Life Conversations with a Twist
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Life Conversations with a Twist
Rethinking Talent: The Competitive Advantage of Neurodiversity in the Modern Workspace with Claudia Scott
“It is so important to have the right education in the workplaces that will teach people that neurodiversity has shifted from being something that we see as a negative to how can the perspective of a neurodiverse worker help my company or benefit my team.” —Claudia Scott
The future of work demands a radical reimagining of talent, where differences are not just accepted but celebrated as strategic advantages. By embracing different cognitive styles, organizations can tap into a wellspring of creativity, innovation, and problem-solving that traditional hiring practices overlook.
Claudia Scott is a passionate advocate for neurodiversity and entrepreneurship, currently directing the micro loan crowdfunding platform at Startup Junkie. With a background rooted in international scholarship and personal experience with Tourette Syndrome, she brings a unique perspective to supporting diverse entrepreneurial journeys.
Listen as Heather and Claudia explore the dynamic landscape of neurodiversity, entrepreneurship, personal empowerment, workplace adaptation, and the groundbreaking approaches that challenge traditional professional paradigms.
Connect with Heather:
Episode Highlights:
02:25 Understanding Tourette Syndrome
05:50 Meet Claudia: The Journey with Tourette
12:59 Dealing with Stigma and Public Perception
16:36 Startup Junkie and Entrepreneurial Support
20:03 Challenges and Opportunities for Entrepreneurs
23:34 Advise for Aspiring Entrepreneurs
28:06 The Importance of Creating Spaces for Support
Connect with Claudia:
Claudia P. Scott joined the Startup Junkie team in February 2023 as the NWA Kiva Hub capital access manager (CAM) to assist entrepreneurs with the Kiva microloan program process. She is fluent in Spanish and English, and she brings her expertise in helping entrepreneurs and small business owners in the region. Scott most recently served as director of member engagement at the Greater Bentonville Area Chamber of Commerce. Prior to that, she served as a programs assistant for the Downtown Springdale Alliance and as a migrant recruiter and advocate for the Northwest Arkansas Education Service Cooperative. Scott holds a B.S. in Business Administration and Strategic Communication from the University of the Ozarks and an M.Ed. in Human Resources and Workforce Development from the University of Arkansas and is currently earning her doctorate in the same field of study as her master’s degree.
Heather Nelson: Good morning everyone. Welcome to this week's Life Conversations With a Twist. I have Claudia Scott on. We actually just met. This is what I love about podcasting, is that you get connected to so many amazing women all over the world. And you are in Arkansas, where we are just catching up on the weather. But I'm really excited to have this conversation with you today. So welcome. You're a podcaster too, and we'll get to that as well. I want to hear about what your podcast is about, but tell our listeners a little bit about who you are? What do you do? And then we'll just dive in.
Claudia Scott: Yes, absolutely. Thank you so much. I'm so excited that we're doing this, and we're catching up. And I think these spaces are so valuable and so important, especially now. So I'm very, very thankful that you invited me. Just a little bit about myself, yes, we were just catching up. We haven't met before. I live in Northwest Arkansas, so a lot of people don't know where that is. It is about three hours from Little Rock, which is what most people know. And like I was telling Heather, it is Walmart country. So this is where Walmart was founded. So we have lots of Walmart. I moved to Arkansas from Costa Rica in 2013, thanks to a scholarship created by the Walton International Scholarship Program. So they have this program in Central America where they bring high school students every year to study in Arkansas and learn. So I was very lucky to do that. That's how I ended up in Arkansas. A lot of people tell me, from Costa Rica, you chose Arkansas. I was like, I didn't know as much as to choose it. It was Arkansas or nothing. So I've been here for 12 years. I met my husband in college, and we've been here ever since. He is from north of Arkansas, and we just love it here. I get to visit my family, all my parents, siblings and everyone is still in Costa Rica. So we have the privilege and the advantage to travel back and forth. But I've been here in Northwest Arkansas, particularly, for about six years. Over half of that working in the nonprofit world, and a personal passion like I mentioned earlier. I do have Tourette Syndrome, so I'm very passionate about bringing education awareness for neurodiversity in the workforce.
