Dylan Mitchell’s creation of PlanAheADD illustrates all that is good in the Atlantic Canadian start-up community. His is the story of someone turning a personal challenge into a business, of a mentor and an angel giving generously to a young entrepreneur, and of a venture with the potential to help millions.

PlanAheADD is a software-as-a-service aid that helps those with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) plan their lives and organize their work. Its creation dates back to 2011 when Mitchell, then a 24-year-old strength-and-conditioning coach in Fredericton, was diagnosed with the disorder, whose symptoms include inattentiveness, over activity, and impulsivity or a combination of all three.

After he was diagnosed, Mitchell understood why he had trouble concentrating and realized other people were suffering the same way. ADHD is estimated to affect about 900,000 Canadians and more than five million Americans. “I realized that my willpower for getting work done was often overridden by my ability to get that work done,” says Mitchell. “I was prescribed medication and became more focused, but you need more than medication.”

Mitchell came up with an idea to help people with ADHD become better organized, and he discussed it was one of his coaching clients, Jeff Thompson, an entrepreneur who had sold his company Conseros in 2009. (Thompson has since launched UserEvents, an SaaS company that helps large companies reach out to clients having problems with their websites.)

As the pair trained, they discussed Mitchell’s idea for PlanAheADD and the company began to take shape. “He’s a great mentor,” says Mitchell of Thompson. “He gave me great advice.”

Mitchell began to build a system aimed at junior high and high school students that would help them break down their tasks so they could get their work done. The students would enter their details, including their daily routines, the tasks they must achieve, and the length of their attention span. They would enter tasks that must be performed and estimate how long they should take.

The system helps them schedule the best time to do the tasks. It features a progress report that lets students record their grades and see the time they spent on an assignment, as well as how their performance on an assignment stacked up against previous work. Each subscriber pays $7.99 a month or $49 a year.

Last year Mitchell realized he needed to devote all of his time to PlanAheADD, so he found an angel investor who sank $50,000 into the project, enough to develop the system and begin to market it. Much of the marketing so far has involved social media and YouTube videos and an appearance on Startup Kitchen, the organization that broadcasts video interviews with Atlantic Canadian start-ups.

Mitchell also rented a booth at a conference in San Francisco hosted by CHADD (Children and Adults with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder), the leading U.S. non-profit organization for those with ADHD and their families. At that conference, he began to generate interest for PlanAheADD in the U.S.

Today Mitchell has about 30 subscribers testing the product and is working with them to iron out kinks. He expects to do a general launch in the next few months, hopefully rolling it out to a larger group. Already some ADHD coaches are using the software to help their clients improve their organizational skills.

In the process of raising $100,000, Mitchell plans to use the money to launch a product for university students in September; he also wants develop a product for adults with ADHD. “Many are diagnosed in their 40s or 50s,” he says. “I want to do something for them.”