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Shelpful delivers a personal productivity platform, fusing artificial intelligence with human coaching for enhanced accountability. Its iOS application features an AI task manager, HabitGPT, alongside optional human accountability coaches. This hybrid model provides personalized nudges and consistent support, making task management and habit formation effective for users pursuing goals.
The company was founded by a team of ADHDers, habit specialists, and tech veterans. Their insight arose from the observed limitations of current digital tools in offering consistent, empathetic support for self-accountability. They created a service to emulate the proactive encouragement of a dedicated confidant, addressing a fundamental gap in personal effectiveness.
Shelpful primarily serves individuals striving to overcome procrastination and build routines, including those with ADHD. The platform delivers timely, chat-based reminders and motivation, fostering engagement. The company envisions expanding its personalized support, empowering a broad audience to achieve objectives through improved self-management.
Shelpful has raised $3.0M across 1 funding round.
Shelpful has raised $3.0M in total across 1 funding round.
Shelpful has raised $3.0M in total across 1 funding round.
Shelpful's investors include 1984 Ventures, Bling Capital, Deborah Liu, Gokul Rajaram.
Shelpful is a Portland-based AI startup building an accountability service that helps users build habits, manage tasks, and achieve goals through proactive, chat-based AI nudges designed especially for ADHD minds and those feeling overwhelmed.[1][2][5] It serves individuals struggling with executive function—turning to-do lists into friendly conversations with customizable AI buddies—while also empowering online coaches via tools like A.I. mini-me companions.[2][4] The app solves the follow-through problem by blending human-centered design with AI, offering features like chat-to-dos, personality-customized reminders (gentle, funny, or tough love), and low-bar habit coaching, backed by $3M seed funding from Sam Altman's Apollo Projects.[1][2]
Growth momentum includes a 2025 iOS app launch, expansion to WhatsApp and a coaching beta program, and AI trained on thousands of user habits by certified habit coaches.[2][4][5]
Shelpful was founded in late 2023 by Sharon Pope (CEO, former Y Combinator marketing adviser and habit coach), Lydia Swift (former Microsoft PR executive), and Chris Morse (ex-Amazon Alexa team member)—all with personal ADHD experience and tech pedigrees.[1][2] The idea emerged from their need for dedicated "nudgers" beyond friends, Alexa, or Siri: professional listeners and accountability partners to keep users on their to-do lists without feeling like therapy or coaching.[1][3]
Early traction hit in early 2024 with $3M seed funding from Apollo Projects, spotlighting it as a Portland AI standout, followed by product launches like HabitGPT on WhatsApp and the 2025 iOS app.[1][2]
Shelpful rides the AI-for-mental-health-and-productivity wave, targeting ADHD (affecting ~4-5% globally) amid rising demand for executive function tools post-pandemic.[2] Timing aligns with generative AI maturity—leveraging models like those behind ChatGPT (via Altman funding)—to humanize habit tech when apps like Todoist fail on follow-through.[1][2][5]
Market forces favor it: exploding online coaching market, AI personalization trends, and behavioral science (e.g., Tiny Habits) meet WhatsApp/iOS ubiquity for low-friction adoption.[4][5] It influences the ecosystem by partnering with coaches, extending human impact scalably without burnout, and normalizing "friendly AI" over rigid tools—potentially onboarding millions to "shelpful" nudges.[3][4]
Shelpful's traction—from seed to app launch—positions it to dominate ADHD productivity, with Android app, global coach scaling, and deeper integrations (e.g., more automations) next.[2][4][5] Trends like multimodal AI and wellness gamification will amplify its nudges, while ecosystem plays (e.g., enterprise coaching) could drive Series A.
As AI evolves from assistants to embedded "friends," Shelpful exemplifies how targeted, warm tech turns overwhelm into momentum—uniting a "shelpforce" to help millions stick to what matters.[1][3]
Shelpful has raised $3.0M across 1 funding round. Most recently, it raised $3.0M Seed in December 2023.
| Date | Round | Lead Investors | Other Investors |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dec 1, 2023 | $3.0M Seed | 1984 Ventures, Bling Capital, Deborah Liu, Gokul Rajaram |