Laid Off

Welp.

I’ve been laid off from my job.

For the past year I’ve been working at a startup, and yesterday I was informed that I’m one of several employees they are letting go to try to preserve some of their remaining runway.

I’m still feeling pretty numb.

And now I have to try to figure out what’s next. I haven’t really looked for a job in over a decade, so I don’t really have a resume or portfolio ready to go—I’ve been too busy just working! Time for that hyperfocus to kick into high-gear, I suppose! 😅

So, obviously my mind has been quite preoccupied with this life curve ball. Instead of sharing some of my usual thoughts on ADHD, I’m writing this email as a small ask of the Extra Focus community.

I totally understand that many of you aren’t in a place where you can do anything about any of this, and that’s totally fine! I just want to put this out there in case some of you are in the position to help and can make a difference for me right now.

Thanks so much for your understanding.

How you can help

If you want to help, there are a few things you can do:

Support Extra Focus

Honestly, I hate to ask - but I’m not really sure where my income is going to be coming from for the near future, so it would be amazing for anyone that can do so (without financial hardship) to become a paid subscriber. It quite literally will help me pay the bills and put food on the table for me and my family. ❤️

Hire me (or help me find my next role) as a designer

Outside of that, if you are hiring (or know someone that is), I am looking for a frontend developer / designer role. I’ve been doing design/frontend work for 25+ years—basically since the internet existed! On the design side, I mostly use Figma and the Adobe Suite, and for frontend dev I’ve worked primarily with React/Typescript/JS and HTML/CSS, as well as some Elixir/Phoenix.

Over the years, I’ve also given several talks at various tech conferences.

I’m primarily interested in a remote role for a smaller company where I can make a direct impact on product (and not be a faceless engineer in a virtual cubicle).

I’m also available for freelance frontend development, design, or consulting work.

Best form of contact: jesse@adhdjesse.com

Hire me as a speaker

I’m also accepting speaking engagements for organizations that are looking to build more inclusive, neurodiverse-affirming workplaces. Whether you need insights on building inclusive environments or creating motivation systems that actually work, I bring real-world experience and practical strategies to every presentation.

If you’re planning a company event, conference, or workshop and want to bring fresh perspectives to your team—let’s chat!

Best form of contact: jesse@adhdjesse.com

Share Extra Focus

And finally, a free way to support me right now is to just spread the word about my book, Extra Focus: The Quick Start Guide to Adult ADHD. Share it with someone who just found out they have ADHD, someone that wants to better understand the ADHD person in their life, or anyone you think would benefit from it. If you have some creative way to spread the word even more (or want to talk about it on tiktok, instagram, etc)—that would be amazing too!

You can also leave a review which helps more people discover and purchase the book.

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Thanks so much. This community has always been amazing and I so appreciate all the support.

Stay curious,
Jesse J. Anderson

P.S. With this new life change, I’ll have more time to work on Wavepal as well, so make sure to get on the waitlist!