MindyCore

Slowing down to listen. For a long time I thought I had to keep doing more. Build more. Launch faster. Then I stopped, and I started to listen to our community instead. That is what shaped our games, our website, and NeuroMindy. Still learning. And that is the point. Have you ever slowed down to really hear what mattered?

New Coffee Chat is out! I sat down with Chris Bonnello: autistic activist, creator of Autistic Not Weird, and author of the Underdogs saga. We talk about writing non-stereotyped autistic characters, teaching while autistic, and why a diagnosis should not gate support at school. Watch: youtube.com/watch?v=wEUf9QFa…

Why I started with an assistant. Neurotypical people have AI made for them. Neurodivergent people are often left with second hand tools. We are trying to change that with NeuroMindy. How do you feel about AI? If it has ever felt like it was not built for you, tell me below. 🖼️ Description of the image: Ornella, founder of MindyCore, waving on a cream background. Smoke black text reads “Why I started with an assistant”. Below it, a subtitle reads “The founder story behind NeuroMindy”

Pitching to investors who had never heard of neurodivergence. Not the product. The word itself. They mixed it up with mental health. Asked about diagnosis. Some even assumed our users could not afford to pay for their own tools. That was my alarm. The word is everywhere now. People use it. They just do not use it well. Full story in the video. 🖼️Image description: Ornella, founder of MindyCore, sitting at her desk with headphones and a microphone, one hand near her head, smiling softly. Cream background. Sage green text reads “Investors who never heard of neurodivergence”, with a subtitle below that reads “What that room taught me about why this matters” 💚 #Neurodiversity #Neurodivergent #StartupLife #FounderStory #MindyCore

We don’t believe in fixed schedules. Fixed office hours are an old way of working. We treat each other as adults. We pay for the work you finish, not for the hours you sit at a desk. One thing at a time. Finish early, and the extra time is yours. Work to live, not live to work. Would you work this way? 🖼️ Image description (ALT, al subir la foto): Sage green banner. On the left, cream text reads “We don’t believe in fixed schedules. Milestones over hours.” On the right, Ornella, founder of MindyCore, holds up a wristwatch with a calm expression.

How we hire at MindyCore. Short process, rarely more than two weeks. Culture conversation first. We welcome juniors and hire for mindset, not years on a CV. We are forever learners, and honest about pay from day one. 🎥 Video description (ALT): Ornella, founder of MindyCore, speaks to the camera on a cream background, explaining how the company hires. Burned-in subtitles throughout.

I am still involved in the code, even though I could just direct from above. And here is why. What makes a product special is not the code itself. It is the essence you put into it. The ideas. The care in the details. NeuroMindy could easily be just another mainstream assistant, if we did not look after the way it speaks, how information is handled, the things we adjust with testers. That is what makes it different. My team does wonderful work and understands the mission. But I am the one who carries the values through, so I have to be there to pass them on. This is not micromanagement. It is support. They build, I guide, and they often bring brilliant ideas. I do not just want to direct. I want to be there, side by side with my team. Your mind works differently. Your technology should too. 🎥 Video description: Ornella, the founder of MindyCore, speaks to camera about why she stays involved in the code: the essence and care that make a product different, and being present alongside her team. Burned-in subtitles throughout.

@MindyCoreOU is celebrating its first year. With a few lessons, and a lot of energy to keep going! 1) Real leadership is not what the book says. Firm without being a tyrant. One rulebook for everyone is a cage. 2) Listen to the community, with humility. What I miss, they catch. What they miss, we catch. 3) Not everything goes to plan. Deadlines slip, fires happen. But you can stay organised. 4) Protect the culture. Sometimes more than a shiny CV. 5) We do not wait for permission. We work lean. I turned down two offers that did not fit our mission. 6) And the biggest: the community did not just support us, they taught us. They led us to our pivot. We listened. Here's to many more. Thank you for being part of this. #Neurodivergence #Founder #BuildInPublic #MindyFam 📸 Image description: A cream image celebrating MindyCore's first year, with neutral-toned balloons, and title and subtitle text in ink reading "MindyCore is celebrating its first year. A few lessons, and a lot of energy to keep going."

