The Mesh Manifesto
Redefining Creativity through Centerless, Interconnected Networks
Creative professionals today face a stark reality: the traditional agency model that shaped our industry for decades is collapsing under its own weight. According to a 2024 Advertiser Perceptions report, the Big Six agency holding companies, which commanded 44% of total U.S. ad spending in 2019, now control just 30%.
Today, as AdAge reports global advertising spending has reached a record $365 billion, the industry's unimaginative response to this decline in market share is crystalized in this morning's announcement that Omnicom has agreed to acquire IPG to create the world's largest agency holding company. Legacy players are seeking survival through consolidation and scale rather than transformation. They're building bigger boxes while the world demands we think outside of them entirely.
I've spent over two decades inside traditional agencies, including co-founding and selling an agency to one of the major holding companies. As an agency lifer, I've watched as layers of management stifled groundbreaking ideas, departmental silos prevented true innovation, and the relentless pressure to maintain billable hours took precedence over creative excellence. I've seen brilliant creative minds dulled by bureaucracy, strategic thinking fragmented by organizational barriers, and transformative ideas diluted by the very structures meant to support them.
But this isn't a story of decline—it's a story of liberation. Today, I see something different emerging. Something revolutionary.
Welcome to the Mesh Era, where the principles of decentralized networks are reshaping the creative industry, offering a bold alternative to established agency structures and workflows. This isn't about freelancing or independent consulting—it's about experienced creative professionals breaking free from constraints to forge new paths of impact and innovation. At its core, the concept draws inspiration from mesh networks—decentralized systems known for their resilience, adaptability, and lack of a single point of failure. In a mesh network, each node connects to multiple other nodes, creating a web of interconnections that can route around blockages and adapt to changing conditions. This structure provides a powerful metaphor that captures the new realities of how creative professionals can collaborate, innovate, and deliver value in today's rapidly evolving marketplace.
The Rise of the Mesh Entrepreneur
The ongoing exodus of senior talent from traditional agencies represents more than professionals seeking independence—seasoned creatives and strategists recognize a profound opportunity to redefine their careers and impact. I call them "Mesh Entrepreneurs," a term that captures their unique ability to weave together networks of elite talent while building sustainable creative businesses.
A Mesh Entrepreneur is fundamentally different from a freelancer, independent consultant, or typical agency leader. They are experienced professionals who can:
Build and lead fluid teams of senior talent
Maintain deep client relationships without institutional backing
Create flexible structures that scale through impact rather than headcount
Navigate complex creative challenges by assembling optimal expertise
Foster networks of trust that transcend agency boundaries
This transformation is happening now because several critical factors have converged: Technology, especially generative AI, has democratized agency capabilities while lowering barriers to entry. Traditional agencies are downsizing, freeing up experienced talent. Client expectations have evolved to prioritize true partnership over institutional scale. But most importantly, senior creative professionals have realized they can maintain their standards of excellence without the burden of the usual agency infrastructure.
Consider the contrast with traditional agency roles:
In traditional agencies, senior talent often becomes trapped in management duties, distanced from the work they love. Their expertise gets diluted across too many accounts, their creative energy drained by organizational bureaucracy. Even at the highest levels, they remain constrained by organizational boundaries and business models that prioritize billable hours over breakthrough thinking. Mesh Entrepreneurs are unshackled from these limitations.
In early 2024, I embraced this evolution myself, co-founding a firm built on these principles. The journey has revealed both the profound opportunities and real challenges of pioneering new models of creative work. Each day validates the potential of this approach while offering fresh insights into how the Mesh Era is reshaping our industry.
This isn't a path for everyone. Becoming a Mesh Entrepreneur requires more than just industry experience or creative talent. It demands the ability to act as a creative force multiplier—building and maintaining networks of trust, leading through influence rather than authority, and navigating client relationships without institutional backing. But for those who embrace this evolution, it offers something unprecedented: the ability to do the best work of their careers while reshaping how creative work gets done.
“Mesh Collectives”: The Building Blocks of the Mesh Era
As Mesh Entrepreneurs come together, they form "Mesh Collectives"—dynamic, project-centric collaborations that serve as the new building blocks of the creative industry. These Collectives represent more than just temporary teams; they demonstrate how different specialties, methodologies, and perspectives can be woven together into a single, cohesive unit.
A Mesh Collective forms when multiple Mesh Entrepreneurs—whether they operate as solo practitioners or lead their own creative businesses—unite around a specific challenge. Their shared history at traditional agencies creates a foundation of trust and understanding, but now they can collaborate free from institutional constraints. What binds them isn't their business structure but their shared approach to creativity and innovation, their commitment to excellence, and their proven ability to work together effectively.
