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Can ADHD Entrepreneurs REALLY Chill & Prosper?

In this episode of Mad About, Maddy is joined by money mentor, bestselling author and fellow ADHD entrepreneur Denise Duffield-Thomas for a brilliant, honest and hilarious conversation about money, business, ADHD and what happens when big ideas meet dopamine.

They talk about money shame, spending addiction, debt, low-ticket offers, overgiving, boundaries, business models that actually suit your brain, and why ADHD entrepreneurs need systems that protect them from themselves.

Denise shares her journey from entrepreneurial kid selling bracelets, to discovering coaching, building a huge online business, writing bestselling books and learning how ADHD shaped her money story. Maddy also opens up about her own debt journey, business failure, rebuilding after shame, and why visibility and honesty have been such a huge part of her work.

This episode is for anyone who has ever had a brilliant idea, bought the domain name, overcommitted instantly, then wondered what the fuck they’ve done.

In this episode, we talk about:

• Denise’s journey from bracelet-selling kid to bestselling author
• Why ADHD brains are often natural entrepreneurs
• Money shame, debt and the emotional side of finances
• Maddy’s journey from £40k debt to becoming a money and business voice
• Why failure can be one of the most important parts of business
• The link between ADHD, dopamine and impulse spending
• Why more money doesn’t automatically fix money blocks
• Denise accidentally buying 22 antique couches
• Low-ticket offers, overgiving and pricing your work properly
• Creating business offers that match your actual brain
• Why ADHD entrepreneurs need boundaries, automation and systems
• The difference between chilling and prospering
• How to stop setting yourself up to fail
• Why collaboration beats competition

Best bits:

“Money itself doesn’t cure money blocks.”

“Sometimes we need systems that protect us from ourselves.”

“If it’s a should, it goes in the fuck it bucket.”

“ADHD entrepreneurs need business models that support how their brains actually work.”

Links:

Follow Denise: @DeniseDT
Find Denise: denisedt.com
Follow Maddy: @MaddyTalksMoney on Instagram
TikTok: @MadAboutMoneyOfficial
Book: Mad About Money: Managing Finances and Life with ADHD

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In this episode of Mad About, Maddy talks about something so many business owners, especially neurodivergent ones, get wrong: trying to run a business when you are already running on empty.

Because let’s be honest, you cannot show up properly in your business if you are burnt out, overwhelmed, under-slept, under-fed, over-committed and ignoring your own needs.

Maddy shares her VIBE Method, a simple framework to help you check in with yourself before you dive into work, content, clients, or the never-ending to do list.

In this episode, she breaks down:

• Vitals: are you eating, sleeping, hydrating and taking your meds?
• Internal state: how are you feeling mentally and emotionally?
• Boundaries: where are you overgiving, people pleasing or saying yes when you mean no?
• Energy: what is your actual capacity, not just the time you technically have available?

This is your reminder that there is no badge of honour for working through the weekend, pushing through burnout, or pretending you are fine when you are absolutely not.

If your business feels harder than it should right now, this episode is your nudge to stop, reset, and check your VIBE first.

Maddy also shares why capacity matters more than hustle, why “should” belongs in the fuck it bucket, and why looking after yourself is not a luxury. It is part of building a business that actually works for your brain and your body.

If you’re feeling overwhelmed, stretched too thin, or like you’re trying to pour from an empty cup, this one is for you.

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This week on Mad About, I’m joined by one of my favourite clients, the lovely Ben Gibbons.

Ben is the founder of Nimble Photography, creating a safe and comfortable wedding photography experience for LGBTQIA+ and neurodivergent people. But that is only part of his story.

In this episode, Ben opens up about growing up as a Jehovah’s Witness, being outed, going through conversion therapy, becoming homeless, and the huge journey of trying to work out who he really was after years of being told not to be himself.

We talk about trauma, rejection sensitivity, ADHD, autism, religion, politics, safeguarding, visibility, personal brand, and what happens when you finally stop shrinking and start speaking.

