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The Changing Nature of Creative Control
For decades, the path for a successful public figure was largely transactional. An athlete, actor, or musician would spend years honing their craft, achieve a certain level of fame, and then rent that fame out to the highest bidder. They became the face of a perfume, a sneaker, or a watch brand. They got paid a flat fee, filmed a commercial, and walked away. This was the endorsement model, and while it created plenty of millionaires, it rarely created lasting business infrastructure. Michael B. Jordan has decided to play a different game entirely. By co-founding Obsidianworks alongside Chad Easterling, he moved from being the person in the ad to being the person who owns the company that makes the ad.
Obsidianworks represents a shift in power that is currently rippling through the business world. In 2025, the agency took a massive step forward by going fully independent, buying out its minority partner, 160over90. This wasn’t just a corporate maneuver; it was a statement about who should hold the keys to cultural influence. When you look at their client list, you see heavy hitters like Nike, Instagram, and Spanx. These aren’t just small social media posts. They are massive, high-level activations like the Met Gala or NBA All-Star Weekend. By owning the agency, Jordan and Easterling are capturing the value of the creative process itself, not just the final image of a famous face.
This development is particularly interesting when viewed through the lens of a city like Boston. While we often think of Boston as a hub for biotech, education, and finance, there is a massive and growing creative economy here that is hungry for new models of success. The traditional way of doing things in New England often leans toward the conservative and established. However, the Jordan model suggests that the next generation of Boston’s leaders—whether they are tech founders in the Seaport or artists in Roxbury—should be looking toward ownership as their primary goal. The “face of the brand” is a temporary position. The “owner of the machine” is a permanent one.
The Impact on Local Boston Talent and Infrastructure
Boston has always been a city of innovators, but the creative class has often felt secondary to the scientific and academic giants. The rise of companies like Obsidianworks provides a roadmap for how local creatives can build scalable platforms. Imagine a scenario where a local Boston athlete doesn’t just sign a deal with a sportswear company but instead uses their influence to launch a strategic advisory or a media production house right here in Massachusetts. This keeps the intellectual property and the high-paying jobs within the local economy rather than exporting them to Los Angeles or New York.
The cultural footprint of Boston is unique. We have a mix of deep historical roots and a cutting-edge, youthful energy driven by our massive student population. When a brand like Nike wants to activate at an event, they are looking for that specific blend of authenticity and prestige. In the past, a national agency would fly in, do their work, and leave. If more local talent adopted the Jordan mindset, we would see the emergence of Boston-based agencies that own these cultural moments. This creates a sustainable ecosystem where the money generated by cultural influence stays within the community to fund the next wave of projects.
Consider the recent milestones of Obsidianworks. They handled Spanx’s 25th anniversary at Art Basel. That requires an incredible amount of logistical planning, creative vision, and business strategy. It isn’t something you can do just because you are famous; you need a team of experts. By building this team, Jordan has created a machine that functions even when he is on a film set. This is the definition of a scalable business. For an entrepreneur in Boston, the lesson is clear: your personal brand is the fuel, but the business structure is the engine. You need both to get anywhere meaningful in the long run.
Breaking the Cycle of Fee-for-Service Work
Many people in the creative industries find themselves stuck in a “fee-for-service” cycle. You do a job, you get paid, and then you have to find the next job. There is no residual value in the work you did yesterday. The shift toward ownership changes the math. When you own the agency, you are building an asset that has value independent of your daily labor. This is how real wealth is created. It’s the difference between being a carpenter and being the person who owns the construction company. Both are valuable, but one allows for much greater financial freedom and influence.
In the Seaport District, we see tech startups following this model every day. They build a piece of software once and sell it a million times. The creative world is finally catching up to this software-style scaling. By creating “culture-powered” strategies, Obsidianworks is essentially creating a repeatable system for brand success. They can take the lessons learned from an Instagram activation and apply them to a completely different industry. This intellectual property is what makes the agency valuable to investors and partners. It’s not just about who Michael B. Jordan knows; it’s about what the agency knows how to do.
This is a major departure from the old “celebrity creative director” titles that were popular a few years ago. Often, those titles were purely for show, with the celebrity having very little actual input or equity. The new model is much more rigorous. It requires a deep understanding of market trends, consumer behavior, and corporate finance. Chad Easterling’s move to launch a strategic advisory is the logical next step. He is now teaching others how to make this transition, turning “stars” into “CEOs.” This is a professionalization of fame that we haven’t seen on this scale before.