Heather Nelson: I love that. And do you want to talk a little bit about Tourette's ? It's so funny because we'll reference things that we talked about before. But I feel like anybody who's struggling with any kind of disability, I think things are now coming to the forefront. And now with social media, Netflix and documentaries, I feel like there's a lot more exposure around it. Do you want to talk a little bit about what Tourette's is, for anybody who doesn't really know. Obviously, I know what it is, but I don't know a lot about it.
Claudia Scott: I would love to. So Tourette's is a neurological disorder that causes motor and vocal tics, involuntary tics. So they can range from eye blinking, which is a very common one. No scrunching, to more sounds, coughs, bark, seals. There is a very big popular reality show right now. I personally haven't watched it. I've heard about it, but I have not watched it yet. Tourette is kind of weird. If you do see someone have certain tics very publicly and loudly, you can eventually kind of start doing the same thing and mimicking. So I try not to watch that. I was diagnosed, I think officially when I was 12. I started symptoms when I was seven or eight. I think it was the regular eye and nose, and then eventually some vocal tics. One of the big things that Tourette's is known for is having a lot of comorbidities. So Tourette's is usually accompanied by another variety of things, most common is anxiety, OCD, ADHD. A lot of people with autism, dyslexia, and learning disabilities.
Personally, I have Tourettes, I have OCD and anxiety that have been diagnosed. I'm pretty sure I'm ADHD undiagnosed. You mentioned that shift I grew up in. I was born in 1994 in Costa Rica. So when I started having symptoms in the early 2000s, there was really not any information. I think my mom, someone told us, have you prayed for her? She may have a demon. She's like, I don't think it's that. So there was a lot. She did the best she could. There was definitely a late diagnosis, which is still crazy. According to the Tourette's Association of America, half of the people in the US who have Tourette's are still undiagnosed, which seems like a crazy number because it's a disability. That can be in your face. It's very palpable if you have tics, or movements, or noises. And to know that still half of the people who have it are undiagnosed. It sounds crazy. And I think that's why the awareness piece is so important, especially in a world that is evolving. The workforce is evolving in neurodiverse. Workers can bring such a particular perspective to all fields and industry, so I think it is so important to have the right education in the workplaces that will teach people neurodiversity has kind of shifted from being something that we see as a negative, to how can the perspective of a neurodiverse worker help my company or benefit my team. So I think that's something that I'm very, very passionate about.
Heather Nelson: I'm assuming this will relate to the foundation that you're a part of, so we'll get to that. But I do have a couple questions. Is Tourette's a hereditary thing? How does one get that?
Claudia Scott: They don't know the cause yet. They do know that it's some sort of chemical imbalance in the brain. They have theories. Some people are, I think, genetic, hereditary. In my case, personally, neither of my parents have any tic disorders. I have a cousin who does have one or two tics throughout his life. But usually, you need about two motor tics and one vocal tic for two, three years in order to be diagnosed. So I am the only person in my family that's ever been diagnosed. So family history was really not the one for me. I was born premature. My mom had pre clamps. I was born at six and a half months, so that is usually what the doctors have seen, a relation between premature babies or issues at birth connected to that development of Tourette Syndrome. It's not like a straightforward answer. That's what they think, in my case, is what would have caused it. But they don't really know. There's not a link. And as much as there's no answer for WHY, there is not a cure for it either. We do have medication that can help. There is no medication specific for Tourette Syndrome. So usually, I've taken a medication that was for seizures, or I've taken medication that's for migraines, or epilepsy, or whatever else, but they've have found that helps with Tourette's. So there is nothing particularly for us. So it is kind of trial and error transit medicine. If it makes you so much worse, you'll have to leave it. It could make you a lot better, but there's all the side effects that kind of come with it. That part can be a little frustrating, especially navigating that when you've had an early diagnosis and there is a new therapy, comprehensive behavioral intervention for ticks, so it's the only like non medication kind of treatment for Tourette's.
