If you have ever attended a traditional business mixer, you probably know the feeling.
You put on your “professional face” and force yourself to make eye contact. You recite an elevator pitch that feels stiff and robotic. You nod at the right times and laugh at the right jokes. Then, when it is finally over, you go home and need to sleep for three days just to recover.
For neurotypical professionals, networking might be tiring. For neurodivergent professionals, it is often exhausting, demoralizing, and inaccessible.
As a neurodivergent founder, I spent years trying to fit into these spaces. I loved the community aspect because community builds resiliency. However, I struggled with the structure. The early morning meetings. The expectation of constant, linear consistency. The subtle shame attached to struggling with “basic” tasks like sending an email or showing up on time.
I realized that I didn’t need to fix my brain to fit networking. I needed to fix networking to fit my brain.
The “Curb Cut” Effect for Business
There is a concept in design called the Curb Cut Effect. Originally, cuts in the sidewalk were created for wheelchair users so they could safely cross the street.
But then planners noticed something interesting.
People pushing strollers used them. Travelers with rolling luggage used them. People on crutches used them. A solution designed for a specific disability ended up making life easier for everyone.
I believe we can apply this to professional growth.
When we create a networking space designed for ADHD, Autism, and neurodivergent brains, we create a more humane way to work. When we remove the pressure to be “on” all the time, we create room for genuine connection.
Introducing Divergent Together
This is why I am launching Divergent Together.
This is not just another business card swap. It is a community resilience project. It is a space for entrepreneurs, professionals, creatives, and anyone navigating the working world who is tired of masking.
We are building a network where your brain is viewed as an asset meant to be worked with, not an obstacle meant to be worked against.
Here is how we are doing it differently:
1. No “Rise and Grind” Culture Neurodivergent brains often run on different internal clocks. We know that 7:00 AM meetings are often a recipe for disaster, so we are skipping them. We schedule sessions for when our brains are actually online.
2. Body Doubling for Accountability Sometimes we don’t need advice. We just need company. We will host body doubling sessions where we work alongside each other to tackle the boring, executive-function-heavy tasks (like invoicing or folding laundry) that we have been putting off.
3. Info Dumps Are Encouraged Small talk can be painful. Passionate deep dives are not. We are creating spaces where you can “info dump” about your special interests and expertise without worrying that you are being “too much.”
4. Participation on Your Terms Some days you might be non-verbal. Some days you might be overstimulated. In this group, keeping your camera off is normal. Participating entirely via text chat is normal. We normalize doing what you need to do to show up.
Harnessing the Chaos
There is often a lot of shame involved in being neurodivergent in a professional setting. We worry that we are disorganized, inconsistent, or “too chaotic.”
But that chaos is also where our brilliance lives. It is where we find connections others miss. It is where we innovate.
Divergent Together is about removing the shame so we can stop fighting our brains. We want to help you not just rein in the chaos, but harness it to build something extraordinary.
Join the Waitlist
We are preparing to open the doors to our first small cohort. Whether you are a business owner or just trying to survive “adulting” in a neurotypical world, you have a place here.
Let’s build the network we always needed.
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