Do neurodivergent founders mask at work?
Short answer: yes, most of the founders surveyed say they have.
78% of neurodiverse founders surveyed say they have hidden their neurodiversity in business situations.
Ives (2024) · The Entrepreneurs Network + Barclays Eagle Labs · UK Gov-funded (DSIT) · N=502Where the number comes from
The figure is from the Neurodiverse Founders Report, an institutional survey of 502 neurodiverse founders, produced by The Entrepreneurs Network with Barclays Eagle Labs and funded by the UK government. We label this kind of source Tier 3: real data with disclosed methodology, shown with its sample size, and not peer-reviewed research. The 78% is the report's own stated percentage, cross-confirmed against the publisher's report and independent coverage. We have not rounded it or reworded it.
What the survey measured
Respondents were asked whether they agree they have hidden their neurodiversity in business situations. A yes means the person has, at some point, concealed or adjusted something about how they naturally work or communicate. That is a broad question, and the answer is a share of people, not a measure of how often it happens or how much effort it takes.
What it does not tell us
- It does not report frequency, cost, or which situations trigger it.
- It is self-reported, so it reflects what founders say about themselves.
- It was produced by UK organizations with UK government funding. The wider research has no non-Western ND founder studies yet.
- It is a single snapshot. There is no longitudinal ND founder outcome data to show what masking changes over time.
We would rather name these limits than stretch one survey into a claim it cannot carry.
How we read it at NeurAscentix
This part is our position, not a finding of the survey. When a working style stays hidden, the tools around it tend to get chosen to fit the mask rather than the person. That is why NeurAscentix builds decision tools around how ND founders actually work. The stat is the reason we start there.
The library holds related findings. A 2026 meta-analysis (Tran et al., Tier 1, 47 studies, 298 effect sizes) found ADHD was linked to more entrepreneurial action but weaker outcomes after launch. It measures something different from masking, and neither result explains the other. Both are on our sourced statistics page, next to every other number we use.
Frequently asked questions
What percentage of neurodivergent founders mask at work?
78% of neurodiverse founders surveyed say they have hidden their neurodiversity in business situations (Ives, 2024, The Entrepreneurs Network + Barclays Eagle Labs, UK Gov-funded, N=502).
Is the 78% masking figure peer-reviewed?
No. It comes from an institutional survey, which NeurAscentix labels Tier 3: real data with disclosed methodology, not peer-reviewed research. The sample size (N=502) is shown with the figure.
What does this survey not tell us?
It reports that founders have hidden their neurodiversity, not how often, why, or at what cost. It is self-reported and cross-sectional, so it cannot show how masking changes outcomes over time.
If you want to notice whether this pattern shows up in your own work, the Masking Blind Spot Quiz is a mirror, not a diagnosis. It never asserts that you are neurodivergent or that you mask, and "not sure" is always a complete answer.
Take the Masking Blind Spot Quiz →Prefer a longer read of your own decision patterns? The free Confidence Audit covers 15 questions across 5 domains.
Sources
- Ives / The Entrepreneurs Network + Barclays Eagle Labs (2024). Neurodiverse Founders Report. Tier 3, N=502, UK government-funded (DSIT).
- Tran et al. (2026). ADHD Meta-Analysis. Tier 1, 47 studies, 298 effect sizes.
Educational content, not a clinical assessment. Nothing here substitutes for professional evaluation.