Virtual idea generation tools and pre-vetted talent

the modern way to tap outside freelancers

Animation of the Ideasicle X Idea Stream, where teams of four creative freelancers work together virtually coming up with ideas. — Teams of four work virtually together posting, building, and riffing ideas.

Will Burns, Founder & CEO (bio)

The “traditional freelance” model is old, stale, and expensive. We have reinvented it with innovative virtual brainstorm technologies and a pre-vetted creative talent-pool of rock stars we call Ideasicle Experts.

Run virtual brainstorms from your computer using our proprietary web app IX Original. Have us do it for you with IX Concierge. Longer term freelance projects hire from our pre-vetted talent pool, and we handle the 1099 relationships, with IX Freestyle.

Everything you need is here. Explore below and see why we can confidently say, nothing is unthinkable.

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IX ORIGINAL

RUN YOUR OWN IDEA PROJECTS FROM YOUR desk (DIY).

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We’ve pre-recruited over 40 creative professionals from big-time agencies. With IX Original it’s like having access to a fractional creative department from your desktop. With a subscription to our intuitive web application, you can open new jobs, upload briefs, recruit teams of 4, track the team’s ideas as they are posted, and pay the teams—all in one place.

IX CONCIERGE

10+ polished ideas from big-time talent delivered in under a week.

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Call us and our team will manage everything—from assembling the right talent to monitoring the job to curating and delivering 10+ polished ideas in under a week (faster if necessary). No stress, just big ideas from incredible talent.

IX FREESTYLE

one expert or a creative team for more traditional freelance projects.

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Quickly and easily tap into our pre-vetted pool of over 30 world-class creative, strategic, and media experts. Brief us and we’ll find you the perfect person or team for the job. Bonus: we handle the 1099 relationships.

Annual Freelance Savings Calculator

Plug your agency’s annual freelance numbers into our calculator below. Compare pricing and value. Then the calculator will provide you with a proposal that will help you stop overpaying for underwhelming ideas.

The numbers are in...

In many ways, virtual brainstorms are better than in person

After ten years of research, we were surprised, too. We were generating more and better ideas, generating them faster and for less money than traditional freelance. All because it was done virtually.

the right talent on each project.

Sometimes the right people for an idea project aren’t in the building. With IX Original, users have access to anyone in the world, be they our Ideasicle Experts, their own freelancers, or even employees, to be on the creative team of four. When it’s virtual, you always have the right people.

Eliminate unconscious bias.

Fact is, our personal biases can affect how we perceive other people’s ideas. But when it’s virtual, there are no unconscious biases that get in the way of the team’s creativity because everyone is effectively reduced to a typeface. So it’s all about the ideas unhindered by any biases.

creativity happens naturally, not forced.

There’s no telling when creative inspiration will strike. And it’s not likely to strike within the tight window of an in-person brainstorm. But when the team is working virtually, they simply pull out their phones, post the idea from wherever they are, and the rest of the team is pinged and invited to improve.

Online disinhibition emboldens creatives.

An in-person brainstorm can be intimidating. But less so when it’s virtual. Online disinhibition, or the lack of restraint one feels when communicating online, is horrible for the vitriol of social media, but amazing for creativity because the teams are more fearless with their posts.

4 is the magic number on a virtual team.

Who knows what the right number is for an in-person brainstorm? But we have evidence that four is the ideal number of creative people on a virtual creative team. Any more than that and they tend to clam up and feel like they’re on stage. Any fewer and we don’t get the exponential numbers of ideas.

Yes, virtual idea generation is not a sacrifice to in-person. With Ideasicle X, it’s an accelerant.