Welcome to the ADHD Entrepreneur Accelerator Podcast. Host Steve August is joined by Jennifer Adelhardt, founder of Strategic Curiosity and Adjunct Faculty & Associate Graduate Faculty, Department of Management at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, and a TEDx Speaker. Jennifer shares her journey from corporate consulting to studying ADHD in entrepreneurship. She talks about how ADHD traits can both challenge and fuel entrepreneurial success, and offers insights on building environments where neurodivergent entrepreneurs can thrive.

Jennifer isn’t just a consultant; she’s passionate about helping ADHD entrepreneurs succeed. Her journey from the corporate world to studying ADHD in business shows how understanding neurodivergent traits can create better work environments. She believes the right strategies can help ADHD entrepreneurs thrive, especially with the right support and mindset.

Jennifer has nearly two decades of experience in the corporate world before transitioning to focus on ADHD in entrepreneurship. As the founder of Strategic Curiosity, she combines her expertise in leadership and academic research to create environments where neurodivergent entrepreneurs can thrive. She uses her personal experience with ADHD to help others build effective strategies for success.

• ADHD and Entrepreneurship: Jennifer highlights how ADHD traits can fuel business success.
• Building Supportive Environments: Creating workplaces where neurodivergent entrepreneurs thrive.
• The Power of Research: Understanding ADHD leads to better strategies.
• Personal Experience: How Jennifer’s ADHD journey shaped her approach.
• Practical Tools: Strategies to help ADHD entrepreneurs stay focused and succeed.

• ADHD and Entrepreneurship: Jennifer explains how ADHD traits can drive business success.
• Building Support: The importance of creating supportive work environments for ADHD entrepreneurs.
• Learning from Experience: How Jennifer’s ADHD journey shaped her business strategies.
• Effective Tools: The tools and strategies Jennifer uses to stay focused and productive.
• Adapting and Growing: Why flexibility and curiosity are key to success for ADHD entrepreneurs.

Here are a few quotes from the episode:

• “ADHD traits can be a powerful advantage in business.” - Jennifer Adler
• “Creating supportive environments helps ADHD entrepreneurs thrive.” - Jennifer Adler
• “Understanding ADHD leads to better strategies for success.” - Jennifer Adler

Join Jennifer Adler as she discusses how ADHD traits, research, and supportive environments can help neurodivergent entrepreneurs thrive and build successful businesses.

Episode Highlight:

[00:00] - Teaser

[01:15] - Guest Introduction: Jennifer Adler

[03:26] - Jennifer’s Journey: From Corporate to ADHD Research

[05:36] - ADHD Traits and Their Impact on Entrepreneurship

[07:16] - Using ADHD Strengths to Drive Business Success

[09:14] - Creating Supportive Work Environments for ADHD Entrepreneurs

[11:39] - The Role of Research in Understanding ADHD in Business

[15:32] - Tools and Strategies for ADHD Entrepreneurs

[17:52] - Importance of Delegation and Teamwork for ADHD Entrepreneurs

[20:20] - Coping Mechanisms and Support Systems for Success

[25:04] - The Future

Welcome to the ADHD Entrepreneur Accelerator Podcast. Host Steve August, Founder of ADHD Entrepreneur Accelerator and August & Wonder, and an expert ADHD coach and productivity specialist. He is also the founder, coach, and leader of The Focus Formula ADHD Coworking Community, and creator of the 2X Accelerator, helping ADHD entrepreneurs grow with focus and clarity in Steve August Coaching. In today’s episode, Steve shares how ADHD brains struggle with planning and time, and why typical tools don’t work. He explains the power of a simple weekly dashboard to stay focused, prioritize better, and make real progress. Through personal stories and clear advice, Steve gives listeners a tool built for ADHD brains to finally break the cycle of stress and distraction.

Steve knows what it’s like to plan a great week and still feel stuck. After learning how ADHD affects time and focus, he found new ways to work better. Instead of fighting his brain, he built tools that match how it works. Now, he teaches ADHD entrepreneurs how to stay on track with simple systems that help them do the right work, avoid burnout, and feel more in control each week.

Steve spent years trying different planning tools, chasing new systems, and feeling stuck in the same weekly cycle. Nothing seemed to work until he realized most tools weren’t made for ADHD brains. That led him to build his own weekly dashboard, focused on progress, not just planning. Now, he helps other ADHD entrepreneurs use this simple system to stop spinning their wheels and start making real progress.

• Weekly Struggles: Why ADHD brains often feel stuck and overwhelmed by midweek.
• The Power of a Dashboard: How a simple weekly dashboard can replace complex planners.
• Planning vs. Progress: Why most systems fail ADHD brains and how to fix that.
• Meeting Your Brain: How to match your work to your energy and focus levels.
• ADHD-Friendly Tools: A look at Steve’s real system to plan less and get more done.