And I've heard some really great things about the treatment. I've tried a couple sessions myself, but it was kind of in a change where I was really busy at work and I didn't finish. But I've heard amazing things. So for people that don't like to take medication, or they've had some really kind of negative experiences with that, I think CB-80 is a great option. Personally, I'm not taking medication. I've tried to focus on being more holistic, and I never thought I'd be that girl, but yoga, reading a lot, finding, listening to my body are more natural approaches. And I hate myself when I say it, because I've never been, but it really is so much better. But I have taken medication most of my life, and I don't have a problem with it. I'm almost sure that at one point, I'll probably have to take it again. Tourette's really ebbs and flows a lot. So there can be years when it's barely noticeable. People kind of treat it like a stoplight. So there's years where it can be a green or yellow light, and then periods where it can be a full stop line. So right now, I don't take medications, but I have most of my life. And some have been great. Some have made it much worse. One gave me kidney stones, so there was so much to go with it.
Heather Nelson: I love the holistic approach, because I just have been hearing that just in general, like everybody just takes drugs. Just take medicine, just take medicine. But there's so many things that we can do on a normal day. Normal day life for anything. I'm glad that you're taking that approach. I'm curious to see how that transpires for you. I guess my question would be, because you said a lot of it has to do, you have anxiety and OCD. So do you notice that there's certain situations or certain time periods that are worse for you?
Claudia Scott: I use the stoplight method a lot. I learned that I was helping with some sort of research study. I usually do those because at the end of it, they'll give you like a $500 Target gift card. I can use my Tourette's and go shopping at Target, absolutely. But one of the research is, use this model. I've loved it because it makes it so much easier to explain. So I would say, it really does depend on the day. I would say, definitely, stress can make tics and their symptoms a little worse. Happiness, really exciting things, one of the big things for me is overstimulation. So usually, I love live music. We love traveling, we love concerts, festivals and sporting games. And usually, I'm already kind of like prep myself. If I go to a concert, my tics are probably going to be really bad for the next day or two. So it's not like a negative thing particularly, but there are just random instances that make the tics worse or better. And I would say that just for me particularly. And I know it is a journey, and everyone's journey is so much different. But mine really helped once I accepted it. Okay, I'm not going to stop going to concerts. I am not going to stop traveling, but I also can get rid of my Tourette. So what do I need to do to make sure I enjoy both as much as I can? I think that's why the acceptance piece is so important, because when we fight something so much, it only makes it worse. So just letting that flow and acceptance may have made such a difference for me. I realized, okay, if I buy some of these little earplugs and put them on when I'm at a football game or when I'm at a concert, my tics are actually not that bad the next couple of days. Or just kind of being like, you know what? If they're going to be bad, they're going to be bad. There's nothing I can do. So that acceptance. It sounds like it shouldn't change as much as it does, but I've seen even just a decrease in symptoms because I've changed my mindset and perception of things a lot.
Heather Nelson: That's so interesting. Unfortunately, people in our society are not really accepting of people who are different, whether that's a disability of any sort. What advice would you give to somebody who is interacting with someone with Tourette's of making you feel more comfortable and more accepting being in that space?
Claudia Scott: I love that question. I always tell people, if I didn't have Tourettes, I probably would also stare. If I heard someone barking like a dog, or quacking like a duck, or moving their faces, I understand that. We're nosy humans. We're curious creatures. If we see something odd, we're going to look and be like, oh, my god, what is that? I try not to take that personally. I traveled last year. The year before, we were in the Pacific Northwest, and my tics were not right. We're visiting museums, and probably close to 50 people made a comment. And that time span of two or three hours is like, are you okay? Are you joking? God bless you. Did you just, you know? And it got to a point where I looked at my husband and said, I'm done. Take me home, which I rarely do. It takes me a while. Once you've lived with something your whole life, I was like, I can't do this anymore. If one more person looks at me weird, if one more person asks, I probably either cry or I will snap. And I've been trying to be so nice. So he's like, no, you're totally right. We'll finish up, and we'll go and ride.
