Posted 14 May 2021
Neurodiversity And Entrepreneurship: Onyinye Udokporo Shows Us Where The Creative Flair Starts
We have heard a lot about the entrepreneurial flair of neurodivergent billionaires like Elon Musk in the recent week, runaway successes with large companies and lots of infrastructure. We also hear a lot about systemic exclusion how neurotypes such as Dyslexia and ADHD may lead to increased risk of unemployment and incarceration. It kind of suggests that there’s an all or nothing extremism in neurodiversity, which is not actually true. In fact, there are legions of small and medium enterprises (SME) run by disabled and neurominority creatives and innovators, surviving, adapting and thriving in our modern economy. SME’s drive employment rates: The Federation of Small businesses (UK) reports that 48% of UK jobs are from small companies with less than 50 employees, and that 99% of businesses registered in the UK are SMEs. Neurodiverse founders are known to delegate more and hire more staff than neurotypicals. Our profiles of strength and struggle means we know we cannot do everything and so we bring in the help earlier, forming balanced, diverse teams.
It is important to tell these stories as a part of the neurodiversity chapter, partly because of their economic contribution, which far outweighs the comparative attention they attract in the business press, but also because we need to inspire the next generation of entrepreneurs. Many feel intimidated into inaction by the superstar stories of billionaire creators. We all need somewhere to start and ambition to stay the course.
Onyinye Udokporo started tutoring at the age of twelve, from her parents living room, in a bid to increase the access to opportunity for young people and children in the U.K. Udokporo recognised the education gap in her underserved community and wanted to create a positive change. In 2018 she founded Enrich Learning, an online education platform and tuition centre after recognising that she could have a wider reach if she took tuition online and made it more affordable for parents. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Enrich Learning has provided hundreds of classes at affordable private tuition rates to raise the achievement of young people like her.
Creativity And Perspective
I asked Udokporo if she felt being dyslexic had been an advantage in her professional life and if so, how? She said:
“I believe that there are three distinctive advantages to being a Dyslexic entrepreneur. The first is that I live in a constant stream of creativity, I am never short of ideas for my next move in business and every idea is imaginative. The second advantage is the ability to solve problems in a genuinely inclusive manner. For me, Dyslexia has made me hyper-aware of the challenges that both neurodivergent and neurotypical people face. This has allowed me to develop strategies that are wide reaching, helping a vast number of people which is great! The third advantage is that Dyslexia has helped me become a great communicator. Communication is vital in entrepreneurship; I have never assumed that all my clients find reading and writing easy. I have had to think about how I can use multi-media to ensure that my content is easily accessible.”
She makes an excellent point here about problem solving as a Dyslexic skill. The neurodivergent community generally have to learn to find solutions to a bespoke set of problems from an early age and we often do this without adequate support and guidance so by the time we reach adulthood it has become second nature. What I love is how Udokporo reminds us that not all solutions are automatically inclusive, so having the lived experience and instincts towards inclusivity are an additional bonus in her business.
Held Back By Self Doubt
Creativity, a fresh perspective and an ability to relate to all kinds of learners are clearly useful attributes for a tutoring business, I also wanted to know however what dyslexia related disadvantages Udokporo had experienced and how they have impacted her on her career journey. She said:
“The biggest disadvantage is the emotional effect that Dyslexia can have on an individual and I don’t think this is spoken about enough. Dyslexic people often have low self-esteem which builds an insufferable sense of doubt in one’s ability. For ten years I ran a business whilst not believing that I am an entrepreneur. This held me back massively and I am glad I have finally built confidence to believe in myself.”
I am sure neurodivergent readers everywhere can relate to this experience. Self-efficacy and imposter syndrome are both big issues within our world and for this reason most of the successful neurominority business leaders that I know have spent some time doing personal work to address them. What is helpful is to understand that these setbacks are not insurmountable and do not have to stand in the way of a good outcome. It is also important to note that self-doubt is not a part of Dyslexic neurobiology but rather a result of the world around us. Further proof of the social model of disability in many ways.
Accessibility And Online Learning
Since the start of the pandemic and subsequent lockdowns there has been fierce debate about online learning and its accessibility in terms of both disability and cost. Udokporo understands better than most that there are downsides to learning at home which need to be addressed. She says:
“Being part of a community is vital for the personal development of neurodivergent people – it is important that they know they are not alone in their struggles. It also needs to be accepted that some people simply learn things more effectively in face-to-face settings and this may be due to limited access to software and hardware needed to learn online effectively.”
However, she also pointed out the many benefits to this style of learning, drawing from her own experience having completed a post graduate degree during the pandemic:
“I thoroughly enjoyed studying at my own pace. I naturally have a slower processing speed so being able to revisit slides and playback lectures enabled me to have a greater understanding of the topics being taught. Learning online also increased my confidence which helped me to reach out for additional assistance from lecturers. If classes had been in person, I would have been too embarrassed to ask for support in front of my peers. The shift to online education also means that neurodivergent people are able to use assistive technology to make adaptations to documents more easily. This is especially helpful for me because I can now read everything on a yellow background and use auditory functions to proofread my work.”
It seems that online learning has the potential to revolutionise schooling for neurominorities provided we continue on a path of inclusive problem solving and have neurodiverse leaders and teachers involved at every stage. Udokporo feels that mobile apps and increased use of AI will have a part to play in the scaling up of online education in order to make it more accessible both financially and for all neurotypes.
I am greatly encouraged to see leaders like her stepping in and meeting the demand in this area. While much emphasis has been put on the students who need to go back to the school environment very little time has been spent discussing the benefits of learning from home and how to make this a more permanent options for those that need it. Udokporo is a fantastic case study to show how Dyslexia and entrepreneurship not only go hand in hand so readily but also that trail blazers like her can be the people to step in and solve problems in our community rather than waiting for someone else to do it. And she is not finished yet! Having completed her Master’s degree in Education Policy from Kings College London earlier this year, Udokporo recently featured in Women of the City’s top 20 “Ones to Watch” and the online learning market is many years from maturity.
I know as a neurodiverse SME founder myself I am somewhat biased, but I am equally if not more inspired by watching and cheering on the progress of SME founders like Udokporo compared with the household names. This is the where the creativity starts.