Shimmer – ADHD coaching for adults, now on web

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Shimmer – ADHD coaching for adults, now on web

Hi, I’m Chris, one of the co-founders of Shimmer. Last October, following my ADHD diagnosis, I launched Shimmer ( https://shimmer.care ), one-to-one ADHD Coaching for adults. Our HN launch was here: 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