Why Neurodiversity Could Be the Key to Future Entrepreneurship

Alex Partridge is a rare breed of entrepreneur: a digital media disruptor turned neurodiversity advocate. At just 21, he co-founded UNILAD and LADbible, two of the world's most influential social media platforms, which together amassed over 100 million followers. After a hard-won legal battle and a life-threatening struggle with alcoholism, Partridge emerged with renewed purpose: championing mental health, ADHD awareness, and inclusive entrepreneurship.

Now at 34, with his ADHD diagnosis providing clarity and direction, he hosts the UK's leading ADHD podcast, ADHD Chatter, and steps onto stages from BBC to Formula 1 to share lessons on resilience, creativity and rebuilding. In this exclusive interview with Entrepreneur UK, Partridge opens up about how neurodiversity shaped his success - and how entrepreneurs today can harness authenticity, empathy, and disruptiveness to thrive in business.

You've spoken about being recently diagnosed with ADHD. How has that shaped your entrepreneurial journey - and do you see it as an advantage or challenge in business?
I think I've always been a little bit weird, a little bit not normal, I suppose, in my working habits – to the point where my friends and family were a bit concerned about my social life. I would always isolate myself in my room and just obsessively work on my computer with Unilad and LADbible, building social media communities. At the time, there was little knowledge around neurodiversity, and I certainly didn't know that I fell into that bracket. From the outside, it certainly looked concerning.

I think if I hadn't played into that, or if I'd tried to go against the grain a bit – forced myself to go out and socialise more, or leave my room and not be so obsessive over my work – then I absolutely don't think I would have seen the success that I have done. I don't want to pinpoint it down solely to ADHD. I think there are symptoms and traits of ADHD which, looking back in hindsight, clearly played some role. How many of those were attributed to my success, or how many of those traits were just me as an individual, I don't really know. I don't think it's that important. What I do know is that I definitely didn't show many neurotypical traits. People were concerned about me, I was called "odd" or "weird" because of my work habits – but it's definitely those work habits that got me to where I am today.

Are companies doing enough to support neurodiverse talent, and what practical steps can leaders take to build truly inclusive cultures?
If you'd asked me 10 years ago, I probably would have said no. Things are getting a lot better now. There's always room for improvement, but I am seeing a lot of good things. One of the most important is making it obvious from the very first stage – the job description. Businesses should make clear that they have their arms wide open, that they're inclusive, that they have a diversity statement, and that they are welcoming to people with neurodiverse conditions. The language used in job descriptions matters.

It's also important to train the people who will be conducting interviews. If you ask, for example, an autistic person or someone with ADHD a question, they'll often take it at face value. They may not see the opportunity to expand on their answer in the same way a neurotypical person might. So interviewers need to prompt, to make it clear that the candidate can expand further. Beyond recruitment, companies should also train all employees, so that the entire culture is empathetic and understanding. That way there are no shocks or surprises when someone works in a way that others aren't used to.

Most importantly, companies need to be aware that some people with neurodiverse conditions – myself included – don't function well in traditional office environments. If there's lots of noise, people, and demands to make quick decisions, that can paralyse the mind of a neurodiverse employee. It certainly does for me. So businesses should put systems in place that allow a grace period for decision-making, to give people the time and space to think. From my experience, the answers that come after that period are often the best answers. Overall, it comes down to educating the company as a whole and making sure there are provisions in the office to make it more neurodiverse-inclusive."

What advice would you give to entrepreneurs and professionals with neurodiverse traits who are trying to succeed in business?
The number one piece of advice – the advice I always told myself – is to lean into it. Don't try to fight it. If your brain clearly works in a different way to what you think the stereotype of a successful businessperson or entrepreneur looks like, that's fine. Ninety-five per cent of the time, that stereotype is rubbish. You know how your brain works. You know the conditions you work best in, where you're most efficient, and where you're most productive. So lean into those situations. Ignore the noise and the pressure that says you should be working in a different way, or in a different environment, to achieve success. A lot of the conventional advice is tailored towards a neurotypical stereotype – but that doesn't work if your brain works differently. So my number one advice is: lean into your strengths, listen to your intuition, and put yourself in the environments where you know you'll thrive."

Social media has already transformed business. In your view, how is it continuing to disrupt industries and shift power between platforms, brands, and creators?
To be honest, it probably depends on how quickly Mark Zuckerberg and the team at Meta roll out their ambition for the Metaverse. I think it's ultimately going to be muscle-wearing headsets, but I don't think that's 10 years away – I think it's probably 20 or 30 years away. That's the ultimate transition, and that really will be the next generation. In 10 years' time, I think it'll probably be a mix of where we are now, with slightly better technology. Some people will be in VR worlds, others won't, so there'll be a crossover.

But what's clear is that the way content is delivered will change. We're already in a huge content creator economy, and that shift of ownership power from big tech platforms to creators is only going to get bigger. The technology is still in its infancy and, I think, massively misunderstood. Web3, for example, is a buzzword, but its underlying foundation is strong. What we'll see over the next decade is more content ownership and more revenue going directly to creators. When content gets reshared or reused, money will exchange hands between platforms and creators. Most platforms will move to commission models, with a share to the platform but the lion's share to the creator.

Looking ahead, what do you predict the next decade of social media and digital branding will look like for businesses and entrepreneurs?
I think we're seeing a huge shift – and we've already seen one over the last 10 years – and it's only going to continue. We're all living and working in glass houses. Everything we do now is broadcastable. Your company culture, everything, is now posted online.

Either you take control of it – by managing your brand narrative, or as a CEO building your personal brand – or even if you don't, it's impossible not to have a brand narrative online, because your staff, your employees, your team, your investors, your customers – they're all posting about your product. Everything we do now is publicly available. Ten years ago, it kind of was, but only in review websites. Now, every business, every brand, every employee has the ability to create a personal brand and a business brand. Social media has turned everything into a glass house experience. I actually think that's really healthy, because it gives more power to the employee, more power to the customer, and more power to the business owner. I think it's a win-win for everyone.