Consider how a Mesh Collective typically forms: A Mesh Entrepreneur identifies a significant client challenge that requires multiple types of expertise. Rather than simply reaching out to available freelancers or staffing from a fixed talent pool, they activate their network of trusted Mesh Entrepreneurs—strategists, creatives, technologists, and specialists who have demonstrated excellence in past collaborations. Each Entrepreneur joins based on the project's potential and their confidence in their collaborators.
This model stands in stark contrast to traditional agency team formation:
Leadership within Mesh Collectives operates on the DRI/E (Directly Responsible Individual/Entity) principle. For each client relationship or project, a DRI/E is identified—typically the Mesh Entrepreneur with the strongest client relationship or most relevant expertise. This individual or entity takes point on decision-making and ultimate accountability, ensuring clear leadership without the bureaucratic layers typical in agencies.
In this context, the DRI/E must lead as much through charisma and influence as through traditional leadership qualities. Without the backing of a formal hierarchical structure, the DRI/E's ability to inspire, motivate, and guide the team becomes paramount. This approach to leadership is more about facilitation and empowerment than command and control.
Leadership in Mesh Collectives is fluid rather than fixed. Different Mesh Entrepreneurs may serve as the DRI/E on different projects, based on their expertise and client relationships. This fluidity fosters a culture of shared responsibility and mutual support, where all members are empowered to contribute ideas, take initiative, and collaboratively solve problems.
The model's effectiveness stems from its ability to adapt and evolve. Mesh Collectives can scale up or down based on project needs, integrate specialized expertise for specific challenges, and reconfigure as work progresses. This flexibility enables them to tackle complex creative challenges with remarkable efficiency.
When these fluid teams come together in different configurations, something extraordinary begins to happen. The unique dynamics of Mesh Collectives create new kinds of creative environments—what I call "Mesh Spaces"—where the real magic of this model emerges.
"Mesh Spaces": Exploring the Unexplored
These aren't physical locations but rather conceptual spaces where diverse expertise, methodologies, and perspectives converge in novel and unprecedented ways. Despite their carefully designed offices, structured sessions, and formal processes, agencies rarely foster the conditions where true innovation flourishes.
Mesh Spaces operate differently. While traditional agencies might have access to diverse expertise, their structure makes it inefficient and cost-prohibitive to bring multiple specialists to bear on a single challenge. Each capability or expertise adds to project cost without necessarily adding proportional value. In contrast, Mesh Entrepreneurs can bring together precisely the expertise a challenge requires, whether that's a behavioral scientist, game designer, and brand strategist; or an AI expert, cultural anthropologist, and creative technologist. These combinations create environments where ideas cross-pollinate freely, unconstrained by legacy cost structures and organizational boundaries.
Consider a recent example from my own experience: A company that had acquired several complementary businesses approached us with what appeared to be a marketing challenge—developing a unifying market positioning. Two previous attempts had failed to produce lasting results. Our Mesh Collective, combining expertise in business strategy, brand positioning, organizational design, and change management, quickly identified that the real challenge lay deeper: the company hadn't yet figured out how to truly integrate its acquisitions into a unified offering.
In a typical agency setting, this insight might have been noted but not acted upon—the scope and accompanying list of deliverables wouldn't allow for it. But our Mesh Collective was able to immediately expand beyond the original marketing brief, developing not just a new positioning and brand identity, but also creating an organizational change program that helped the company restructure to deliver on its new promise. Less than a year later, the company had successfully integrated fifteen major projects (up from zero) and was using the Mesh Collective-designed framework to support additional acquisitions.
This success stemmed directly from the Mesh Era model: the ability to assemble exactly the right expertise needed (even as that need evolved), the freedom to expand beyond established project boundaries, and a true partnership approach that prioritized real business impact over predetermined deliverables.
Mesh Spaces provide the conceptual environment where experimentation flourishes and ideas can be fully explored. As different combinations of Mesh Entrepreneurs work together, they create expanding spheres of possibility. Each collaboration enriches the collective intelligence of the network, as insights and approaches that emerge in one project inform and inspire others. In these spaces, the best ideas aren't just conceived—they're nurtured and brought to life, rather than being sacrificed for more expedient solutions.
This environment of constant possibility—where expertise and ideas can truly intermingle and evolve—sets the stage for what I call "SuperOutcomes"—results that fundamentally redefine what's achievable in creative problem-solving.