This is a really raw, brave and important conversation about identity, survival and finding your voice.

We cover:

• growing up in a strict religious environment
• being neurodivergent and feeling different from the start
• the reality and impact of conversion therapy
• losing family and rebuilding life from the ground up
• chosen family, healing and love
• confidence, TikTok and showing up online
• standing up for your values in public
• creating change through visibility

Trigger warning: this episode contains discussion of conversion therapy, suicidal ideation, homelessness, religious trauma, rejection, mental health, and discrimination.

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Why do autistic people take things at face value… and how can that actually put us at risk?

In this episode of Mad About, I’m sharing a very real (and slightly painful 😅) story about accidentally ending up in the wrong gym class… and how that spiralled into a much bigger realisation about trust, neurodivergence, and the way we process information.

We talk about:

• Why autistic and ADHD brains often lead with trust, not suspicion
• How miscommunication happens and why we don’t always question it
• The link between people-pleasing, RSD, and not speaking up
• The dangers of taking things at face value in the online business world
• Why I refuse to promise “six-figure results” (and what I will promise instead)

This one gets into the real talk about smoke and mirrors in the business space, how to spot red flags, and why having the right support around you matters more than buying another shiny course.

If you’ve ever trusted someone and thought “hang on… was that actually right?” — this episode is for you.

Come for the gym fail, stay for the life and business reality check 💥

Follow me @maddytalksmoney on Instagram

@madaboutmoneyofficial on TikTok

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This episode is a proper, unfiltered conversation between Maddy and Lucy Power about neurodivergence, trauma, identity, and what it really means to be yourself in a world that constantly tries to put you in a box.

From ADHD and autism to trauma responses, masking, queerness, and visibility—this is a deep, honest, sometimes funny, sometimes heavy chat about how our experiences shape who we are… and how we can start reclaiming that.

There are big conversations here. Real life. Real stories. And a lot of “oh shit, that makes sense.”

🧠 What We Talk About

• Lucy’s journey into ADHD diagnosis later in life
• The overlap between trauma and neurodivergence
• Why so many neurodivergent people carry trauma
• How trauma gets “stuck” and shows up in everyday life
• Masking, identity, and feeling like you don’t fit
• The pressure to conform to societal expectations
• Queerness, visibility, and living authentically
• Parenting, identity, and supporting neurodivergent kids
• The impact of cancel culture and social rejection
• Nervous system dysregulation and reactive behaviour
• What it actually means to be radically authentic

🔥 Key Takeaways

• Trauma isn’t just what happened, it’s how your body holds it
• Neurodivergence and trauma can look very similar
• You’re not “too much”—you’ve just been unsupported
• Masking disconnects you from who you really are
• Identity is often a story we’ve been taught, not the truth
• Being yourself in a world that doesn’t get you is an act of rebellion
• You can build a life and business that actually fits who you are

💬 Real Talk Moments

• Maddy sharing her personal experiences with trauma, grief, and ADHD
• Lucy opening up about late diagnosis and queerness
• Honest chat about feeling excluded and self-protection responses
• The reality of raising neurodivergent kids and navigating identity
• A raw moment around grief and loss mid-recording

💥 What Lucy is “Mad About”

Lucy shares what truly fires her up:

• The way society treats trans people
• The impact of capitalism on wellbeing
• Global injustice and inequality
• And her deep passion for trauma work and transactional analysis

🧩 About Lucy

Lucy is a psychotherapeutic coach specialising in:

• Trauma
• Neurodivergence
• Transactional Analysis
• Radical authenticity

She helps people understand themselves on a deeper level and unlearn the layers that stop them from being who they truly are.

