ZenBusiness made LLC certificates from shredded report cards to inspire neurodiverse entrepreneurs

Joan Creative harnesses new research about the value of neurodiversity as a superpower in driving entrepreneurship

Published On
Jun 13, 2023
Image of a shredded report card and the text "Above the Grade"

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Our educational system does not tend to value neurodiversity, yet that doesn’t mean neurodiverse individuals won’t thrive in business—in fact, quite the opposite.

ZenBusiness—a platform that helps entrepreneurs scale their business—has built its new campaign from Joan Creative around neurodiverse graduates considering entrepreneurship. It’s built around a new survey from the company of adults 18-25 that undercovered some salient data points—that 80% believe Gen Z is on track to become the most entrepreneurial generation in U.S. history; that 92% recognize the value of neurodiversity as a superpower in driving entrepreneurship; and that over half of Gen Z identify as “definitely” (22%) or “somewhat” (31%) neurodiverse.

To inspire neurodiverse grads to see how thinking differently is an entrepreneurial superpower, the campaign begins with an eye-catching act—as seen in the video below, ZenBusiness printed 2,023 LLC certificates on paper made from shredded report cards, free for the class of 2023.

 

In addition, the company is offering six weeks of business coaching in partnership with small business consultancy Synergies Work.

“The education system isn’t built for neurodiverse minds, but the entrepreneurial world is,” said Michael Fanuele, SVP, brand & strategy, at ZenBusiness. “Our study shows that many people with neurodiversity have skills that prime them for success, from creative thinking to hard-earned resilience. When they start businesses, we will all be better for it.”

“It’s not an accident that one in three entrepreneurs are neurodiverse. It can be a bonafide superpower. But the system can really break kids’ confidence, so they can’t see it,” added Jaime Robinson, co-founder and chief creative officer at Joan. “I love this idea. Like the last line of the film says—turn what makes you different into what makes you great.”

“Report cards represent the ultimate symbol of judgment when it comes to our education system,” said Tom Francesconi, creative director at Joan. “With this in mind, we challenged ourselves to not simply tear these symbols down, but to transform them into something meaningful, an opportunity for those affected to carve their own path forward through entrepreneurship.”

The new work follows the high-energy film “Welcome to the Uprising,” which launched earlier this year and targeted workers ready to start their own businesses. 

Credits

Date
Jun 13, 2023
Client :
ZenBusiness
Agency :
Joan Creative
CEO :
Lisa Clunie
CCO :
Jaime Robinson
MD :
Sarah Collinson
Group Strategy Director :
Kristin Van Note
Creative Director :
Tom Francesconi
Account Director :
Reid Burch
ACD :
Jesse Stanton
ACD :
Grace Hwang
Art Director :
Giselle Lucero
Copywriter :
Shirley Wang
Designer :
Samantha Kim
PM :
Diana Matthews
SVP Head of Brand & Strategy :
Michael Fanuele
VP Media :
Mallory Rogers
Creative Director :
Kristen Williams
Head of Community :
Marcela Shine
Marketing Content Strategist :
LJ Fogel

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Project Type