When we talk about entrepreneurship today, the spotlight almost always lands on unicorns.
Startups. Scaleups. Billion-dollar valuations. Hyper-growth curves fueled by venture capital.

The narrative is glamorous—but it’s also incomplete.

Not every great entrepreneur wants—or needs—to build a unicorn. For many, the truer path lies in an indie career: ventures that deliberately stay small in scale but big in impact, craft, and authenticity.

In The Career Remix, I explore this growing phenomenon, one that’s especially resonant with Millennials and Gen Z. These generations have grown up questioning the default assumptions of growth at all costs. They prize meaning, autonomy, and sustainability. They’ve seen the toll that endless fundraising rounds, hyper-competition, and “exit or die” culture can take on founders. And they’re choosing something different.

They are choosing independence.

An indie career doesn’t mean “settling for less.” It means crafting a venture that fits—financially, personally, and creatively. It’s about building a business around your strengths, your values, and your vision, without being enslaved to external investors or the scale-at-any-price mindset.

A few inspiring examples:

Food & Hospitality

• Massimo Bottura — Osteria Francescana in Modena. Just one restaurant, world-class, never a chain.

• Alice Waters — Chez Panisse in Berkeley. Sparked the farm-to-table movement while staying rooted in one place.

Boutique Hospitality

• Anouska Hempel — Blakes Hotel in London. The world’s first boutique hotel, designed to be one-of-a-kind.

• Kaspar Astrup Schröder — Hotel Sanders in Copenhagen. Known for intimacy and design, not scale.

Knowledge & Thought Leadership

• Ram Charan — Legendary advisor and author who has built a global impact business entirely as a solo “indie” operator.

• Elizabeth Gilbert — Author of Eat, Pray, Love. An indie career as a writer whose cultural reach has been immense—without a startup or corporate empire.

Creative & Lifestyle

• Rick Owens — Fashion designer with a cult following, rooted in craft, not fast-fashion scale.

• Yayoi Kusama — Artist who built her own brand and exhibitions, fiercely independent throughout her career.

What unites them isn’t size. It’s intentionality.

They’ve all chosen to define success on their own terms. Their “fit” isn’t measured by headcount, venture rounds, or IPO dates. It’s measured by the quality of their work, the impact on their audience, and the joy they take in their craft.

Why this matters for you

The indie path is not for everyone. Some will thrive in scale-ups or multinationals; others will be drawn to the rocket-ship chase of a unicorn. But too often, professionals rule out entrepreneurship entirely because they equate it with relentless growth, fundraising pitches, and Silicon Valley mythology.

That’s a mistake.

An indie business can be deeply rewarding—and sustainable. It can provide freedom, financial security, and above all, alignment with your personal values. And increasingly, younger professionals are finding that “indie” is not just a career style. It’s a philosophy: work that is rooted in choice, not compromise.

Sometimes, small is powerful. Sometimes, independence is the best growth strategy.

And that, to me, is the ultimate remix: careers that are not about “more,” but about “enough.”