Why Ownership Matters More Than Ever in 2026
The economy of 2026 is driven by attention. However, attention is more fragmented than it has ever been. In the past, you could reach everyone by buying a few TV spots during a big game. Today, you have to find your audience across dozens of platforms, through influencers, events, and digital experiences. Because the landscape is so complex, the value of someone who truly understands “culture” has skyrocketed. Brands are tired of generic advertising that nobody watches. They want to be part of the conversation, but they don’t always know how to join it without looking out of touch.
This is where the ownership model provides a massive advantage. Because Michael B. Jordan and his team are active participants in the culture, they don’t have to guess what people like. They are the ones defining it. When they bring a brand into that space, it feels natural. This isn’t something a traditional ad agency can easily replicate, no matter how many focus groups they run. For a Boston-based business, this means that partnering with talent-led agencies can lead to much more effective marketing. It’s about quality of engagement rather than just raw numbers of impressions.
- Strategic advisors are now helping talent move into equity-driven ventures where they own a percentage of the companies they promote.
- Media companies are being built to control the distribution of content, removing the need for traditional gatekeepers.
- Investment vehicles allow talent to put their money into the same brands they are helping to build, creating a double win.
This holistic approach means that if a brand succeeds, everyone involved shares in the long-term rewards. It aligns the interests of the talent, the agency, and the brand. In a city with Boston’s financial expertise, this kind of alignment should be music to the ears of investors. We are seeing a new asset class emerge: culturally-backed equity. It’s a way to invest in the power of influence with the same discipline you would apply to a real estate deal or a stock portfolio.
Redefining the Professional Creative Career Path
For a young person graduating from one of Boston’s many prestigious universities, the career path in marketing or media used to be very narrow. You started at a large firm, worked your way up the ladder, and hoped to become a partner in twenty years. The Obsidianworks model blows that wide open. It suggests that if you have a deep understanding of a specific community or culture, you can build your own agency and compete with the giants almost immediately. The barriers to entry are lower, but the requirements for authenticity are much higher.
This doesn’t mean that traditional skills like copywriting, design, or strategy are no longer important. On the contrary, they are more important than ever. But they need to be applied within a different framework. Instead of asking “How can we sell this product?”, the question becomes “How can we make this brand a meaningful part of people’s lives?”. It’s a subtle shift, but it changes everything about the creative process. It moves the work from being an interruption to being a contribution.
In Boston, we have a unique opportunity to lead this movement. We have the intellectual capital, the financial resources, and a culture that values hard work and substance. By embracing the idea of creative ownership, we can ensure that our city remains a vital player in the global media landscape. We don’t just want to be a place where ads are watched; we want to be the place where the systems behind those ads are built and owned. This is how we protect our local economy from the fluctuations of the global market.
The Role of Independent Agencies in Modern Commerce
Independence is a key theme in the Obsidianworks story. By buying out their partner, they gained the freedom to move at the speed of culture. Large, conglomerate-owned agencies often struggle with bureaucracy. They have too many layers of approval, which can kill a great idea before it ever sees the light of day. An independent agency can take risks. They can say “no” to a big paycheck if the brand doesn’t align with their values. This integrity is what builds long-term trust with an audience.
For brands like Nike or Spanx, working with an independent, talent-led agency is a way to bypass the corporate fluff. They get a direct line to the people who are actually shaping the market. This efficiency is highly valued in today’s fast-paced business environment. If you can deliver a high-quality campaign in half the time it takes a traditional firm, you are going to win every time. This is a lesson that every Boston entrepreneur should take to heart: being lean and independent is often a competitive advantage, not a disadvantage.
The advisory services that Easterling is now providing are designed to help more people achieve this level of independence. It’s about building a foundation that can support a variety of different business interests. One day it might be a sneaker launch, the next it might be an investment in a clean-energy startup. The “platform” is what makes it all possible. It’s the central hub that coordinates all the different spokes of a modern professional career. Without that hub, you are just a collection of disconnected projects.
Building a Lasting Business Legacy in New England
When we look at the history of Boston business, the companies that have lasted the longest are the ones that owned their infrastructure. From the textile mills of the 19th century to the tech giants of today, ownership has always been the key to longevity. The creative world is no different. If you want to have an impact that lasts for decades, you have to own the means of production. You have to be the one who decides how things are made and who gets to make them.
Michael B. Jordan’s success with Obsidianworks is a powerful example of what is possible when you combine talent with a strategic mindset. He didn’t just wait for the phone to ring with the next job offer. He went out and built a company that ensures he will always have a seat at the table. This is a model that can be replicated by anyone with a skill and a vision. It doesn’t matter if you are in Hollywood or Boston; the principles of ownership and scalability are universal.
