INSIGHTS
Ideas Economy, founded by Rachel O’Brien, is a thought platform for investigating the capital of ideas.
We investigate the systems, industries, and individuals driving idea-based innovation, and connect a global community of creatives, founders, and thinkers curating the future.
IDEAS ECONOMY BEGAN WITH A FASCINATION
How might ideas create value?
Can value sprout from nothing? Fleeting thoughts, when harnessed, become vehicles for wealth creation, cultural influence, human connection, and a better quality of life. Every product, service, organisation — even an empire — begins with an idea. That fruit starts with a seed. And a seed of imagination, when nurtured, becomes remarkable value.
Creative economies thrive when imagination is channelled through skill, entrepreneurship, and bold models of value creation. We bring ideas to life through storytelling, strategy, engineering, and artistry. Those who can turn the abstract into the tangible become the visionaries shaping our world.
57% of employers consider creative thinking a core skill to workforce performance, outranking technological literacy.
Where: #1 Analytical Thinking; #2 Resilience, Flexibility and Agility; #3 Leadership and Social Influence; #4 Creative Thinking.
World Economic Forum Future of Jobs Report 2025
Ensure you are equipped to harness innovation in business.
Ideas Economy subscribers receive insights on creativity, business, and culture, from two angles:
MENTAL MODELS
Your pocket-sized blueprints for structured intelligence.
Synthesised frameworks derived from current research and cultural trends, and synthesised for easy application as you work and create.
Delivered on the first Tuesday each month.
THOUGHT ESSAYS
Your weekly dose of intellectually sharp and playfully subversive explorations.
Inviting you to think differently about the everyday and the systemic alike.
Delivered every Wednesday.
Selected Mental Models
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![Ideas as capital - Mental Model by Ideas Economy]()
Ideas as capital
What makes an idea economically valuable?
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![Diagram of the CAP Model with central question 'What are we trying to do with this partnership?' and three key areas: Collaborate (Create cultural value), Amplify (Drive commercial outcomes), and Position (Signal brand values).]()
The CAP Model
A framework for brand partnership strategy.
Selected Thought Essays
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![What makes good ideas die, or live? How to think about idea-based innovation in modern markets.]()
What makes good ideas die, or live?
How to think about idea-based innovation in modern markets.
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![Ideas Economy boredom and innovation]()
Is boredom making you more innovative?
On finding the void where real productivity begins.
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![The capital of experience]()
The capital of experience
What halftime games and skincare stunts reveal about loyalty economics.
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![The translation gap: why charismatic leadership is not enough to be influential]()
The translation gap: why charismatic leadership is not enough to be influential
Capturing attention is only the beginning of cultural resonance.
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![The proximity principle of collaboration]()
The proximity principle of collaboration
Creating the group environments for novel thinking and expansion.
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![The Obscurity Loop: why the coolest brands are impossible to find]()
The Obscurity Loop: why the coolest brands are impossible to find
How anti-scale builds influence through scarcity and social proof.
Ideas Economy is your body of insights, written and prepared by Founder and Principal, Rachel O’Brien.
“A tangible synthesis of all my inferences on the worlds of business, creativity, and culture. This thought platform indulges in my fascination with how imagination might be economically harnessed and valued. When organisations do that, it creates more sophisticated businesses, yes, but more importantly it sets them up with the infrastructure for better ways of existing. It equips brands to be more future-facing, and businesses can better drive lasting impact that shapes culture for the better, connecting people, and elevating quality of life for everyone. Ideas Economy supports this by prompting thought. Our consultancy pulls from that thought and likewise does its part through rigorous strategy, elegant execution, and integrated creativity.”
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