21 ms·

Show HN: Shimmer – ADHD coaching for adults, now on web

229 points by christalwang 3y ago

Hi, I’m Chris, one of the co-founders of Shimmer. Last October, following my ADHD diagnosis, I launched Shimmer (https://shimmer.care https://shimmer.care), one-to-one ADHD Coaching for adults. Our HN launch was here: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=33468611 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=33468611. A quick recap before I dive into our new launch: Shimmer is an ADHD coaching service for adults. We took apart the traditionally expensive, inaccessible ADHD coaching offering ($300-600+/session) and redesigned it from first principles. You get matched with one of our expert ADHD coaches, meet weekly over video, and get supported throughout the week via text and with learning tools. This solution is special to me personally (and our community) because it doesn’t just give you “knowledge” or offer another “tool”—our coaches help you set realistic goals, take personalized steps towards it, and keep you accountable. Today we’re excited to launch our most-request feature: Web. Over the past 9 months, we learned (and iterated) a lot with our members and coaches. A few key challenges pointed to the need for a web version: (1) ADHD “object permanence” challenges (e.g. out of sight out of mind), we needed to be multi-platform so when you finish a task or goal or encounter a challenge, regardless of if you’re near your laptop or phone, you can check it off & ping your coach right away, (2) members used reflection modules (e.g. after each task, you’re prompted to reflect on what worked and didn’t work, and it informs your coach) more thoroughly than we originally anticipated, and web allows for deeper reflection and typing, (3) overarching coaching goals were often forgotten during the day-to-day, and the web makes it easier to use visual cues to keep goals top of mind for motivation, (4) many of our members struggle with phone addiction and driving members to the mobile app ended them up in Tiktok/IG, whereas the web app offers a focused environment to get in their “coaching zone”. Our new web app was designed alongside over 1,200 members, 22 coaches, countless hours of testing and iterating. We’re excited (but nervous!) to unveil this new version. If you have ADHD (or think you do), we’d love for you to check out our platform and give us critical feedback (or positive reinforcement!). It’s a super streamlined and ADHD-friendly signup process and in honor of our web launch and back to school/work, the first month is 30% off. Our pricing: $115/mo. for Essentials plan (15-min weekly sessions), $230/mo. for Standard plan (30-min weekly sessions), $345/mo. for Immersive plan (45-min weekly sessions); all plans additional 30% off first month, HSA/FSA-eligible. We know these prices are expensive for many people with ADHD and we’re committed to bringing costs down over time. It’s more affordable than what many people are paying for coaches, but the fact that we’re relying on humans, and not going the “we can automate all this with AI” route, puts a floor on how low the costs can drop. That said, here are some actions we’re taking to drive down costs for those who need it: (1) we offer needs-based scholarships and aim to have 5% of members on them at any time, (2) we often run fully sponsored scholarships with our partners—over 40 full ride scholarships and 100 group coaching spots have been disbursed alongside Asian Mental Health Project, government of Canada, and more, and (3) we have aligned our coaching model alongside Health & Wellness Coaching, which is expected to be reimbursed in 2024. If you have ideas or expertise here, please reach out to me directly at chris@shimmer.care. On behalf of our small but mighty & passionate Shimmer team, I’m excited for the Hacker News community to share your thoughts, feedback, and ideas. If you feel comfortable, I’d also love to hear your personal ADHD story and what has worked / hasn’t worked for you. Co-founders Christal & Vikram

stephpeng 3y ago
I’ve been diagnosed since I was a kid and I will say this is interesting. I’m glad it’s not just another AI tool claiming it can “solve ADHD” (especially the chat bots I see popping up, which I’ve tried and they aren’t good). I’ve never considered coaching seriously in the past… but can you share more about what sort of folks coaching works for and what sorts it doesn’t? And what sort of outcomes or stories you’ve seen?
- christalwang 3y ago
  Coaching works best for those who are ready for forward movement: unlike most types of therapy, coaching is goal-oriented / solution-oriented and requires the member to be in a good enough space to want to look into the future & put in the work. Often members use therapy / medication in tandem with coaching. Coaching works least effectively for those with severe comorbidities like depression/anxiety/bi-polar that are not concurrently being treated or at least do not significantly impair their day-to-day functions. We have really extensive testimonials on our homepage (you can load more as well) but a few of my favorites are: (1) a 45-50 y/o man who got promoted after thinkng he would not ever get promoted again—now he is director level and manages dozens of reports and has a renewed sense of confidence in himself; (2) and 24-34 grad student who was able to find her dream job post-MBA after burning herself out at almost every other job she's had before and never feeling like she "fit"; her Shimmer coach helped her look at jobs that fit her unique ADHD, find ways to approach the job hunting process in a way that fit her brain, and then eventually secure that job.
  - esharte 3y ago
    "Coaching works best for those who are ready for forward movement" Meaning "if our product doesn't work, it's really your fault"
    - deciduously 3y ago
      Come on, that's unfair. It's one thing to be sceptical about this particular product, but the assertion that outside of a clinical, targetted environment, people need to want to receive the help they're getting to benefit is not controversial. If you obstinately refuse to read any courseware or attend any lectures, do you turn around and blame the school when you fail to learn anything from a class?

229 points by christalwang 3y ago

stephpeng 3y ago

I’ve been diagnosed since I was a kid and I will say this is interesting. I’m glad it’s not just another AI tool claiming it can “solve ADHD” (especially the chat bots I see popping up, which I’ve tried and they aren’t good). I’ve never considered coaching seriously in the past… but can you share more about what sort of folks coaching works for and what sorts it doesn’t? And what sort of outcomes or stories you’ve seen?

christalwang 3y ago
Coaching works best for those who are ready for forward movement: unlike most types of therapy, coaching is goal-oriented / solution-oriented and requires the member to be in a good enough space to want to look into the future & put in the work. Often members use therapy / medication in tandem with coaching. Coaching works least effectively for those with severe comorbidities like depression/anxiety/bi-polar that are not concurrently being treated or at least do not significantly impair their day-to-day functions. We have really extensive testimonials on our homepage (you can load more as well) but a few of my favorites are: (1) a 45-50 y/o man who got promoted after thinkng he would not ever get promoted again—now he is director level and manages dozens of reports and has a renewed sense of confidence in himself; (2) and 24-34 grad student who was able to find her dream job post-MBA after burning herself out at almost every other job she's had before and never feeling like she "fit"; her Shimmer coach helped her look at jobs that fit her unique ADHD, find ways to approach the job hunting process in a way that fit her brain, and then eventually secure that job.
- esharte 3y ago
  "Coaching works best for those who are ready for forward movement" Meaning "if our product doesn't work, it's really your fault"
  - deciduously 3y ago
    Come on, that's unfair. It's one thing to be sceptical about this particular product, but the assertion that outside of a clinical, targetted environment, people need to want to receive the help they're getting to benefit is not controversial. If you obstinately refuse to read any courseware or attend any lectures, do you turn around and blame the school when you fail to learn anything from a class?