What it really feels like to launch a game. Not the polished version, the real one. Nerves and pressure. Working weekends. Debugging at the last minute. Uploading a build, waiting for approval on iOS and Android, and then needing a new build because a tester found something important. The bureaucracy: iOS and Android are two completely different animals. Through it all, you balance getting things done with not burning out the team. I am against crunch. So when my team was tired, I gave them days off and stayed in charge of the release myself. And the beautiful part: seeing people enjoy something you made. Many give feedback without asking for money. We are all doing this for something bigger than us. Tiredness, emotion, no real relief. But you find a moment of calm in the middle of it. Thank you to everyone who has been part of this. The first two MindyPlay games are becoming real. Your mind works differently. Your technology should too. 📹 Video description: Ornella, the founder of MindyCore, speaks to camera about what it really feels like to launch a game: the process, the pressure, caring for the team, and the emotional side. Burned-in subtitles throughout. The cover is a photo of Ornella holding a cup of coffee, on a sage green background, with the text "What it feels like to launch a game."

I was a waitress, a content moderator, and a trainee teacher. Then I founded a tech company. My road to MindyCore was not a straight line. And that is what made me better at it.Teaching training: one person represents a group, and you represent your product and values. It also showed me the gap around neurodivergence, diagnoses that never happen from stigma or lack of information. Waiting tables: the psychology of people, resilience under pressure, how to read and empathise.Moderating content: the dangers of the internet, the harmful side of tech, and how few protections there are for children. All of it led to MindyCore. Nothing was wasted. Your mind works differently. Your technology should too. Image description: A cream image with sage borders and a photo of Ornella, the founder, walking away from the camera, with text reading "I was a waitress, a content moderator, and a trainee teacher. Then I founded a tech company", and the tagline "Your mind works differently. Your technology should too."

The loneliness of founding. Alone, but not that alone. Founding a company comes with a particular kind of loneliness. The responsibility. The time it takes. Knowing the ship depends on you. And the strange part: you are alone, but not. I have teams, people who depend on me, people who believe in the mission. And I represent all of it. The loneliness comes from not having a co-founder, from making the hard decisions alone, from carrying the weight. But I chose this. What helps me is one thought: what we do at MindyCore gives that part of the population the chance to access technology comfortably, the way it always should have been. Then it is all worth it. MindyCore is not just a company. It is a social mission. So yes, I am alone. But the community and my teams give me strength. I am alone. But not that alone.

Happy start of the week! I cannot believe that we are at the end of September already lol Time goes too fast, right? Love you all.

What nobody tells you about starting a company. The honest version. Some of you tell me you want to start your own company. I always say: that is great, do it. But keep this in mind first. Not to scare you, but to help you start with awareness. Nobody told me how much energy, every week, it takes. That your own business does not mean more freedom. The responsibility is huge. As a solo founder doing it well, you are product manager, project manager, and scrum master at once. You do the networking, marketing, community, engineering, support, and leadership. Nobody told me the cute "CEO" title carries real weight. That not everything is success. That impact needs metrics, and a good idea can die without a roadmap and consistency. But I do not regret anything. The work is hard, but the commitment is bigger. Your mind works differently. Your technology should too. #Neurodivergence #Founder #BuildInPublic #MindyFam Video description: Ornella, the founder of MindyCore, speaks to camera about the honest realities of starting a company. Burned-in subtitles throughout. The cover is a photo of Ornella on a cream background, with text reading "What nobody tells you about starting a company. The honest version."

You don't need a garage and a big cheque to start a company. MindyCore is bootstrapped. No big funding round, no investors deciding our pace. A deliberate choice. I follow the lean startup approach, from Eric Ries' book. The idea is simple: start small, test with real people, and grow step by step, instead of needing a fortune up front. You do not need a garage like in the movies to build something real. With milestones and smart working, it can be done. And yes, I talk to investors, I pitch, I learn. You have to stay sharp for a good opportunity. But whether one appears or not does not decide if we move forward. We keep building, either way. Realistic, by choice. Independent, by design. Your mind works differently. Your technology should too. #Neurodivergence #Founder #Bootstrapping #MindyFam Image description: A sage green image with cream text reading "You don't need a garage and a big cheque to start a company", and the tagline "Your mind works differently. Your technology should too."