As we were leaving, there was this family kind of like, I saw them behind me. I was like, I am not going to be very nice. And so the mom comes and she's like, hey, I'm so sorry we were following you. But my daughter has Tourette's, and she was also having a bad day. And we heard a lot of people ask you, and we heard your answers, and she just wanted to get to know you. And I was like, oh, my god. So usually, the thing for me that I've found out is when I'm on my breaking point, I get a reminder of why I do what I do. I'm almost at my breaking point, and something happens that reminds me why it's so important for me to be out there and answer the questions, and to not to be out loud and proud about it. So that's one of my favorites. Just because it's so meaningful to me, but also to other people that may be experiencing the same thing. It can be so emotionally taxing. But if we are helping that one person, usually, I get to see that reward. I would say, one of the things people with Tourette's and in other conditions, we want people to be aware of. We want to create that awareness. We push back when somebody wants to just ask us questions, and we can't have that both ways. If we want awareness, we should probably also know that there will be people that don't know. There are ignorant people, and that's not really a bad thing. It's a bad thing, but it's not their fault. There will be people that just don't know. They're not ill intended. I have found out that. Although there are mean spirited people, most of the people I encounter are not ill intended. They're not mean. And the ones that do get so overshadowed, but the supportive ones that I try not to think about them much.
So I would say for both people that have Tourettes and people that are curious, I think building these spaces of having open, raw, vulnerable conversations are so important. They're important for me because I get to tell a bit about my story. If I can teach one person what Tourette's is that I didn't know, that's worth it. It's worth the looks, it's worth the stares, it's worth the whispers. Because eventually, hopefully this will be normal. I always say this on my social media myself, I'm always willing to have these conversations. I have friends. I call them friends, but they are people that have contacted me from Asia and other parts of the United States. And I had someone message me two days ago from Italy and said, this is something I have. It's new, and I've never told anyone. I don't know what to do. So I think that is so important, because it really validates all the work and the awareness that I do.
Heather Nelson: I just have to say that you're super inspiring, because I think a lot of times people take something that they're going through as a bad thing. And I love that you've turned this into this inspiring thing to educate others, and to inspire, and to accept who you are. And so I appreciate that, and I see you.
Claudia Scott: Thank you. No, I appreciate that. I always tell people, I try to be as positive as I can. But I would be remiss if not to say, there have been some really dark times, some really dark days, some really mean people. At the end of the day, I would say the positive out ways, the negative. It's hard to see that sometimes in society, we're so pumped full of negativity. My husband and I say that it may not be the healthiest way to deal with stuff. But if something really bad happens, we're like, okay, that happens. Let's just move on and not talk about it until two months from now. So I appreciate that. There have been some dark times. But at the end of day, it's sunny outside. It's beautiful, and we need to enjoy it.
Heather Nelson: And you're alive.
Claudia Scott: It's a short life.
Heather Nelson: Let's talk about the work that you're doing. Did you start this, the Startup Junkie?
Claudia Scott: No. So Startup Junkie, our founder is Jeff Amerine. He started, I think it was like mid, early 2000s. Probably 2007, 2008 that they started a consultant firm in Northwest Arkansas, and that has developed into what is now Startup Junkie Foundation. We do have a for profit side that is still run by our founder, and then the foundation, which is non profit. We kind of tackle, again, this holistic approach to all the things that I feel like it's so important. We're trying to democratize access to resources and capital to all entrepreneurs, and we do that in a variety of ways. So events and programming are a big one. We do networking events. We do pitch competitions when people can come and pitch their business. We have monetary prices. We have information sessions, lunch and learn about topics that our small business are kind of in need of. We have a couple of accelerator programs, a micro loan crowdfunding platform, which is the one I direct. And then we do one of the things we're most known for, our one on one consultant. And we have just different programs with organizations across the state. So at its core, we want to make sure that all the entrepreneurs in our area and beyond are able to access resources regardless of who they are, which is a beautiful mission. It's great work to see. Sometimes, we see someone who was baking in their house, and now they have two, three restaurants in the time span of three years. So it's a very gratifying job.
