate the distinct skill sets Sonya and I each bring to our work.  I want to share how we make our neurological differences work for us in a professional capacity.

 With one neurodivergent and one neurotypical co-founder, Sonya and I looked for areas where we balanced each other and where we overlapped.  Important questions emerged: What are our individual areas of strength? How can we help each other bridge areas where we need more individual support?  Have we found ways to fuse both our passions and proficiencies to grow our business? How do we support each other on this journey?  Why is it important to celebrate each other’s differences and how does this benefit our clients? Before we could help others with diverse brains, we took a deeper dive into our authentic selves, connecting our work with how OUR brains function and moving forward from there. 

Sonya was diagnosed with ADHD as an adult and has a lifetime of experience successfully navigating her own personal challenges.  She is a risk-taker and a big dreamer.  She values knowledge, autonomy, integrity and justice.  She is creative, bold, spontaneous and, above all, compassionate.  I am thrilled to work with someone who infuses our partnership with incredible passion and persistence.  As a female entrepreneur, Sonya taps into her unique divergent mindset to understand other individuals like herself and she brings a much needed neurodiverse voice to our shared alliance.  

Sonya is an excellent collaborator.  During our early strategy sessions, her ability to dive deeply into topics gave us momentum.  Her hyper focus on a single subject was, and still is, a motivating catalyst.  Her enthusiasm for our work has moved the needle forward on many of our projects.  Neurodivergent individuals frequently face situations that require innovative strategies and an ability to move past failure.  Sonya is adept at developing work arounds after mistakes and she has the impetus to keep going.  She has been vocal in her support of our business relationship and her lived experience encourages me to look past my own personal barriers.

Sonya has a “can do” attitude matched by a high-energy level; both essential traits for getting a small business off the ground.  When we work together we have flow and get things done.  Her capacity to think outside of the box and consider more creative solutions to problems coupled with her bold attitude was especially helpful in launching a new venture during these past tumultuous years.  Starting your own business, especially in the middle of a world-wide pandemic, requires a willingness to take a leap and seek out new opportunities.  It also requires someone who is task-orientated and able to convince others of her vision.  Sonya embodies all of these traits, as do many other neurodivergent people.  I believe these uniquely wired individuals are a part of what makes our world wonderfully diverse and interesting.  I am certain this type of brain wiring is essential to navigate and adapt to the yet unknown challenges that lie ahead.

As a co-founder of our partnership, I bring my own strengths and unique contributions that make our alliance work.  I identify as a bicultural, bilingual Hispanic woman; my mom is Ecuadorian and my father is Caucasian.  I grew up an only child in Los Angeles in the in-between space of two cultures, two languages, two very different perspectives.  I eventually learned to comfortably navigate within both worlds and my experiences permeate most of what I do today.  Because of my background, I value family, respect, community, and social responsibility.  I am naturally curious, optimistic, and I love to help others.  My intellectual side seeks out challenges to solve and passions to research.  I tend to be practically minded; I approach situations as a realist and set reasonable intentions and expectations. 

As a kid, I enjoyed putting things into categories.  I have always had a strong sense of organization and planning.  In our business partnership, I keep track of objects and objectives, arranging projects and activities, and ensuring that everything runs smoothly.  I help us set goals and work to keep us both accountable.  I have a strong sense of procedure and sequencing.  I can often be methodical and strategic.  Work smarter, not harder is a favorite phrase Sonya and I sprinkle into our conversations.  I look at most situations through a logical and an analytical lens.  My wonderfully organized, efficient mom taught me these skills and they work well for me.  As an entrepreneur, I put my management skills to work on a daily basis to keep us on top of plans and deadlines. 

Since I was young, I have had a strong sense of purpose and self-determination.  As an only child, I had a dynamic inner life that allowed for reflection and observation of the world around me.  In my traditional Hispanic family, I was expected to be a quiet, shy, and obedient daughter.  My grandmother was my best friend when I was little and fostered a different side to my personality.  Her knowledge, guidance and faith in me was invaluable.  She taught me to value my inner voice, be action-orientated, and seek out the whimsy in life.  In business, I honor her legacy by following my instincts and at least peeking through every open door and window.  She taught me to be efficient, respect my time and that of others, and to take advantage of opportunities for growth both personally and professionally.  “Just do it” sums up her voice in my ear ever since. 

As an undergraduate at Berkeley and during my graduate studies at Fordham University, my professors taught me skills that serve me well in business.  I am a list maker, a prioritizer, and an evaluator at heart.  While studying on the East Coast, some of my best work helped NYC public schools evaluate their YMCA sponsored after school programs.  During my time at a Fordham-based non-profit, I visited dozens of schools, across five boroughs via train and bus, and facilitated countless focus groups and interviews (in two languages no less).  I handled a huge amount of data that needed to be synthesized into existing databases that funneled into timely reports to interested stakeholders and funding organizations.  I learned to write quarterly reports addressing areas in which the programs functioned the best and how they could be improved upon.  It was meaningful, important work that impacted thousands of NYC kids and I am grateful I was a part of it.  Transferring this skill to a business setting, I frequently assess what we do, how we do it, and evaluate the best options to move us forward.  I have done a fair amount of writing, as well.  I keep up on recent science research, integrate it into our practices, and make it accessible for our clients through our resources and services. 

As a student working in the psychology field in both Berkeley and New York, I came into contact with many individuals from different backgrounds and with a variety of experiences.  I quickly learned that being a team player, collaboration, and the art of compromise forms strong professional alliances.  A fair dose of positivity and gratitude, especially in the face of working challenges, goes a long way to being the glue that holds co-workers together.  I have always performed best on a diverse team, especially one that feels empowered to contribute their out of the box ideas.  

Sonya and I both celebrated milestone birthdays this year and are from different generations.  A lot has been written about Millennials and Gen Xers.  We have formed a partnership based on mutual respect and shared goals.  I believe we came together for many reasons.  The areas we converged upon motivated us to start our business and nurture its growth.  We have our amazing neurodivergent children to thank for that.  We are truly passionate about what we do.  We have the grit and determination to be foolish enough to launch a fledgling business in the midst of a global pandemic that shut down the world.  And we are smart and confident enough to know that we are making a significant contribution to the world, in our own way.   

This past start-up year has been difficult in a myriad of ways.  We have both weathered added caregiving loads for our families by taking on significant responsibility for our parents.  We are a part of the sandwich generation, balancing the demands of frail, aging family members in addition to that of our children.  We have both experienced loss in profound ways these past two years.  For many neurodivergent individuals, the strategizing efforts that go into figuring out life on a daily basis (that most neurotypical people take for granted) create deep reserves of inner strength and resolve essential for surviving tough times.  I want to acknowledge characteristics  we both share that have served us well throughout this year, both personally and in business together.  Sonya and I are resilient and have true grit.  I see that in Sonya, she sees that in me, and we both humbly accept and embrace each other exactly as we are, where we are. 

At the end of the day, our passion to create a better world, not just for our children, but for all children (especially those residing inside adults) is what fuels our entrepreneurial spirits.  Our professional partnership has benefited greatly from our cognitive diversity which incorporates skills and perspectives that are valuable and worth promoting in business contexts.  We are getting better at what we do because we acknowledge that within our differences lie our superpowers.