This is the age of small teams, and independents. Discuss it with me: Several things are happening that explain why Nick's model is working so well. Design is indexing toward utility because of the bubbled frenzy of AI. Brand, UI, marketing design: they all have to get business done, fast. There’s little or no margin for speculation. Nick’s model meets the urgent needs of companies whose wheels are already turning before they’re even signed their formation documents. Big agencies are too rigid in their traditional forms. They must adapt or expire. Adaptation and improvisation belong to the independents. The need for strong, intuitive, instinctual direction in brand, messaging, marketing, and product design can often be met more potently by the more senior and experienced few. Balancing some measure of "quality" with speed is a unique circus trick and Primary Studio is a kind of Cirque du Soleil in snack form. It’s smart. It works in part because the company understands that trust has to be insanely high for a two-week experience to succeed. The same model stretched to five weeks assumes a level of scrutiny that invites wandering and speculation from stakeholders. The shorter sprint demands a higher degree of intuition from everyone involved. The larger problem is that design is increasingly treated as a commodity rather than a lens through which to envision and then build a company. An interface is a commodity. A logo is a commodity. A crafted sentence is a commodity. But the reasoned, intellectual, somatic, and expressive strategy that directs these design artifacts is not. That strategy is a living point of view. It's born of historical context, business opportunity, human need, and the raw wonder of imagination. The companies that engage design as a lens, while utilizing the types of independents with enough experience to execute quickly and intuitively on well curated priorities, will emerge on top.