Build Ecosystems, Not Empires

If you're new here, BENE is a monthly(ish) letter for founders scaling profitable, impactful businesses that stay true to your values. I share reflections about entrepreneurship, conscious leadership, authentic marketing, and how business & social justice fit together. You can unsubscribe any time at the bottom of this email.

Written by Gelaine Santiago

Make your business work with your brain. Not against it.

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Reader, what’s something you learned that changed everything you know about yourself?

For me, it was realizing I have ADHD. But it took me 30+ years to figure it out.

I had always done well in school, been praised for being a good kid (aka. obedient) and never once thought I could be neurodivergent.

But I owe this epiphany to the most unholy of places: Instagram.

I was scrolling around one day when an ad was served to me: The Neurodiverse Entrepreneur Summit by Claire Paniccia (aff)

The summit is a free, 4-day virtual event created by neurodivergent entrepreneurs, for neurodivergent entrepreneurs. They feature topics like:

• How to run a business when your energy is wildly inconsistent (Think spoonie-friendly systems, gentle planning, flexible timelines)
• Letting go of “shoulds” and embracing how you work best (Talks on unmasking in business, aligning offers with values, and de-shaming “unproductive” seasons)
• Marketing without manipulation (Ethical funnels, consent-driven sales, not relying on scarcity panic or shame to convert)
• Celebrating neurodivergent creativity + idea abundance (Talks that embraced shiny object syndrome as a feature, not a bug)

I was curious and it was free, so I signed up, not expecting much...

Boy, was I wrong.

I attended a session about energy dips and content creation. The speaker Laura Robson referred to it as “having bags of energy and inspiration at the wrong times” and then coming up empty when you finally need to work on the task. She taught us how to create systems to “store momentum” so you never have to create content from scratch.

Another speaker talked about the various ways to grow your business without social media (the dream!), since many neurodivergent folks get overwhelmed and burnt out from high visibility roles.

I felt all these things in my bones.

All my life, I had written off my cycles of burnout and overwhelm as me being weak, sensitive, or disorganized. I repeatedly apologized to people by saying that "something was wrong with my brain". My memory sucked (and still does) no matter how many 'memory palaces' I built 😭

And it just got harder and harder as my businesses grew in size and complexity. For the past few years, I had been struggling to function.

The reality is, as entrepreneurs, the demands on our nervous systems are high.

I'd get anxious, even when good things happened, which was very confusing for me. Now I realize it wasn’t anxiety - my ADHD brain was overloaded. I needed new systems to help navigate all the moving parts of running a business at this scale.

If any of this hits home for you, here’s great news: The Neurodiverse Entrepreneur Summit is back from July 28-31!

Filled with 16 brilliant neurodivergent entrepreneurs, showing how they’ve built businesses that work with their brains - not against them.

If you’ve ever felt like traditional business advice wasn’t built for your brain, you’re not alone. This year’s summit is packed with conversations that go way beyond productivity hacks and hustle culture.

Here’s a peek at what’s in store 👀

• Planning + goal-setting when executive dysfunction is real (live panel)
• Setting boundaries and saying no (without the guilt spiral)
• Creating repeatable offers even if your brain craves novelty
• Ethical, weird, shame-free marketing (because your voice matters)
• Letting your subconscious lead your strategy (yes, really)
• Website design for folks who need to take it slow
• What to do after you grow your audience (no funnel f*ckery required)

And because the format matters just as much as the content, everything is intentionally designed to be brain-friendly:

• 48-hour access to each session
• Private podcast version for screen-free on-the-go listening
• Clean, clear transcripts
• No “just push through” energy—ever

And if you’re thinking ‘nah this isn’t for me’, I respect that AND I encourage you to get curious. It always helps to learn about experiences of people that are different from your own, and you might learn something about yourself as a result.

Sending you loving spoonie energy 🥄💕

Gelaine