One founder.
One mission.
Zero VC.
Brainchild Startups is a neurodivergent-led studio building tools for brains that work differently. Apps, books, and resources — all from lived experience.
I'm Tim. AuDHD dad. I build things that should exist.
AuDHD dad. Two neurodivergent kids. Our house runs on a completely different operating system than the rest of the world.
I spent years trying every app, every system, every framework that promised to help. They were all built for neurotypical brains. They all assumed I could sit still, follow a routine, and stay motivated through streaks and guilt mechanics.
So I started building our own.
Not as a company. As a necessity. Tools that actually work the way our brains work. That turned into SHIFT. Then it turned into books. Then it turned into a full studio with seven apps planned and four books published.
I build everything myself. No team. No investors. No pressure to optimize for engagement over wellbeing. Just a dad who needed better tools and figured out how to make them.
ND-First Design
Every decision is filtered through neurodivergent lived experience. Not accessibility as an afterthought.
No Guilt Mechanics
No streaks that shame you. No productivity scores. Tools that meet you where you are.
Bootstrapped Forever
No investors means no pressure to optimize for engagement over wellbeing.
Built in Public
The whole messy process — wins, rejections, pivots — documented on X.
Privacy by Default
No tracking. No data selling. No surveillance of vulnerable moments.
Local-First
Your data stays on your device. We don't need to see it to help you.
Seven apps. Eleven books. One nervous system.
Every tool in the Brainchild family targets a different challenge neurodivergent people face. Not generic wellness. Not productivity theater. Specific, practical support for specific moments.
SHIFT launches on the App Store
The flagship app goes live. Nervous system regulation in 60 seconds or less. The proof that the model works — and that people need it.
The full suite rolls out
Focus, Shield, Sleep, Unmask, Community, and Spark — each one already built and waiting. Six more apps targeting six more specific challenges ND people face every day.
The full family.
Seven apps. Each one targeting a different moment where neurodivergent brains need a different kind of support.
For when screens feel like too much.
Same voice. Same experience. No clinical jargon, no toxic positivity. Just real talk from someone living it.
A nervous system guide for ADHD, autistic, and neurodivergent brains. The five-states framework that became the foundation for SHIFT.
Amazon →Raising ND kids when your own brain works differently too. Written by an AuDHD dad of two neurodivergent children.
Amazon →A user manual for the brain that knows what to do but can't start. Practical, not clinical. Built from lived experience.
Amazon →The stuff nobody talks about. Relationships, intimacy, and the ND brain. No shame, no sugarcoating.
Amazon →All books written by the same person building these apps. Same voice. Same honesty.
How we build differently.
Start with the state, not the feature
We don't ask what you want to accomplish. We ask how you're feeling right now. The tool adapts from there. Because the same person who needs help starting a task at 10am might need something completely different at 2am when they can't stop the spiral.
60 seconds or less
Every interaction is designed to deliver value in under a minute. Because when you're dysregulated, you don't have twenty. You have right now. If a tool can't help you in the time it takes to make a cup of coffee, it's not built for your brain.
No punishment for absence
Leave for a month. Come back. Nothing changed. No streak broken. No progress lost. No guilt trip about consistency. We're here when you need us — and we'll never make you feel bad for not needing us for a while.
Built by the user
I'm not building FOR neurodivergent people. I AM neurodivergent. Every feature exists because I needed it first. Every design choice was made by a brain that experiences exactly what these tools are trying to help with.
Every win, every rejection, every 3am coding session. The whole journey — from first app idea to the full studio — documented in real time. No corporate polish. Just the actual messy process of building something that matters.
@AuDHD_FounderYour data stays yours.
No tracking. No cookies. No data sold. No surveillance of vulnerable moments. Hosted on privacy-first infrastructure. We don't need to see your data to help you.
Want to talk?
Press, partnerships, or just someone who wants to say hi.
I read every email.