ADHD Stories – Uma Rudd Chia

Turning Creative Chaos into a Superpower

Uma Rudd Chia is an entrepreneur and co-founder of the creative agency KVUR. A global speaker on artificial intelligence, branding, and Gen Z, she also serves on several boards, contributing her creative and strategic perspectives to conversations on education, technology, and leadership. Her current passion project is Singapore’s first vertical strawberry farm, using Swiss-Israeli technology. Uma released her autobiography, The Spotted Zebra, in 2024. She also publishes a weekly newsletter, Red Dot Matters, which is a space for bold thoughts and fresh perspectives that contribute to Singapore’s soul.

QUOTE 

“I’ve come to see ADHD not as a curse, but as a creative accelerator. I’ve also learnt that what some people call ‘crazy’ is often just brilliance dressed in the wrong clothes.” 

WHEN I FIRST KNEW

I was diagnosed after I tried to take my life. It wasn’t planned. A psychologist, just by chance, started asking questions. That was the moment I got the label, ADHD, at age 16.  

Even now, with the label, and the work I’ve done to accept it, I still feel the sting. That internal whisper that says something’s wrong with me. 

THE TURNING POINT

A psychologist – who didn’t treat me like I was broken – looked me in the eye and said, “You’re a smart girl. Don’t waste your life fearing people. Stop living for others.”  That moment gave me permission to live, think, and feel differently without shame. 

I’ve come to see ADHD not as a curse, but as a creative accelerator. I’ve also learnt that what some people call “crazy” is often just brilliance dressed in the wrong clothes. Creativity is messy. But messiness is magic when you learn how to work with it, not against it. 

STRATEGIES

Visualising – I visualise people before I meet them. I build imaginary conversations. I pre-make friends in my head so when I walk into a room, my brain believes I already belong. As a journalist, I developed the habit of deep research and mental scripting. Before interviews, I’d imagine how the person would speak, laugh, respond. When we met, I wasn’t nervous – I was reconnecting with a version of them I already knew. 

Positive Confession – My father taught me the power of “positive confession.” Every morning, I’d speak my day into existence, then visualise it in my head—like a rehearsal for the real thing. It calms the chaos. 

Embrace my Wiring – My brain moves fast. Faster than most timelines allow. I can create in days what others take weeks to finish. Not because I’m rushing, but because my mind is built for speed, hunger, and obsession. 

PROUDEST ACHIEVEMENTS

I’m proudest of my ability to take something complex – something dry, technical, intimidating – and make it feel simple, human, exciting. 

I once walked out of a creative pitch halfway through because I was bored by my own idea. Two days later, I came back with a sharper, smarter campaign. That moment taught me that honesty – creative honesty – is a rare currency. ADHD gave me that compass. 

ADHD STRENGTHS

ADHD makes me allergic to boredom. It’s my superpower and my survival instinct. 

It forces me to break things down – not for others, but for myself. Because if I can’t find the story, the spark, the beauty in it… I can’t sit through it. 

HOW I WISHED THE WORLD SAW ADHDERS

See us the way you’d want to be seen – as human, as whole, as wonderfully wired. Not broken. Not less. 

CURRENT SEASON OF LIFE

Right now, I’m in a season of wild ideas, deep purpose, and strawberry-scented ambition. 

Apart from work at the creative agency I co-founded, I am also a global speaker and Fractional Chief Marketing Officer. I also sit on several boards including the Singapore Management University. 

I’m raising funds to build Singapore’s first vertical strawberry farm (yes, really) – a little mix of Swiss-Israeli agritech and strawberry-powered rebellion.

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