The ADHD Entrepreneur’s Edge: Why Your Chaotic Brain Might Be Your Greatest Advantage
I’m super excited to welcome back Skye Waterson for this week’s guest column.
Skye is the founder of Unconventional Organisation and writes the
newsletter. She is also an ADHD coach, researcher, and hosts The ADHD Skills Lab Podcast.This guest post about ADHD and entrepreneurship is quite timely as I’ve been exploring this even more in recent weeks. I’ve often heard that entrepreneurship and ADHD go together well, but I love how this dives into the research behind how and why that is true.
The ADHD Entrepreneur’s Edge: Why Your Chaotic Brain Might Be Your Greatest Advantage
by Skye Waterson
I used to think my brain was a problem.
Purely defective. A manufacturing error.
Sitting in meetings, watching other people know exactly when to raise their hand and remember action items without writing them down?
Pure magic to me.
I’d be nodding along, secretly panicking because my mind had already left the building and was planning my next project or wondering if I could build something to make meetings less boring.
Sound familiar?
Well, guess what? That problem brain of yours?
It might also be an asset.
The Truth About ADHD Entrepreneurs
4% of U.S. adults have ADHD. But among entrepreneurs? The numbers skyrocket. In fact, studies consistently show people with ADHD are way more likely to start businesses than their neurotypical counterparts.
But here’s the million-dollar question:
Are we actually good at business, or are we just impulsive enough to try?
I’ve been researching how ADHD affects entrepreneurs. And what I’ve discovered might surprise you.
1. “Impulsivity” is Forward-Motion
“Don’t be so impulsive, Skye!”
I never met a plan I didn’t want to change last minute. Or an idea I didn’t want to abandon everything to stay up doing.
But here’s what nobody told me: That impulsivity? It’s rocket fuel in business.
While your neurotypical friends are still analyzing spreadsheets and debating font choices, you’ve already:
Launched the landing page
Tested two marketing angles
Pivoted when the first idea flopped
And found what actually works
Science backs this up. Research shows ADHD brains are wired for action-taking. We make decisions faster and get moving when others are still planning.
In a world where most businesses die from analysis paralysis, your “ready-fire-aim” approach isn’t a bug.
It’s your competitive edge.
The research suggests that ADHD entrepreneurs who embrace their natural decision-making style may find more success than those who try to force themselves into conventional business approaches.
2. “Inattention” is Actually Selective Hyperfocus
“If only you’d pay attention!”
The battle cry of every teacher (and friend, sorry guys) I had growing up.
Here’s what they missed: ADHD isn’t a deficit of attention. It’s an inability to regulate where that attention goes.
And when it lands on something you care about?
Magic happens if you know how to use it.
Scientists call it “hyperfocus or flow” – that state where hours disappear in minutes, where you forget to eat, where you’re so locked in that only an actual fire alarm would break your concentration.
Most people can only access this state occasionally.
You? With the right strategies in place, you can dive into it like a swimming pool.
The trick isn’t fixing your attention. It’s pointing it at the right things.
That’s why ADHD entrepreneurs who succeed often do two things:
They delegate the boring stuff that drains them (bookkeeping, anyone?)
They build businesses around their obsessions
Studies show that ADHD entrepreneurs often perform better when they align their business with their natural interests and strengths rather than trying to fit conventional business models.
The ADHD wasn’t the problem. The business model was.
3. “Inconsistent Energy” is Actually Entrepreneurial Rhythm
“Why can’t you just be consistent?”
Because consistency does not always mean improvement.
Research shows ADHD entrepreneurs have higher overall energy than their peers. But it comes in waves – tsunami-level productivity followed by periods where getting dressed feels like climbing Everest.
In a 9-5 job? That’s hard to pull off.
In entrepreneurship? With the right strategies, it can be perfect.
Your business doesn’t need you giving 60% effort constantly. It needs you giving 200% effort on the things that actually move the needle.
Here’s what we know from the research: Many successful entrepreneurs have found ways to work with their natural energy patterns instead of fighting against them.
Some strategies they use include:
They schedule creative work and big decisions during energy peaks
They batch administrative tasks for moderate energy periods
They plan recovery and input (reading, learning, resting) during low periods
They build teams that complement their energy cycle (seriously this is a big one!)
Researchers have observed that adjusting work schedules to match natural energy patterns can significantly improve productivity for people with ADHD.
The ADHD Entrepreneur’s Toolkit
Look, I’m not saying ADHD makes entrepreneurship easy. Far from it.
What I am saying is this: The very traits that made school and corporate jobs a nightmare can become your greatest strength in the right environment.
But only if you work with your brain instead of against it.
If you need some help getting started I’m giving away a 2-minute focus formula to help you stop feeling scattered in your business.
And if you’re navigating ADHD while building a business, I’d love to hear your story. What challenges and advantages have you experienced? Reply and let me know - I read every response.
Skye
References
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[2] M. L. Danielson, R. H. Bitsko, R. M. Ghandour, J. R. Holbrook, M. D. Kogan, and S. J. Blumberg, 'Prevalence of Parent-Reported ADHD Diagnosis and Associated Treatment Among U.S. Children and Adolescents, 2016', J. Clin. Child Adolesc. Psychol., vol. 47, no. 2, pp. 199–212, Mar. 2018, doi: 10.1080/15374416.2017.1417860.
[3] D. A. Lerner, I. Verheul, and R. Thurik, 'Entrepreneurship and attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder: a large-scale study involving the clinical condition of ADHD', Small Bus. Econ., vol. 53, no. 2, pp. 381–392, Aug. 2019, doi: 10.1007/s11187-018-0061-1.
[4] J. M. T. Ph.D, Lightning in a Bottle: How Entrepreneurs Can Harness Their ADHD to Win. Independently published, 2021.
[5] W. Yu, J. Wiklund, and A. Pérez-Luño, ‘ADHD Symptoms, Entrepreneurial Orientation (EO), and Firm Performance’, Entrep. Theory Pract., vol. 45, no. 1, pp. 92–117, Jan. 2021, doi: 10.1177/1042258719892987.
[6] J. Wiklund, H. Patzelt, and D. Dimov, 'Entrepreneurship and psychological disorders: How ADHD can be productively harnessed', J. Bus. Ventur. Insights, vol. 6, pp. 14–20, Dec. 2016, doi: 10.1016/j.jbvi.2016.07.001.
[7] G. Tripp and J. R. Wickens, 'Neurobiology of ADHD', Neuropharmacology, vol. 57, no. 7–8, pp. 579–589, Dec. 2009, doi: 10.1016/j.neuropharm.2009.07.026.
[8] M. Csikszentmihalyi, Finding flow: The psychology of engagement with everyday life. Basic Books, 1997.
[9] American Psychiatric Association, Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders: DSM-5., Fifth edition.. Arlington, VA: American Psychiatric Association, 2013.
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