I Killed 17 Businesses in 3 Years — Here's What My ADHD Brain Learned

 

2:47 AM. I’m standing in the digital wreckage of my ambition — folders full of what-ifs, blinking cursors, and half-finished dreams.

There it was again. The blinking cursor in my "Ideas" folder. Seventeen subfolders stared back at me like digital tombstones. Each one a story. Each one a sprint that turned into a stumble. Some died in a weekend. Others held on for months, hopeful and gasping, before I gently pulled the plug.

🔗 Read this article in full (100% free) on my blog

But something was different tonight. Instead of spiraling into the usual shame spiral — you know, the “why can’t I just finish something?” loop — I decided to go exploring. A quiet, solo excavation through my abandoned projects.

And what I found? It wasn’t failure.

It was a map.

The Hyperfocus Honeymoon (Projects 1–5)

The AI-Powered Meal Planner made it 11 days. Wireframes. API research. Backend code. All built in a dopamine-fueled sprint. Then I remembered: I hadn’t meal-planned for myself in three years.

The ADHD Productivity Podcast made it to episode 3. That’s when I got distracted… by a new idea, of course. The irony still stings.

The Digital Nomad Coworking App? I killed it the moment I remembered how much I hate video calls and love working alone.

Here's what I now understand:
I don’t fall in love with solutions.
I fall in love with problems.

ADHD hyperfocus is intoxicating. I can see the entire ecosystem in my mind — the users, the flows, the growth curve. But when the glitter fades and it’s time to wrestle with the boring, the repetitive, the real… my brain scans for the next high.

This isn’t laziness. It’s biology. ADHD brains are wired for novelty and stimulation. The second something becomes routine, the dopamine dries up.

Recognizing that pattern? That was my first breakthrough.

The Perfectionism Trap (Projects 6–10)

The Ultimate ADHD Course sat unfinished for six months. I kept adding “just one more module.” It became too precious to publish and too overwhelming to finish.

The Personal Branding Framework? Forty-seven pages of brilliance no one will ever read. Why? Because I couldn’t figure out the perfect way to release it.

I wasn’t procrastinating.
I was protecting my vision from reality.

ADHD often comes with a perfectionism edge. We can see the masterpiece so clearly in our minds that anything less feels like a betrayal. We choke on the fear that releasing something “imperfect” will confirm every self-doubt we’ve ever had.

I talk about this more in my piece about delete 47 apps in 30 days. That addiction to potential? It was bleeding into how I treated projects too — like shiny new apps. I was always looking for the next best thing instead of just… sticking with one.

The Shiny Object Spiral (Projects 11–14)

The NFT Art Marketplace — because 2021 me thought “this is the future.”

The TikTok Growth Agency — three weeks of effort, zero alignment with who I actually am.

The Dropshipping Store — let’s just say I do not enjoy customer support.

The Cryptocurrency Newsletter — died the same day the market crashed (and so did my interest).

These weren’t passion projects.
They were mirrors reflecting what I thought I should be chasing.

This was my “trend-chasing” phase. I'd see someone else winning and think, “I could do that too!” And truth is, I probably could. But just because your ADHD brain can see an opportunity doesn’t mean it’s aligned with who you are.

Each failed attempt was me trying to wear someone else's success like a second skin. But it never fit.

The Burnout Breaking Point (Projects 15–17)

By the time I hit Project 15 — The ADHD Entrepreneur Mastermind — I was cooked. I had the landing page. Welcome videos. Even three people signed up.

Then came the panic.
What if I can’t deliver? What if my ADHD messes it all up?

Projects 16 and 17 barely made it past the idea sketch. I was too tired. Too afraid. I'd stopped trusting myself to follow through. Not because of failure — but because the shame convinced me that starting meant disappointing someone… again.

This was rock bottom. And it wasn’t dramatic. It was quiet. A kind of numb, heavy stillness.

The Real Lessons Buried in My Graveyard

Lesson 1: ADHD Brains Are Idea Factories, Not Assembly Lines
Every “failure” gave me tools I still use. That meal planner? Taught me how to validate ideas. That podcast? Confirmed that I prefer writing. That course? Helped me discover how I teach best.

Lesson 2: Abandonment Isn’t Failure — It’s Feedback
Each project left clues about where my energy thrives — and where it fizzles. That connects back to what I shared in my three part system for ADHD creators: every pivot was a compass, not a white flag.

