Cocoon Your Rough Ideas Until They’re Ready

When Pixar’s main campus buzzed with work on Finding Nemo, a small group across the street quietly sketched an early version of Monsters University. Sequestered in a separate building, the incubator team had three months and a modest budget to prove that a college for monsters could carry its own feature film.

Their sanctuary meant freedom: story artists jotted ideas on corkboards, animators drafted quick clay models, and tech experts built simple rigs—all without the pressure of the main production timeline. The only catch was their mentor’s regular check-ins: “How is this teaching us about campus life?”

By month’s end, they had a rough pilot reel showcasing campus quad shots, freshman orientation chaos, and a shy hero toying with a frat prank. They showed it in a candid Braintrust meeting and invited brutally honest feedback. The film’s producers were so intrigued by the tone that they approved a full greenlight—but only after an extra month to refine the story.

Monsters University went on to become a top-grossing Pixar sequel. But just as important, the incubator process taught Pixar how to nourish big-bet ideas without derailing its main films. The protected sandbox brought fresh perspective and low-cost risk, and it got the green light faster than any full-blown project before it.

Innovation theory shows that skunkworks and incubators often yield breakthroughs because they let ideas mature away from the politics and production grind. By nestling your next wild idea in a temporary cocoon, you can see its true promise before you commit fully.

Choose a bold idea and spin off a small, four-person incubator team in a separate space. Give them six weeks and a fixed budget to explore and prototype. Assign a senior mentor for obstacles, then host a candid preview at the end of the cycle. If the spark’s still there, greenlight it. This structure lets you test big bets without upending your core work—try setting up a sandbox project today.