Many people in 2025 have an ADHD diagnosis, in this candid interview hear Niky’s Spaghetti brain story, as she goes on a journey from muddled thinking to clarity.
Niky is one of the most open interviewees I have ever talked to. She lays out her relationship with her husband Gareth, and explains how signing up to the course would give them something fun to do together.
This is a great example of the sort of reasons why people buy that you would NEVER come up with if you sat in the office imaging a Customer Persona.
Watch the full interview below:
The Four-Forces Debrief
Here’s my video of the four forces analysis with Niky. She gave me so much information in this hour-long session that I might need to revisit this later, so let me know if you spot something I’ve missed!
Niky - Four Forces Analysis
Niky is a 50 year old married lady from the UK, who completed her Masters in July 2024 and has recently launched a business teach others how to run Group Coaching sessions. She ran her first cohort in July 2025 in a live setting (making £2k in revenue - double the goal) - and is now working to iterate this into a self-paced/hybrid online learning model.
Historically she has always had a love for art - she wanted to do this at school, but didn't like the teacher and worried about "spoiling the paper" because she felt she lacked the talent to draw well. However:
- in her 30's her husband got her art training, and she got an A level in art
- when the iPad pencil and Procreate came out, she joined a course to draw and learn how to use this tool
- she watched YouTube tutorials about art and drawing
- she "loves the feeling of drawing" and has learned to enjoy the process more than the outcome
Niky had been on Janis' email list since September 2022 - as well as seeing his art on LinkedIn and Instagram - and was always impressed by the ability to distill a complex idea into a simple format. Around 2 years ago she was diagnosed with ADHD and has been looking for ways to "slow down her thoughts" and get the big picture out of her head and onto paper. The ability to distill these complex thoughts into simple, easily understood visuals. Janis' emails and visuals stood out as they were:
- clear
- definitely his, and;
- appearing in multiple channels (email, LI, instagram)
Niky and Gareth's (her husband) kids have just left home, and they are active attendees of couples coaching (hence they have been married happily for 25 years). In April the coach saw that Gareth had a creative streak, which he began using more in his own work to represent ideas in presentations (e.g. he used a lighthouse metaphor and got good feedback). They first thought about joining this course as a gift to one another as part of their 25th anniversary celebrations - as a way to "play together as a couple" both now and when they are retired. At the time they worried that they wouldn't be able to use it (school holidays) and that it was an expensive investment.
By July, Niky had made the money from her first teaching cohort and there was the upcoming August Challenge - thinking it could be a good motivation tool to get her to commit, there was time as the school holidays, and they would be able to join others on the journey to learn with more structure and support. As it turned out, they couldn't make the time, however:
- there was money in the bank and it was an investment in personal and professionals skills
- they could learn Figma - which is a tool they wanted to use (to replace Adobe, whose license they no longer have)
- if they don't get it now, will they be able to afford it later (price increase/business might not survive without new customers)
- Niky would be able to use it to create marketing that differentiates her business (email marketing) without eroding the value of her whole course
They signed up, looked at the Figma templates, but have not yet found time for the course. This is OK, because it's an investment in the future, not something they need immediately, and they trust that Janis' course will be around for the long term when they do have the time.
She mentioned a time praying, where she visualised her head being "full of spaghetti" and then suddenly "more like layers of lasagne" and felt this was analogous to the way Janis simplifies ideas himself.
It took nearly 3 years of being exposed to Janis' emails to pull the trigger - driven by price/money availability as well as the desire to build a skill for the future
Niky used to have a lot of support and tools like Adobe that were discounted or provided to her when she was in a Charity. Now she's "doing it alone" for the first time, and needed help to learn Figma as well as learn the skills to draw.
This is interview #5 – and there are clear parallels forming between a few of the interviewees – Kiran feels like the closest match to Niky’s story, although there are elements of Mitul’s story peppered in.
As we add more interviews you’ll start to see more patterns forming – so sign up in the box below and stay up-to-date as this project unfolds.