Heather Nelson: Do you guys only service the Arkansas area?
Claudia Scott: Yes and no. A lot of our contracts are focused on the Northeast Arkansas area primarily. And we do have programs with the state of Arkansas that focus on nation beyond statewide entrepreneurs, but we do some work outside of the state too. I've had a couple of workshops where we do them online. And then we've had people from Finland and Canada, and the UK and be like, I just wanted to learn, is that okay? I'm like, yes, you're definitely welcome. We may not be able to give you a grant or give you a loan. That's particularly for our area. But usually, we can take clients regardless of where they are. We do have a strong partnership with South Korea. So we have an accelerator. We bring 20, 30 businesses from South Korea for 12 weeks in Arkansas. One of the things that people don't know, especially here in Arkansas, is that this area, north of Arkansas mainly, because we have the Walmart founders here, and we have another couple of big companies. J.B. Hunt is one, which they do logistics and transportation. And Tyson, which is all chicken and poultry. So these are three huge worldwide companies, all born in Northwest Arkansas. So we have this now world class kind of incubator of entrepreneurship in Arkansas, which people would never expect. We get companies from all over the world for our fuel accelerator. We are now helping with a cycling focus accelerator. And we have companies from New Zealand, the UK and just all over the place. There is just a plethora of not only resources, but resources in education and connections, but like financial resources for entrepreneurs. So we see more and more people moving from Italy, New Zealand to Arkansas. When people hear that transition, they're like, no, you're wrong. But it is happening more and more. We are very lucky to have a lot of resources here for entrepreneurs.
Heather Nelson: That's so cool. I am one. I have two businesses, actually. And my favorite thing is like, and I say this all the time, especially here in Sonoma County, we do a lot of events. We're really known for hospitality, and so people are just finding these little niches in the market. And starting these cute little businesses and then seeing them flourish is so cool. I guess my question for you is, do you guys see more small businesses that are staying small, but making a bigger impact? Or are you seeing these ones that are startups that are turning into a future Walmart?
Claudia Scott: That is a cool thing. I think of the work we do at Startup Junkie, so we do all of it. I think our Cap maybe is like 10, maybe 20 million in revenue. And then we can still serve them from the consulting side, which is kind of like that for profit arm. So once they get way too big for us, we definitely don't just abandon them. But they would need different consultants, different services, different information. We have the regular bakery or jewelry, technology or stuff that is a very AI and machine learning focus for our fuel accelerator. We have two cohorts. One is focused only on artificial intelligence and machine learning. And the other one is health tech focus. So definitely those companies, I would say, are definitely much, much bigger in scale. The ones I work with, usually it's kind of that small Mom and Pop, or the food truck.
We have a lot of farmers, but we do occasionally get somebody that has a nap, and they just need a little bit of cash, a little bit of influx to be able to get them to a finish line. Yesterday, particularly, I spoke to a high school group here in Northwest, Bentonville, and most of them already had business licenses. They were barely 18. Some of them were doing a technology that was just so innovative and cool. You could sell this for millions of dollars. And then we had someone who is joining that. I think he is wanting to work with Kiva for capital. Already has a business, as he had established for a while. And he is developing this technology for pickleball paddles. Coaching for pickleball is really expensive, but it is the fastest growing sport. So it's a paddle that has a sensor. I'm not very athletic, but if you need to go more to the right or to left, or you're curving or not, that data goes straight to your phone. I asked him, I said, is it like an aura ring, but for pickleball paddles? And he said, yes. And you're 18? We had a pitch competition last night when he came, and he pitched, and he won. So it is just so cool to see that innovation regardless of age, regardless of socioeconomic status, gender, race. It really is cool to see that there is no age for entrepreneurship. One of the things we're really, really focusing on is lowering those barriers of entry as much as we can.
