Shimmer, a platform for 1:1 personalized ADHD coaching, raises $2.2M

Y combinator student Shine, which offers a coaching platform for adults, has raised $2.2 million in a seed funding round led by Worklife Ventures and Seed to B. The platform aims to help adults with ADHD face challenges through 1:1 personalized video coaching, productivity and science tools. supported learning modules. Shimmer matches users with an ADHD coach who helps them achieve their goals, maintain a positive approach to change, and improve productivity.

The startup was founded in 2021 by CEO Christal Wang, a neurodiverse entrepreneur who dropped out of the Berkeley-Haas MBA/MPH program to start Shimmer, and CTO Vikram Sreedhar, a Stanford graduate who previously founded a nonprofit. profit call Make A Difference (ANGRY)

Wang told TechCrunch that when he was diagnosed with ADHD, he finally had an explanation for his behavior after decades of being told it was «too much.» After his diagnosis, his physiatrist prescribed him Adderall.

«As someone who grew up in an Asian culture where medications are often not the first line of defense and are sometimes even frowned upon, I naturally started looking for behavioral solutions,» Wang said. “When I discovered the concept of life coaching, ADHD, it seemed too good to be true. It was proven to be effective, top experts in the business recommended it as part of a mixed treatment, and I strongly agreed with their premise. However, it really was too good to be true. “It was extremely expensive.”

Wang says the ADHD training options she found cost about $300 an hour and were difficult to manage, and that her psychiatrist couldn’t recommend a specific trainer.

Wang and Sreedhar then set out to create an ADHD training platform that would solve these problems. The duo wanted to offer users access to ADHD coaching sessions at a lower price than what Wang found when he first searched for sessions for her.

The most popular Shimmer package offers users 30-minute training sessions per week for $230 per month. The platform also offers weekly 15- or 45-minute coaching sessions for $140 or $345 per month, respectively.

When users first sign up for Shimmer, they are asked to answer a series of questions about their history with ADHD, specific challenges, and preferences they have for their coach. They are then assigned one of Shimmer’s 30+ ADHD coaches. Users then gain access to a combination of video, text, and visual resources and exercises. After completing the initial exercises, users meet with their trainer. Then, each week users meet with their coach to get closer to their goals.

Throughout the week, users must complete a series of actions, ranging from new meditation experiments to reworked morning routines.

Most Shimmer users are between 20 and 50 years old. Some of the most common struggles people face on the platform are time management, resilience and emotion regulation, self-acceptance and self-confidence, forming habits and routines, procrastination, motivation and productivity. general.

Since launching just over a year ago in October 2022, Shimmer coaches have conducted more than 15,000 coaching sessions. The platform is available on iOS, Android and the web.

As for the new funding, Shimmer plans to use it to work with provider partners, payers and employers to reduce members’ out-of-pocket cost to access ADHD counseling. Additionally, the startup will leverage AI to make coaches more efficient without sacrificing authenticity.

The startup’s initial funding included participation from Aglaé Ventures, Koa Labs and Gaingels. The latest funding round brings Shimmer’s total funding to $3.5 million.

In terms of the future, Shimmer wants to facilitate all types of neurotypes in their personal development path. Although Shimmer started with ADHD services, the startup has already begun helping users with autism. The company’s goal is to soon serve various intersecting communities with coaching and other personal development experiences and tools.

«Technologically, we will continue to invest in using technology to scale and improve the parts of personal development and training that real humans are best at, while automating tedious and repetitive tasks,» Wang said. «We see a near future in which all neurodiverse people will use Shimmer, seamlessly integrated into their lives, to achieve their goals.»

Shimmer plans to continue educating the broader community on how to create more inclusive spaces and support their neurodiverse colleagues and loved ones. The startup’s future roadmap includes corporate training, community support, and more.