The "super boss" is a myth. And chasing it is harmful. The leader who does everything alone, without ever getting tired, is not real. A few days ago I was supervising MindyPlay, going far too fast. So I was honest with my team. I told them I was overwhelmed and asked for help to finish the day. And they did. We got it done, together. Some days I am overwhelmed, and I say so. That is not weakness. That is leadership. A leader who pretends to be invincible burns out, and drags the team down too. We build technology that respects people's limits. It would make no sense if I did not respect my own. I am not a super boss. I am a person, leading with honesty. Your mind works differently. Your technology should too. 👁️ Video description: Ornella, founder of MindyCore, speaks to camera about why the all-powerful boss is a myth, and why she tells her team when she is overwhelmed. Subtitles throughout.

Everyone says move fast. I chose to go slow. Here is why. My team is small, and going too fast would only lead to burnout. I would rather protect their energy. I choose to work with juniors, to give them a real opening into the field. I teach them and work side by side. We build and test with the community, every iteration. And much of what we do, we build from scratch. That is slower by nature. Many startups push a fast MVP. But when it comes to accessibility, even an MVP has to deliver quality. It is not about doing things fast. It is about doing them well. Slow is a choice, not a lack of ambition. Your mind works differently. Your technology should too. #Neurodivergence #Founder #BuildInPublic #MindyFam Image description: A landscape image in MindyCore's sage green, with large cream text reading: "Slow is a choice, not a lack of ambition." Below, smaller text: "Your mind works differently. Your technology should too." In the bottom right, a photo of Ornella, the founder, smiling.

Leading a team across four countries. The honest part. The hardest thing? Time zones. Coordinating people awake at completely different hours takes real planning. And it means adapting my own sleep, knowing an emergency could come at 4 in the morning. There is also the asynchronous communication, and keeping real respect between different cultures and beliefs in a diverse team. But a diverse team expands my mind. Having neurodivergent people from different countries means we learn about neurodivergence from many realities. Not everyone has the same access to a diagnosis, for example. How do I manage it? No micromanaging. We work by milestones, not by clock hours. Trust, maturity, and delegation are the keys. Not easy. But one of the things I am most grateful for. Your mind works differently. Your technology should too.

I said no to something investors keep offering me. Companies contact me often, some investors too, offering to make NeuroMindy detect or suggest diagnoses. It is a tempting feature. And I keep saying no. Here is why. A diagnosis shaped by an algorithm will never be fully real. An AI cannot empathise or perceive a person the way a certified professional can. And an algorithm could not fairly assess every kind of profile. So what we offer is realistic, not exaggerated. We do not play doctor here. We leave that to the specialists who are trained for it. What we chose instead: NeuroMindy adapts only from what the person chooses to share. Nothing is guessed or diagnosed in the background. Some things a tool should never do. Your mind works differently. Your technology should too.

I am not neurodivergent. And I build technology for the neurodivergent community. Here is the honest truth. I have always been aware of what it means. Some see my work as just another company building for a community it is not part of. Some see AI as the enemy. And some will not trust me, at least not at first. And I understand that. After so many products that let this community down, that mistrust is fair. So I do not expect trust. I try to earn it. I keep reaching out. I keep building from zero, with the community, listening and taking feedback. Sometimes it is hard. But I do it with passion. When you build for the people who are usually left out, you build better for everyone. Rebuilding trust takes time. Difficult, but not impossible. And I am not going anywhere. Your mind works differently. Your technology should too.

The mistake I made building NeuroMindy. I designed it to be warm, and I assumed that warmth would be welcome for everyone. But when I started talking with the community, I realised something. For many people, that kind of warmth from a tool can feel patronising. Here is what I learned. Comfort, the real kind, is something only a human can give. A tool that tries too hard to feel human does not create comfort. It creates a gap between the person and the real support they need. So we changed course. NeuroMindy is a tool. It accompanies you and gives a sense of calm. But it does not replace the humanity of real relationships. It is also why we are bringing licensed professionals into NeuroMindy, so real humans can help when the person prefers that. I got this wrong at first. And I am glad I listened. Your mind works differently. Your technology should too.