S1 EP9 - How I became an Autistic Entrepreneur | Zareen Ali

Zareen Ali, CEO of Cogs AI, is the guest on this ninth episode of @workingtowork. Zareen founded Cogs to create a non-pathologising mindfulness app specifically designed to support neurodivergent people. Chapters are listed below.

In our conversation, we spoke about the experiences that led Zareen to create the app and how she balances some of the expectations of leading a company with some of the common challenges experienced by neurodivergent people. We also discussed how Zareen has approached creating an inclusive work culture at Cogs and what advice she would offer others who are looking to create their own business.

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00:00 coming up in this episode

00:39 sam’s episode intro

04:04 what is cogs ai and what is it’s mission?

04:55 who is cogs for and how it is marketed?

06:20 how does cogs differ from other mindfulness apps? 

08:23 stim feature offers users to create bespoke tools 

09:26 what is the ai element of cogs about?

10:55 zareen’s cogs ai origin story

14:59 benefits of person-centred approach 

19:45 zareen’s working journey  

23:37 taking skills from previous work / life into new

26:54 searching for gratifying work

28:00 ’year hear’ helped zareen pivot

29:30 employers should be brave in hiring

32:52 how zareen thinks about inclusive culture

35:45 balancing need vs external expectations 

40:19 being an atypical entrepreneur

42:40 zareen on balancing will with dislikes 

44:31 testing ideas to improve them

47:00 using the skills you have to get started

54:23 improving accessibility to all types of work

56:18 how is cogs ai available?

57:29 what is cogs’ metric of success?