Greg Shepard of BOSS Capital Partners joins us to discuss autism, neurodiversity, and entrepreneurship.

The School System and Learning Styles

Growing up, Greg struggled with learning in school and communicating. He had a different style of learning that schools did not teach. He scored very high in some areas but struggled in others. Greg’s kids go to the Winston School, which specialize in neurodiverse students. The school teaches students their learning styles before they do anything else. Once the kids understand how they learn, they can know which type best fits them.

My three kids also had different learning styles when they were growing up. My wife and I homeschooled each of them through different curriculums. The school system fails students when they don’t match teaching styles to learning styles.

Autism, Neurodiversity, and Entrepreneurship

Greg says starting a business is like a GPS. When using a GPS, you must know your current location and where you’re going. He connects that way of thinking to the acquiring of businesses. Most people jump into things before knowing where they are going and end up in the wrong place. Greg chooses to define the destination ahead of time and plan accordingly.

It is not a matter of intelligence but rather the lens you see things through. Most people learn things one way and look at things that way. Neurodivergent people look between and around, seeing things differently naturally. This ability has greatly attributed to Greg’s career success.

Organizations and Neurodiversity

In most organizations, neurodivergent people cannot get through the application process. To change this, organizations need to get rid of certain obstacles. Job applications often ask the wrong questions to those with different ways of thinking. Interviewers need to focus on areas these people are passionate about. This process will highlight their capabilities rather than getting overlooked. Additionally, neurodivergent people do not operate well with things that are not direct and specific. They need targeted things, and many interviewers fail to provide direct questions.

About our Guest: Greg Shepard

Greg is a 20-year startup veteran and serial entrepreneur with 14 liquidity events— selling two as part of a $925M transaction that won 4 PE awards for transactions between $250M-$1B. He is a ForbesBooks author and has written over 100 articles published in 25 national and international publications. Hie is also a TEDx speaker and keynote speaker for universities, associations, and conferences worldwide. He is the Host of Meet The BOSS Forbes Radio show and guested on over 25 popular podcasts and numerous network TV and radio shows.

Greg co-founded BOSS Capital Partners, a global syndicate for investing in tech startups worldwide. He also Co-Founded BOSSStartupScience, the learning center based on Greg’s Business Operating Support System (BOSS). BOSS is an open-source methodology developed to empower entrepreneurs while increasing startup success rates.

To know more about Greg Shepard, autism, neurodiversity, and entrepreneurship, listen to this week's show: Greg Shepard with BOSS Capital Partners on Autism, Neurodiversity and Entrepreneurship.