Heather Nelson: What a fun job. I'm sure you've seen so many really cool businesses come through.
Claudia Scott: I know. I love it. It is great. I would say it is the best job I've ever had. And not only the work that we do. One of the things which I kind of mentioned to you is I try to be in the banking world. Right after college, I'm going to be rich. It's going to be great. Hated it, hated it, hated it. I hated it so strongly. I remember telling my husband, I want a job where I can almost touch that impact that I'm making. I want to make sure that what we do in life is part of that legacy that we're always going to leave behind. It is more than just like acids. It's kind of like the journey we walk. And I was like, I want something that when I'm 20, 30 years down the line, I can be proud of the work I did. I don't want to feel like it's just a hamster doing random tasks for someone I never know. So I think that job really does fulfill that goal and checklist.
Heather Nelson: I love that. Okay, so you see so many entrepreneurs. I love when someone's like, I have this idea and I'll do it. And then I see so many people who had this idea, but they're stuck in a career, but they don't want to leave because of the unknown. What advice would you give to somebody who's in that space right now?
Claudia Scott: I tell people this all the time, lean on your community as much as you can. I think entrepreneurship can be such an isolating career and a journey. It's a great journey, but it can be isolating just because it's one person, and you're kind of expected to do the jobs of 50 people. You wear the hats of marketing manager, CEO, HR, IT. You do all the things. And we shouldn't be good at all things. We're not good at all of the things that put so much pressure. Just the ability to go into a networking group or somewhere that you can join and speak to people that are going through the same thing as you, even if they're not giving you any help, or financial help, or educational help, being with someone that you can share what you're going through, I think, can be so impactful for people that's starting in their entrepreneurship journey. That's number one.
Number two, find resources in the community, entrepreneurial support organizations that will help you with that education portion, with a consulting portion, the mentorship portion. And not a lot of studios will take part of the equity of the company, a percentage, or like, oh, we'll give you this capital. If you find companies that don't do that, find companies that will. Especially at the beginning, support your journey without taking away from you. If we are here in Northwest Arkansas, I guarantee there are wherever you're starting your business. I would say number three, don't be afraid to shoot your shot. I would say a lot of people on LinkedIn that you see that are like, oh, my god, I would love to sit down with this person or just ask for advice. Do it. Most people are good. And that's kind of the same thing I said with my chariots. The same thing I feel about that entrepreneurial journey. Most people are willing to help. We're just kind of in this virtual, disconnected world where it feels weird to send you a LinkedIn message. But if we were in person, I would ask the same thing. So do it. You would be surprised how many people are willing to help. And the last one, which I always try to finish my podcast with, give yourself so much more grace than you probably do. I think in this super fast paced, automated world where we need everything now, and it needs to be perfect. And not only are we forgetting to give grace to others, but we do forget to give grace to ourselves so much. And entrepreneurship is definitely a profession where you're going to need to give yourself a lot more grace than you probably do. So I would say those four or five pieces are my advice.
Heather Nelson: I love that so much. I just recorded a solo podcast last week, because everybody wanted to know about my journey, and I was super raw and honest. And then I was just on a podcast earlier this week talking about networking and how you need to use your resources to reach out, because people are willing to help. If someone emailed me and was like, hey, how did you start your business? Of course, I'm going to help them.
Claudia Scott: Somebody may see your profile and be like, oh, she's not going to text me back. She's not even going to read my message. But if they don't reply, that's fine. But they probably will.
Heather Nelson: We all want to help and support each other. I love everything you're doing. I'm so glad that we got connected. Thank you for being inspiring, not only with how you handle Tourette's in the world, but also what you're doing to support entrepreneurs. I wish you were in California, but we do have amazing resources just like that here. So thank you for all the work that you're doing.
Claudia Scott: Thank you so much. And thank you for inviting me. I appreciate you holding this space. I think it's not only important, but so needed right now, just the spaces where we can kind of support each other. There's a lot of positivity, so I appreciate what you're doing. I see you, so thank you for doing that.
Heather Nelson: Thank you so much.