Lesson 3: The Graveyard Is Actually a Garden
Every dead project decomposed into something I could grow from. The skills, the patterns, the self-awareness — they didn’t vanish. They composted into wisdom.

How I Transformed the Shame

I stopped trying to “finish” everything.

Instead, I started running project autopsies.

The Project Autopsy Process

I began asking:

  • What originally lit me up?

  • Where did I lose steam?

  • What did I learn or get better at?

  • What would I change next time?

  • What parts could I reuse or remix?

Shifting from judgment to curiosity changed everything.

My ADHD wasn’t sabotaging me — it was teaching me, using fast prototypes and emotional cues.

Where I Am Now

I don’t run 17 businesses. I run one — and it carries DNA from every failed one.

The teaching clarity from the unfinished course.
The user insight from the mastermind.
The systems thinking from the app builds.

Even that abandoned meal planner taught me how to run real user research — a skill I now use constantly to help ADHD entrepreneurs like me.

I didn’t lose anything. I just recycled it all.

If You’re an ADHD Entrepreneur Too…

Please hear this:

Your project graveyard is not proof of failure. It’s proof of your fearless curiosity.

Every messy idea, every half-built system, every pivot — they’re all breadcrumbs. They’re data. They’re directions toward what lights you up and what burns you out.

Stop apologizing for what you didn’t finish.
Start celebrating what you dared to begin.

ADHD doesn’t follow the productivity playbook — it writes its own.
We’re explorers.
We map new ground by trying.

And sometimes the trying is the real triumph.

Don’t Let Momentum Slip

You just made it to the end. Don’t stop here.

You’re not broken. You’re blooming. Keep going. 🔥

Popular posts from this blog

5 Productivity Rituals That Actually Work for ADHD Brains (Backed by Neuroscience)

  If you have ADHD and every productivity system you've tried eventually falls apart, it's not because you lack willpower. It's because they weren't designed for your brain. Most productivity advice assumes neurotypical brains that respond predictably to traditional reward systems, long-term planning, and consistent routines. But ADHD brains operate on fundamentally different neurochemical patterns. We have lower baseline dopamine levels and different dopamine transporter densities, making those well-intentioned productivity frameworks feel like trying to run software designed for Windows on a Mac—it's just not compatible. After years of watching brilliant ADHD creators burn out on systems that work for everyone else, I've identified five neuroscience-backed rituals that actually align with how our brains function. These aren't hacks to force your brain into neurotypical patterns—they're designed to work with your ADHD wiring, not against it. The Dopa...
Read more

3 Accessible Marketing Tools That Cost Less Than Your Coffee Budget—And Why Your Brain Will Thank You

  As a solo founder, I've watched countless marketing tool demos that left me feeling like I needed a computer science degree to send an email. The presenter would enthusiastically click through seventeen different dashboards. At the same time, I wondered if there was a more straightforward way to reach my audience without triggering my decision fatigue or burning through my bootstrap budget.   Here's what I've learned: the best marketing tools for neurodivergent founders aren't necessarily the most feature-rich ones. They're the tools that work with your brain, not against it. Today, I'm sharing three budget marketing tools that have genuinely made my life easier—each costing less than your daily coffee run and designed with cognitive accessibility in mind.   Why Traditional Marketing Tools Overwhelm ADHD Brains   Before diving into solutions, let's address why most marketing tools feel overwhelming for neurodivergent creators. Traditional marketing platfor...
Read more

Welcome to Rise-Ops: Building Systems That Actually Work

You're here because something isn't working. Maybe you've tried seventeen different productivity apps this year, downloaded templates that looked perfect but felt hollow when you tried to use them, or found yourself drowning in the very systems that were supposed to save you time. I built Rise-Ops because I was tired of solutions that looked good in screenshots but fell apart under real-world pressure. This isn't another blog promising you'll "10x your output" or teaching you to "hack your workflow." It's a resource for creators, service providers, and strategic freelancers who want to build something sustainable without losing their minds in the process.  ## What Rise-Ops Actually Is  Rise-Ops focuses on operational foundations—the systems that let you create consistently, deliver for clients reliably, and grow digital products without burning out. These aren't borrowed frameworks or trending methodologies. They're tools I've de...
Read more