Q&A: Lulu For You’s “family-friendly” AI assistant

Michelle Leach was already a seasoned entrepreneur when she confronted the challenges of juggling each day duties whereas was elevating kids with neurodivergent situations, one thing that has taken a toll on her psychological well being. She discovered assist by AI expertise and she or he would then on conceive Lulu For You, an AI-powered assistant designed to assist households lighten their psychological load, particularly for neurodivergent households. We discuss to Michelle about her expertise growing the service and the advantages AI is providing in neurodivergent household care.

ISB: What led you to the concept of growing an AI assistant for households?

ML: As an ADHD mum and CEO of Mikki & Me, I created visible planning instruments to handle the chaos of motherhood, my profession as a lawyer and enterprise proprietor. However after leaving regulation, I realised even my very own merchandise weren’t sufficient. I used to be too depleted to make use of them. At 3am throughout a hyperfocus session utilizing AI, I had a realisation: I didn’t want one other reminder system of a job I hadn’t finished. I wanted one thing that might suppose for me. That’s when Lulu For You was born as a instrument that really helps households by easing cognitive load.

ISB: How has your expertise as a mum of neurodivergent kids influenced the event of the product?

ML: Lulu For You exists due to my expertise parenting neurodivergent youngsters whereas navigating ADHD myself. Mornings are chaotic, routines are inconsistent, and conventional instruments hardly ever assist with so many must handle amongst the meltdowns. By 5pm, I usually had 87 psychological tabs open and nothing was loading. I’d stare on the fridge and lunchboxes, frozen. That lived expertise is shaping each a part of Lulu. She doesn’t simply remind you what to do. She helps when your mind is brief circuiting as a result of it’s not about good routines. It’s about constructing a product that’s designed round the best way our brains work for households similar to mine.

ISB: Given the privateness issues raised about AI, how does Lulu For You make AI “interesting”, particularly to households?

ML: I perceive households are cautious about AI and privateness, and so am I. We prioritise privateness, transparency, and belief. We gather the least knowledge vital to supply personalised help and by no means prepare fashions with consumer inputs. We don’t promote knowledge to 3rd events and customers are in command of what they share. What makes Lulu For You interesting is that she feels human. She integrates seamlessly into household life, and when paired with our bodily planners, she helps neurodivergent households in a method that’s straightforward, sensible and respectful of their privateness.

ISB: What’s your imaginative and prescient for Lulu For You within the subsequent couple of years?

ML: Long run, I see Lulu For You sitting on the intersection of AI, accessibility, and real-life parenting. The important thing to that success is its capability to ship a 10x transformation in our customers’ lives. This isn’t about changing mums or outsourcing parenthood, it’s about supporting the cognitive load that they carry, particularly when conventional instruments fall quick. Proper now, I’m engaged on rolling out extra personalised planning modules, sensory-friendly interfaces, and deeper integrations with faculty programs, calendars, and bodily help instruments. I’m constructing capability, compassion and calm as a result of I do know from my very own expertise that once I’m calm, my capacity to assist my youngsters navigate their very own wants, is biggest.

ISB: In the event you had been to supply one piece of enterprise recommendation to a mum or dad who has some revolutionary concepts for a possible services or products, what wouldn’t it be?

ML: Clear up your personal drawback first and don’t anticipate the right time to start out. Your lived expertise provides you the perception and the emotional reality that others will resonate with. You don’t want credentials or a cultured pitch deck both. What you do want is a deep understanding of the ache level and the braveness to simply begin even while you don’t know the way it will end up. I constructed Lulu For You with out a tech background. What I did have was urgency, readability, and a need to construct one thing that might assist somebody like me: drained, overwhelmed, and in search of help that really works with my mind.