18 years ago, REMIX Co-founders Simon Cronshaw and Peter Tullin wrote Intelligent Naivety as a handbook for Cultural Entrepreneurs.

Back then, we were convinced of their transformative power to reach new audiences and deliver financially sustainable models for arts and culture.

Today that belief is just as strong – but we’re much wiser to the traps and barriers. We’ve seen the burnout of startup models, the challenges of sustaining innovation within institutions, and the harsh realities of Big Tech’s dominance.

Throughout 2025, Simon has been working with Ellen O’Hara, Lisa Westcott Wilkins and Dr Brendon Wilkins to deep-dive into the state of cultural innovation today. They wanted to think across institutions, startups and sub-sectors to spot what’s working – and what might be possible.

Since that first handbook in 2008, the Cultural Entrepreneur has evolved:

• They’re building new cultural interfaces to make excellence accessible
• Their business models are grounded in committed communities
• They value coherence over scale
• They choose depth over distraction

Here is their new blueprint. View and download it below.

An exciting new era of Cultural Entrepreneurship has only just begun.