• Real ADHD Weeks: Steve breaks down why typical weeks fall apart for ADHD entrepreneurs.
• Smarter Support: Knowing how your brain works makes it easier to build better habits.
• From Chaos to Clarity: Steve’s experience shows how the right tools make a big difference.
• Dashboard in Action: A real example of how to use the weekly dashboard for focus.
• Focus First: Working with your ADHD, not against it, is the key to real progress.

Here are a few quotes from the episode:

• “Time blocking is great until it eats all your energy before you even start.” - Steve August
• “Most planning tools are built for brains that aren’t like ours.” - Steve August
• “A good week for an ADHD brain means meeting your brain where it is.” - Steve August

Join Steve August as he explains why most ADHD entrepreneurs struggle with typical planning systems and how a simple weekly dashboard can create clarity, focus, and real progress in both business and life.

Episode Highlights:

[00:00] - Teaser

[00:58] - The Key to a Better ADHD Week

[02:18] - The ADHD Weekly Cycle: Hope, Chaos, and Catch-Up

[04:37] - Why Weeks Matter More Than Days or Months

[06:17] - What Makes a “Good Week” for ADHD Brains

[08:00] - Executive Function and What’s Really in the Way

[09:12] - Why Most Planning Systems Fail ADHD Entrepreneurs

[12:03] - Building a System That Supports ADHD Brains

[12:48]

Welcome to the ADHD Entrepreneur Accelerator Podcast! Host Steve August, Founder of ADHD Entrepreneur Accelerator and August & Wonder, also a Founder, Coach & Leader of The Focus Formula ADHD Coworking Community, and creator of the 2X Accelerator, helping ADHD entrepreneurs grow with focus and clarity in Steve August Coaching. Steve shares his personal journey as a long-time entrepreneur who discovered his ADHD later in life. He opens up about the struggles he faced, how ADHD shaped his work, and the turning point that helped him find clarity. Steve explains why he started this podcast to support other ADHD entrepreneurs by sharing tools, stories, and real talk about how ADHD can both challenge and drive success in business.

Steve isn’t just an entrepreneur; he’s been through the ups and downs of building businesses while living with undiagnosed ADHD. After years of success and struggle, his diagnosis helped everything click. Now, he’s focused on helping other ADHD entrepreneurs understand their brains, use the right tools, and build businesses with more clarity, focus, and freedom.

Steve built and sold a startup, worked as a CMO, and later became a coach for other founders. After hitting burnout and facing new challenges, he learned he had ADHD at age 54. That moment changed everything. Now, he shares what he's learned to help ADHD entrepreneurs stay focused, feel less overwhelmed, and grow their businesses with less stress.

• ADHD Discovery: Steve shares how learning he had ADHD made things clear.
• Entrepreneurial Struggles: The ups and downs of running a business with ADHD.
• Working With Your Brain: How to stop fighting ADHD and start using it.
• Life After Diagnosis: How understanding ADHD changed Steve’s life and work.
• Helpful Tools: Simple tips to stay focused and manage each week better.

• ADHD in Business: Steve shares how ADHD has both helped and challenged his work.
• Support That Works: Why understanding your brain can lead to better results.
• Real-Life Lessons: His journey shows how a late ADHD diagnosis brings clarity.
• Tools That Help: Steve talks about the weekly dashboard and simple routines.
• Growth Mindset: Learning to work with ADHD, not against it, opens new doors.

Here are a few quotes from the episode:

• “I couldn’t even finish the first sentence of an email.” - Steve August
• “ADHD isn’t a deficit of attention; it’s a surplus that’s hard to focus.” - Steve August
• “I was a wallflower in my own life until I understood my brain.” - Steve August

Join Steve August as he shares his journey of discovering ADHD later in life and how learning to work with his brain helped him and other entrepreneurs grow thriving, focused businesses.

Episode Highlights:

[00:00] - Welcome to the ADHD Entrepreneur Accelerator

[01:07] - Steve’s Background: From Startup Exit to Coaching

[02:18] - Post-COVID Fatigue Turns Out to Be ADHD

[04:18] - Getting Diagnosed at Age 54

[05:14] - Understanding the ADHD Brain and Past Patterns

[07:21] - Why This Podcast Exists and Who It’s For

[10:00] - Tools, Takeaways, and What’s Coming Next

🧠 Take the free quiz: Are You an ADHD Entrepreneur? →

After 98 episodes, The Rocket Ship Founder Podcast is coming to a close—but this is just the beginning of something new. In this final episode, I reflect on my journey as a late-diagnosed ADHD entrepreneur and how embracing my ADHD has transformed my approach to business and life.

I share:

✅ Why getting diagnosed at 54 changed everything for me

✅ How I transitioned from working with startup founders to ADHD entrepreneurs

✅ The power of making decisive choices instead of staying stuck in indecision

✅ What’s next—my new podcast, ADHD Entrepreneur Accelerator, launching in late February/early March

If you’ve ever felt like your brain works differently and you’re trying to build a business that works with it (not against it), this episode is for you.

🔔 Stay tuned for the next chapter: Be the first to hear about the new podcast!

I've been a bit hesitant to push send on this one.

You see, there's been a number of research studies* showing that ADHD brains are, depending on the study, between 2x and 5x more likely to become entrepreneurs.

