Ep 241 – The Co-Founder and CEO of Social Cipher on the Importance of Investing in Yourself

The Co-Founder and CEO of Social Cipher on the Importance of Investing in Yourself
Navigating adolescence is tough, and it can be especially hard for neurodivergent people. This week’s guest can relate — having been diagnosed with autism and ADHD at age 14. What she didn’t know however, was that overcoming the mental health and social challenges that many autistic youth face would not only lead her to find her people, but also her mission.
In this episode of Peers2Peers, powered by Shopify, we’re joined by Vanessa Castañeda Gill, CEO and Co-Founder of Social Cipher to discuss getting comfy with change, overcoming self-sabotage and the dreaded scarcity mindset, and the power of finding your tribe.
Vanessa Castañeda Gill:
Networking is one of the most valuable tricks of the trade when it comes to entrepreneurship. It can open doors, expand your knowledge and even win you that much-needed funding. For some of us, connecting comes easy, but for others, it’s a struggle and can easily leave you feeling like you simply don’t belong.
This week’s guest can relate — after struggling with the stereotypes of autism for the majority of her teens, Vanessa Castañeda Gill chose to study neuroscience in an attempt to “fix” her brain. But instead of a remedy, she found friendship and acceptance for the first time in her life.
Realising she wasn’t broken and just needed a different way to connect, she combined her personal experience with her love for art, stories and neuroscience to give birth to Social Cipher, an online gaming platform for neurodivergent youth to explore their social-emotional skills and help them connect with the world around them.
In this episode of Peers2Peers, powered by Shopify, we’re joined by Vanessa Castañeda Gill, CEO and Co-Founder of Social Cipher to discuss getting comfy with change, overcoming self-sabotage and the dreaded scarcity mindset, and the power of finding
Street Cred:
Vanessa Castañeda Gill is the Co-Founder and CEO of Social Cipher, a collective building online video games that give neurodivergent youth a safe, accessible, and empowering space to apply and understand social-emotional skills. Along with bringing art and stories together to help others, Vanessa is also Neurodivergent Advocacy Committee Chair at the Autism Society Inland Empire.
In 2020, Vanessa was featured on the Forbes 30 Under 30 Education list.
Learn More:
Start your Shopify 14-day free trial
Check out Social Cipher: https://www.socialciphergame.com/
Follow Social Cipher on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SocialCipherGame
Follow Social Cipher on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/social-cipher/
Connect with Vanessa: https://www.linkedin.com/in/vanessacastanedagill/
Follow The Peers Project on Instagram: http://bit.ly/3adVmYG