Why The Next Big Agency Is Not An Agency

There’s a quiet revolution happening in the world of marketing, branding, and creative services.
You can feel it in client conversations.
You can see it in the org charts of lean startups and Fortune 500s alike.
And if you’re paying attention, you can see what’s coming:

And nobody wants to be a cog anymore.

And, as the owner, the risk and stress of hiring in this state of flux (chaos) is just too much. I know this just from running an agency of 20 people. I can only imagine with it’s like to have hundreds of employees and the overheads that come with that.

Sure, there are exceptions, those few brilliant agencies that are killing it. But the rest? Not so sure this model will sustain for long.

The Traditional Agency Model Is Cracking

Let’s be honest: the big-agency model was built for a different time.

A time when scale meant people, not access.
A time when clients paid for retainers, not results.
A time when creative power lived behind walls, protected by gatekeepers, titles, and overpriced decks.
A time when clients stayed.
A time when clients concentrated their accounts to only one partner.

But now?

• Clients want speed, flexibility, and insight—not layers of overhead.
• Talent wants autonomy, purpose, and leverage—not Monday status meetings.
• And audiences want brands that move, adapt, and matter—not brand books collecting dust.
• Client shop around. And we hate it.

The entire system is over-optimized and under-responsive.
And the smartest people are quietly opting out.

In Its Place: A New Kind of Creative Stack

The next big agency will look like:

• A small core team and a flexible outer ring of specialists
• A global network of experts who assemble by need, not job title
• A playbook-driven operation that runs on clarity and trust, not bureaucracy
• A media-first mentality, building audience and influence—not just deliverables

I’m not trying to be Nostradamus here. It’s already happening, and it did for a few years. But now the bigger change seems to be taking place, a more seismic shift.

It will be:

• Modular, not monolithic
• Productized, not bespoke-by-default
• Led by creators, not account managers
• Built for outcomes, not just outputs

You won’t find it in a tower or on Madison Avenue.
You’ll find it in Discord servers, on Substacks, and inside collectives.

The Rise of the Collective

This is exactly why we created Original Minds: a new model for how creative people work, grow, and collaborate.

We don’t operate like an agency. We operate like a creative operating system:

• Peer mentoring groups for accountability, reflection, and direction
• The Growth Accelerator for scaling knowledge, skills, and client value
• Structured collaboration—from shared pitches to shared IP
• A trusted community of thinkers, makers, and founders who actually support each other

We’re not building a firm.
We’re building infrastructure for independence.

Because the people doing the most interesting work aren’t sitting in boardrooms.
They’re sitting in studios, coffee shops, Airbnbs, and Zoom rooms—connected by mindset, not mailing address.

So here’s the brief:

The next big agency isn’t an agency.
It’s a network of original minds.
And you can be part of it without quitting your business—or your values.

👉 Want to join the movement?
Learn more about Original Minds membership →

Or forward this to one strategist, designer, or brand thinker you know who’s quietly building the future.