SuperOutcomes: The Mesh Era's Competitive Edge
When Mesh Entrepreneurs come together to form Mesh Collectives, they achieve SuperOutcomes—a step-change in creative excellence and impact made possible by the unique dynamics of the Mesh Era.
SuperOutcomes emerge from three key transformations in how creative work gets done.
First is what we call "SuperCreativity." When you can bring together precisely the right combination of expertise to tackle a challenge—unconstrained by typical agency structures or roles—you create the conditions for transformational thinking. Consider our earlier example: What began as a positioning project evolved into a comprehensive business transformation because we assembled a team that could see and solve the deeper challenge. This isn't just about having good ideas; it's about having the right minds in the room and the freedom to pursue solutions wherever they lead.
Second is "SuperProductivity." Mesh Collectives achieve extraordinary efficiency through their streamlined structure. Without fixed overhead costs or arbitrary utilization targets to maintain, Mesh Entrepreneurs can assemble exactly the expertise needed and adjust team size based on real requirements. This lean approach enables rapid evolution and real-time responsiveness—there's no waiting for scheduled reviews or planning sessions to make strategic shifts. Teams can pivot quickly as market conditions change and client needs evolve, ensuring resources are always focused where they matter most. The result is the ability to deliver greater impact, often at lower cost, while maintaining the highest standards of quality.
Third is "SuperCollaboration." When every team member chooses to be there, bringing their best expertise to a challenge they're genuinely excited to solve, the quality of collaboration transforms. But this transformation extends beyond the team itself—it fundamentally reshapes the client relationship. Mesh Collectives forge true partnerships with clients, breaking down legacy agency-client barriers that often stifle honest dialogue and creative solutions. The shared history among Mesh Entrepreneurs, combined with their freedom to work without institutional constraints, creates a level of trust and creative chemistry that typical agency teams rarely achieve. This enables the kind of candid conversations and collaborative problem-solving that turn good work into game-changing work.
For creative professionals who have mastered their craft, the ability to achieve SuperOutcomes represents more than just a better way of working—it offers the opportunity to do the best and most meaningful work of their careers.
Scaling Through Ambition, Not Size
As we consider the full implications of the Mesh Era, one final question emerges: how does this model scale? The answer challenges established notions of growth in the creative industry. For decades, agencies equated scale with size—more employees, more offices, more overhead. In contrast, Mesh Entrepreneurs scale through client and project ambition, taking on increasingly complex and impactful challenges without the burden of unnecessary infrastructure.
This approach offers several compelling advantages. First is financial resilience. Without the pressure of large fixed costs, Mesh Entrepreneurs can be selective about their work, maintaining better profit margins while focusing on meaningful projects. Just as importantly, revenue flows more directly to the professionals doing the work. This more equitable distribution of value attracts and retains exceptional talent, creating a virtuous cycle where fair compensation enables increasingly ambitious work.
Quality control becomes easier, not harder, as Mesh Collectives grow. Unlike traditional agencies, where growth often dilutes senior talent across too many accounts, scaling through impact allows Mesh Entrepreneurs to maintain their standards of excellence. They can take on larger challenges precisely because they're not distracted by the demands of maintaining organizational structures or meeting arbitrary growth targets.
For the creative professionals involved, this model offers deeper satisfaction and sustainable success. Growth comes from solving increasingly interesting problems, not from the pressure to keep a large workforce busy. Each new challenge builds capabilities and expands possibilities, while the freedom to be selective about projects ensures that talent remains engaged and energized.
Clients benefit too. Resources go directly to solving their challenges rather than supporting agency overhead. They get senior talent deeply focused on their business, with the flexibility to scale up or down based on actual needs. Better results lead to bigger opportunities, creating long-term partnerships built on real value.
This model even redefines what "success" means for creative businesses. Whereas historically, agencies often build toward acquisition by holding companies or private equity firms, Mesh Entrepreneurs can achieve significant financial success and professional fulfillment without the need for a conventional exit. The efficiency and equity of the Mesh model allows them to build sustainable, profitable businesses while maintaining their independence and creative standards. Many may choose to continue their work until they retire on their own terms, having built both financial security and a lasting impact on the industry.
The Mesh Era represents more than just a new way of working—it's a fundamental reimagining of how creative value is created and shared. For experienced professionals seeking more impact, autonomy, and fairness, it offers a compelling path forward. For clients seeking better creative solutions, it provides access to elite talent unencumbered by traditional constraints. And for the industry as a whole, it points toward a future where the best work comes not from the biggest teams, but from the most thoughtfully assembled collaborations.
This transformation is already underway. The question isn't whether the creative industry will evolve in this direction, but how quickly forward-thinking professionals will embrace the opportunity to shape its future.