ADHD entrepreneur becomes the East Midlands Start Up Loans ambassador

Rosie spent five years researching ADHD, suspecting she may have it herself. On her diagnosis at 43 years old, she knew she wanted to do more to help others with the condition thrive professionally.

Rosie set up her training business, ADHD Focus, in 2024. It helps adults, particularly women, with understanding their neurodivergence through coaching and training. To help her start up the business, Rosie successfully applied for a £5,000 Start Up Loan with support from First Enterprise, one of the Start Up Loans programme’s Business Support Partners.

As a qualified business coach, Rosie draws on her lived experience of ADHD and more than 16 years of working as an academic. She works with both individuals and businesses to help improve understanding of neurodiversity in the workplace, offering Continuing Professional Development (CPD) accreditations.

Now in its tenth year, Start Up Loans Ambassadors shines a spotlight on remarkable UK entrepreneurs who have turned their business ideas into reality with support from the government-backed initiative. Each Ambassador has been chosen for showcasing the determination, innovation and resilience needed to grow a small business, while inspiring others to pursue their own entrepreneurial journeys.

Rosie Elvin, Founder of ADHD Focus, said: “Since I was diagnosed with ADHD myself, I wanted to use my skills to help others thrive and succeed in their careers. Setting up ADHD Focus has been the realisation of the fact I want to help others, and I’ve already been fortunate to support more than 20 individuals in their journey, and have delivered training to many businesses keen to support neurodivergent staff.

“The British Business Bank’s commitment to assisting entrepreneurs like myself particularly through the Start Up Loans programme, has been instrumental in laying a solid foundationfor my business.”

In addition to 12 Ambassadors from each of the UK’s Nations and regions, two additional Ambassadors have been selected from specialist groups supported by the programme who may face challenges in accessing finance elsewhere. One is from the armed forces veteran community and the other from the 18-24 Gen Z age group.

Louise McCoy, Managing Director, Start Up Loans Products, British Business Bank, said: “I have no doubt that Rosie will inspire other aspiring business owners to bring their start-up plans to life, especially those who are neurodivergent. It’s fantastic that through her coaching Rosie is having a positive impact on the lives of others and I am proud the Start Up Loans programme has played a role in helping ADHD Focus start up and played a part in helping Rosie to grow her business.”

Daniel Carrico, Executive Director at First Enterprise, commented:"Rosie’s story is a powerful example of how lived experience can drive meaningful change. We were delighted to work closely with her through the Start Up Loans programme, helping to turn her vision for ADHD Focus into a thriving business that’s already making a difference for neurodivergent adults and workplaces across the East Midlands. Supporting entrepreneurs like Rosie is at the heart of what we do, and we’re proud to see her recognised as an Ambassador."

Since its inception in 2012, the Start Up Loan programme has delivered more than 125,000 loans to business owners across the UK, amounting to more than £1.27bn of funding. Of those loans, 40% of loan recipients have been women and 20% from Black, Asian, and Other Minority Ethnic backgrounds (not including White Minorities).

Through a network of business support partner organisations, such as First Enterprise, the Start Up Loans programme provides:

• access to pre-and-post loan support to help applicants to develop a business plan
• fixed-interest first and second loans of up to £25,000 to help recipients to start or grow their business
• mentoring support to help loan recipients with everything from cash flow to marketing.

For more information and to hear more about our 2025 Ambassadors, please visit: https://www.startuploans.co.uk/about-us/start-up-loans-ambassador-programme