№ 000 · My story — the long version

Built by a neurodivergent mind, for neurodivergent minds.

13 years in recruitment. AuDHD diagnosis. A coaching certification. A live app. And a growing ecosystem of tools. This is how it happened.

Read my story Back to the toolkits

At a glance

Written by
Lisa Gills
Trading as
Harness the Spark
Prior trade
Recruitment · 13 yrs
Operating system
AuDHD
Status
Building

My story · In her own words

The tools didn't exist. So I built them.

The pattern

After 13 years in recruitment — including founding Wild Squirrel, which I scaled to £0.5M turnover — I kept seeing the same pattern. Brilliant people filtered out by systems built for one type of brain. Rejection feedback masking misunderstandings. Workplaces mistaking different thinking for a deficit.

The framework

That led me to coaching. Completing my AuDHD-accredited certification gave me the framework to articulate what I'd been observing for years. But coaching also showed me the next gap — the tools to properly support neurodivergent professionals didn't exist.

The decision

So I started building them. At 40+, with AuDHD, while running a business. Because that's what you do when the system doesn't have what you need.

Present day

I'm currently studying Full Stack Development at Scrimba. Every product I build is rooted in lived experience — mine and my clients'.

Work with me
Lisa Gills
Lisa Gills · Harness the Spark

Margin figures · Counted, not rounded up

The numbers in the margin.

  1. 13

    Fig. 01Years in recruitment.

  2. 40+

    Fig. 02Learned to code at 40 with AuDHD.

  3. 5+

    Fig. 03Products in development.

  4. Free

    Fig. 04Dave — no paywall, no sign-up.

Standing principles · What I believe · Applied to everything I build

The principles behind everything I build.

  1. Clause 01

    Different thinking isn't the problem. The system is.

    Neurodivergent minds aren't broken. The tools, workplaces, and systems they're expected to navigate were built without them in mind. That's the problem I'm solving.

  2. Clause 02

    Build from lived experience, not theory.

    Every product I create starts from a real gap — something I or my clients needed that didn't exist. That's what makes them actually work.

  3. Clause 03

    Support should never come with a paywall.

    Dave is free. No sign-up, no subscription, no paywall. Because the people who need support most are often the ones least able to pay for it.

  4. Clause 04

    Cognitive diversity is a competitive advantage.

    Not a deficit to overcome. Not something to accommodate. A genuine strength — when given the right tools and environment to thrive.

Cross-references · Where to go next

Want to work together or follow what I'm building?

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