I often cite this research in things I put out in my content. But there's one question that I consistently get back, that deserves an answer:

"Does ADHD make you a great entrepreneur?"

Based on my research and my own experience, the answer is...yes and no.

Yes, ADHD super powers can make you more likely to embrace doing your own thing and being an entrepreneur.

But also, no because it's challenges can keep you from succeeding to the degree you know you can.

In this week's Rocket Ship Founder podcast episode I go through the pluses and minuses of being an ADHD entrepreneur:

• How ADHD superpowers help you get launched

• Why those same superpowers can turn into entrepreneurial kryptonite.

• How to leverage the strengths and avoid the pitfalls to give you the best chance of success.

Key Takeaways from This Episode:

• Core Idea:

Customers don’t buy our product or service—they buy our offer. An offer is a promise to solve an urgent pain within a specific timeframe for a specific cost. Products and services? They’re just the tools we use to deliver on that promise.

• Your Business as a Stack of Offers:

A thriving B2B business only needs three key offers:

1. Core Offer – The cornerstone of your business, the main product or service you’re built around.

2. Hand Raiser Offer – A lead magnet or freebie valuable enough for someone with your target pain to share their contact info.

3. Customer ID Offer – Designed to identify those ready to take the next step with you.

• Make Every Offer a No-Brainer:

Success lies in creating offers that are stupidly compelling to the right customer.

What You’ll Learn in This Episode:

1. Why your Core Offer is the foundation of your business.

2. The essential element that ties all three offers together.

3. How to design a simple system to consistently get your offers in front of the right people daily.

This quick 14-minute episode will give you a framework to simplify your business and grow strategically in 2025.

🔥 Friday After Black Friday Bundle 🔥

Get everything you need to build your 3 Offer Stack and a Daily Lead Machine. For $119 (today and tomorrow only), you’ll receive SEVEN core business growth trainings valued at over $3,000!

💡 These are the same tools that drive the success of the 2X Accelerator Program, designed to create a powerful customer flywheel for your business.

👉 Check it out and grab the bundle here!

Episode Title: Thriving in a Tough Market: The 3 Keys to Business Growth When Money’s Tight

Episode Description:

In today’s episode, we’re tackling a challenge many entrepreneurs are facing: “People aren’t buying, and the ones who do are taking longer to decide.” It’s something I’ve been hearing across the board – from clients, fellow coaches, and entrepreneurs. The business environment has changed, and with inflation, a tighter money supply, and more selective spending, the boom has slowed, leaving many wondering how to keep growing.

Here’s the truth: in tougher times, business fundamentals matter more than ever. When the rising tide no longer lifts all boats, it’s time to tighten up our approach, identify the right customers, sharpen our offers, and build dependable lead generation.

In this episode, I break down three essential keys to thriving in challenging markets. Plus, I share a real-life success story from one of my 2X Accelerator participants, who achieved a 34% growth rate this year by following these strategies.

What You’ll Learn:

• The 3 Keys to Thriving in a Down Market: Discover the foundational steps that will help you build resilience and grow, even when the economy slows.

• Designing Your Business as a Stack of Offers: A strategic approach to creating offers that speak directly to your ideal customer’s needs.

• Breaking Through the Noise: How to create a message that cuts through the clutter and gets your business noticed.

This 12-minute episode is packed with actionable insights for B2B entrepreneurs who want to thrive, even when times get tough.

Tune in, take notes, and start implementing these steps today to build a business that endures in any market.

It's been a minute or two since my last new Rocket Ship Founder podcast episode. During the podcast hiatus, I've been leaning in to my journey as a late diagnosed ADHD entrepreneur. Over the past two months, I've been reshaping my coaching practice. After focusing on helping Seed Stage to Series A Founders for the past seven years, I'm evolving my practice to supporting ADHD entrepreneurs and solopreneurs get out of overwhelm, harness their focus and 2X their business progress. Rocket Ship Founder podcast will be evolving as well - with a final form to be determined. For now, I will be putting out episodes from time to time that I think will be useful to every entrepreneur. Which brings us to today's episode...

Recently, I was asked by a client to present to the leadership team on how to best support ADHD team members.

It was a great conversation. ADHD team members can be your most brilliant and innovative problem solvers. ADHD brains are wired to constantly learn and create connections and possibilities.

I walked them through the key differences between ADHD and neurotypical brains, especially the lower levels of dopamine and norepinephrine.

How this results in lower reserves of executive function compared more neurotypical brains

And how that expresses itself in things like time blindness, task initiation and prioritization challenges, rejection sensitivity and other facets of ADHD life

But the biggest takeaway for this leadership team was that working with ADHD brains can actually help you level up your business.

Because what helps ADHD team members prioritize, focus and execute is getting really good at operating like the best companies do.

In this week's Rocket Ship Founder podcast episode I talk about how working with neurodiverse brains can actually help your business level up. I'll cover:

• Why the challenges of ADHD actually can help you operate better

• 3 specific areas to focus on that will drive better results