🌍 Connect with Lucy

• Instagram: @IamLucyPower
• Facebook: Lucy Power
• LinkedIn: Lucy Power
• Email: lucy@iamlucypower.com

📲 Connect with Maddy

• Instagram: Maddy Talks Money
• TikTok: Mad About Money Official
• Book: Mad About Money

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Mad About with Maddy Alexander-Grout
Episode: Internalised Ableism, Burnout & Owning Your Soundtrack

💥 What this episode is about

This is a real, honest chat about internalised ableism — what it is, how it shows up, and why so many neurodivergent and disabled people end up pushing themselves to breaking point trying to “keep up.”

Maddy shares what this has looked like in her own life, from burnout and overworking to navigating new health challenges, and why learning your limits is actually where your power starts.

🧠 In this episode, we cover:

• What internalised ableism actually means (and how it sneaks in)
• Why calling yourself “lazy” is complete bullshit
• The pressure to act “normal” in business and life
• Burnout, guilt, and the toxic productivity trap
• Learning your capacity and working with your energy, not against it
• Why rest is not something you need to earn
• The importance of boundaries, even in your business
• How community can help you unlearn ableist thinking
• The reality of advocating for yourself (and why it’s so hard)
• Accepting new diagnoses and evolving health challenges

🔥 Key takeaways

• You are not broken. Your brain just works differently.
• “Should” belongs in the fuck it bucket
• Pushing through burnout is not strength, it’s self-abandonment
• Your worth is not measured by productivity
• You are allowed to do things in a way that actually works for you
• Support is not a weakness, it’s a strategy

🎧 Maddy’s real-life moments in this episode

• Navigating multiple chronic conditions and new diagnoses
• Coaching clients from bed on low-energy days
• Using a walking stick for the first time and dealing with the mindset around it
• Letting her community step in and support her
• Having honest conversations with her kids about her limits

🌈 Big message

Owning your “soundtrack” means accepting every part of you — your brain, your body, your limits, and your strengths.

When you stop trying to fit into a world that wasn’t designed for you, you can finally start building one that is.

🧩 Resources & mentions

• Access to Work (UK) – Government support for disabled people in employment
• The Maddyverse – Free community for neurodivergent and chronically ill humans
• The Core – Paid membership focused on money, life, business, and support

💬 Final thought

You don’t have to prove your worth by burning out.

You get to build a life and business that actually fits you.

📲 Connect with Maddy

• Instagram: Maddy Talks Money
• TikTok: Mad About Money Official
• More: Maddy Alexander-Grout

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In this episode of Mad About, I’m joined by the brilliant Sophie Jane Lee, coach for voice, visibility and strategy, and author of Beyond Palatable: A Manifesto for Unapologetic Women.

We chat about Sophie’s journey from running a successful business on paper while struggling deeply underneath it all, to doing the hard inner work that helped her step into who she really is.

We get into:
✨ success vs actually feeling successful
✨ self-worth, self-sabotage and healing
✨ the drama triangle: victim, prosecutor and rescuer
✨ people pleasing, boundaries and nervous system responses
✨ neurodivergence, relationships and being misunderstood
✨ finding the right rooms, the right people and the right way to show up
✨ pregnancy, business and why “hard” doesn’t have to define everything

This is a really honest, funny, powerful conversation about accountability, self-expression, healing, and what it means to stop abandoning yourself.

Sophie’s book is out now and available from all major bookshops, on Kindle, and soon on audiobook.

Follow Sophie:
Instagram: @electricpeachstudios
LinkedIn: Sophie Jane Lee
Book: beyondpalatable.com

Follow me:
Instagram: @maddytalksmoney
TikTok: @madaboutmoneyofficial
Everywhere else: Maddy Alexander-Grout

If you enjoyed this episode, hit subscribe, leave a review, share it with a friend, and let me know in the comments if this conversation resonated with you.

#podcast #neurodiversity #boundaries #peoplepleasing #visibility #selfworth #healing #womeninbusiness #adhd #autism #madaboutpodcast

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Visit Maddy's ⁠⁠⁠Stan Store⁠⁠⁠

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