The city of Boston is perfectly positioned to support this kind of growth. We have the mentors, the capital, and the talent. What we need is a collective shift in how we view the value of our work. We need to stop seeing ourselves as “vendors” and start seeing ourselves as “partners.” We need to demand equity in the value we create. And most importantly, we need to build our own agencies, media companies, and investment firms so that we are never dependent on someone else’s permission to succeed.
Practical Steps for Transitioning to an Ownership Model
Moving from a fee-based career to an ownership-based one doesn’t happen overnight. It requires a clear plan and a willingness to reinvest in yourself. The first step is to identify the unique value you bring to the table. What is the “culture” or “community” that you understand better than anyone else? Once you have that, you can start to build a team around you. You don’t have to do everything yourself. In fact, the most successful owners are the ones who know how to delegate and find the right partners, just as Jordan found Easterling.
Next, you have to look for opportunities to take equity instead of just cash. This might mean taking a smaller fee in exchange for a piece of the company you are helping. It’s a risk, but it’s the only way to get a seat at the ownership table. You also need to think about how you can turn your services into a product. Can you create a repeatable process that other people can follow? Can you build a platform that connects brands with your audience? These are the questions that lead to a scalable business.
Finally, you have to stay independent as long as possible. Don’t be in a rush to sell out to a larger firm. The value of your agency or media company comes from your unique perspective and your connection to the culture. If you sell too early, you lose that. By staying independent, Obsidianworks was able to grow on its own terms and eventually buy back full control. That is the ultimate goal. It gives you the power to define your own future and create a legacy that will last long after your personal fame has faded.
The Future of the Brand Machine in a Decentralized World
As we move further into the decade, the traditional “brand machine” will continue to evolve. We are seeing the rise of decentralized platforms and new ways for creators to interact directly with their fans. This will only make the ownership model more important. In a world where anyone can start a channel or a brand, the winners will be the ones who own the underlying infrastructure and the data that goes with it. Michael B. Jordan has given us a glimpse of what that looks like at the highest levels of business.
For the Boston creative community, the message is one of empowerment. You have the ability to build something significant right here. You don’t need to move to a different city to find success. By focusing on ownership, equity, and strategic growth, you can build a business that has a global impact. The “brand machine” isn’t a mysterious force that lives in a skyscraper in New York. It’s a system that you can build yourself, piece by piece, starting today.
The shift from endorsement to ownership is the biggest story in the business of fame, but it’s also a story about the future of work for everyone. It’s about recognizing your own value and having the courage to build a system that reflects it. Michael B. Jordan has shown us the way. Now, it’s up to the rest of us to follow that path and build our own versions of Obsidianworks in our own communities. The rewards—both financial and creative—are well worth the effort.
Think about the brands that define our daily lives. From the coffee we drink in Southie to the sneakers we wear on the T, every one of those brands is the result of a creative strategy. If those strategies were owned and operated by the people who actually live in those communities, imagine how much more vibrant and equitable our local economy would be. This is the promise of the ownership model. It’s not just about making a few people rich; it’s about creating a better, more connected, and more sustainable way of doing business for everyone.
The journey from being the “face” to being the “owner” is the ultimate evolution of a professional career. It represents a move toward maturity, responsibility, and true influence. It’s a path that requires hard work, a lot of learning, and a bit of a gamble. But as we have seen with Obsidianworks, it’s the only path that leads to real independence. In a world that is constantly changing, the only thing you can truly count on is what you own. This is a lesson that Michael B. Jordan has learned, and it’s one that we should all take to heart as we build our own futures in the city of Boston.
We are standing at a crossroads in the history of creative business. One path leads back to the old ways of doing things, where we are all just temporary workers in someone else’s empire. The other path leads forward to a world where we own our work, our data, and our cultural influence. The choice is clear. By choosing ownership, we are choosing a future where creativity is valued, respected, and rewarded. This is the new era of the brand machine, and it’s time for us to take our place at the controls.
The work of Obsidianworks shows that this isn’t just a dream for the distant future. It’s happening right now. Major brands are already moving their budgets away from traditional firms and toward these new, talent-led agencies. This shift will only accelerate as more people realize the benefits of the ownership model. For the entrepreneurs and creators of Boston, this is your signal. The world is looking for what you have to offer. Don’t just sell it. Build a company around it. Own the system. Change the game.
