Beyond Agency: Shifting to an Entrepreneurial Ecosystem with the RenDanHeYi Model (Ecosystem Case Study)
red_mad_robot - https://www.redmadrobot.com
By Ivan Smagin interviewing Alexey Makin, Founder & Shareholder of red_mad_robot
Guest Blog | August 2025
Congratulations to red_mad_robot for their nomination at the 2025 Haier ZeroDX Awards! red_mad_robot was recognized for their Open Innovation Ecosystem driving circularity in the built environment.
As part of our collaboration with the Haier Model Institute (HMI), we proudly supported the 2025 Haier ZeroDistance Excellence Awards by nominating outstanding organizations, individuals, and case studies from around the world. We want to extend our deepest recognition to all participants, who are true pioneers in embracing new management models and fostering ZeroDistance with their customers, suppliers, and communities. Your innovative spirit is shaping the future of business!
I’m incredibly proud of Alexey and red_mad_robot, one of our partners and nominees by the LAP Alliance, has truly earned this recognition through their progressive work!
Discover more about Switzerland Innovation Park Central and their Ecosystem Success Story through an insightful interview with their CEO Sem.
If you’re new to Ecosystems and the New Economical Engine read the linked blog post first.
Introduction
When the pace of external change outstrips the adaptability of business processes, companies face a choice: preserve the existing structure or rebuild it from the ground up. At red_mad_robot, we chose the latter — turning transformation into ongoing practice. To maintain focus and resilience in a turbulent market, we redesigned our management architecture, moving toward a decentralized model. Instead of scaling through headcount, we launched business units with micro-economies. Instead of centralized control, accountability for P&L, platform thinking, and customer orientation became core.
The system proved viable: autonomous AI products emerged, processes were reshaped, and teams grew stronger entrepreneurially. At the heart is the locally adapted RenDanHeYi model, combined with a long-term vision of red_mad_robot as an “everlasting company.” This sets a 200–300 year horizon and demands systemic resilience: instead of linear growth, we launch new companies; instead of hierarchy, we operate a shared-strategy platform with common rules.
From Management to Ecosystem: When Internal Intuition Meets Model Logic
Evolution of the red_mad_robot Business Model through Haier’s Architectural Principles
By 2022, red_mad_robot faced an internal contradiction: scaling under old centralized principles slowed new initiatives and suppressed individual drive. We needed a system where entrepreneurship is the norm, not the exception. Employees became active agents of change, and the structure evolved into an ecosystem of interdependent business units.
ImageSource: red_mad_robot - The evolution of the red_mad_robot business model with the adaptation of Haier's architectural principles
“We chose this unconventional approach for three reasons:
If you do something at an average level, the ceiling is mediocrity. Management requires understanding the frontier of best practice and aiming beyond it.
As creators, we build governance systems for long-term sustainability — able to evolve across management generations.
We monitor global management practices and drew inspiration from Haier’s integrated approach”,
— Alexey Makin, Founder & Shareholder, red_mad_robot
Management Shift: From Vertical Control to Entrepreneurial Agency
Transitioning to a decentralized architecture required moving from formal control to entrepreneurial agency, focusing on:
● orientation toward internal and external customers
● accountability for results (ownership)
● operating under uncertainty
● sharing best practices and developing teams
These competencies became standard, especially for AI teams, reflecting a global trend toward flexible, customer-oriented units.
Markets in a Reinvention Phase
Digital and IT sectors are transforming rapidly. Demand grows double-digit, and companies adopt short-cycle models — moving from idea to payback within 6–12 months — leveraging local resources and ecosystems.
From Functions to Value
Teams are hybrid — distributed, remote, and temporary specialists are standard. Employees are responsible for delivering customer value, not just performing a function. Imbalance of experience creates a “junior paradox”: many juniors, few seniors. Companies build internal academies, mentorship, and cross-functional teams.
AI Landscape Demands New Structures
Qualified IT talent remains scarce; new roles such as AI trainers and prompt engineers emerge. Tech teams adopt AI-first, no-code approaches, pairing humans with digital agents. Global competition drives flexible conditions and micro-entrepreneurial environments. Despite AI capabilities, practical experience is lacking, increasing the need for in-house upskilling and tools.
How We Adapted the RenDanHeYi Model
Agile, Taylor, and classical management didn’t solve our challenges: need for radical acceleration, flexibility, and ownership. RenDanHeYi provided systemic answers at the architectural level.
● Agile works within teams but doesn’t scale management or address P&L and strategic focus.
● Taylorism relies on hierarchy and control, ineffective in fast-changing markets.
● Classical management suits stable environments; with six-month payback cycles, centralized structures lag.
RenDanHeYi as the systemic answer
The model integrates AI, people, and platforms. Teams gained full P&L responsibility and decision-making autonomy. Vertical coordination was replaced with horizontal contracts; procedures were replaced with value-driven interactions. Modular approaches enabled experimentation, iteration, and rapid scaling — critical in AI environments.
Practical Application: How We Changed Our Work Logic
Facing turbulence and short planning horizons, red_mad_robot shifted to a model where each team acts as a business unit — customer-focused, results-driven, and economically accountable. Management became decentralized, fast, and value-oriented. Career paths follow participatory OKR system, with 20% of time for skill development and strategic initiatives.
In 2019, an accelerator helped teams build autonomous micro-enterprises — some became independent, others joined the main portfolio. Now, over ten new units operate with strategic autonomy.
Today, ideas quickly turn into AI products. Teams are co-creators with decision-making freedom and customer focus.
Case 1. Analytics Center
The internal analytics center became a micro-enterprise with its own P&L, offer, accounting, and contracts. The team shifted from producing reports to solving client problems and improving decision accuracy.
Motivation and culture changed: work became strategic, goal-driven, and audience-focused. Employees managed their own products. Internal billing was later removed, but the entrepreneurial mindset persisted: every member acts as a service owner.
Case 2. Daisy
Daisy is an AI-based service providing access to core LLMs. It began as a developer MVP, not a top-management initiative. The internal bot proved useful and quickly spread across the company.
When it became clear that the idea met a real need, we invested resources and mentoring, granting Daisy autonomous business-unit status. Today, it has its own team, business model, and development track. The service has already been integrated into a major telecom operator’s app and secured an external investor.
Case 3. VAIS
VAIS is a no-code platform for building multi-agent AI systems. It began as an R&D exploration before market demand existed: the team experimented with no-code + AI for industrial automation. The product didn’t take off then — market timing wasn’t right — and the project was frozen.
Later, with growing interest in AI scenarios, the team revisited the idea, refined the value proposition, defined its audience, and launched an MVP. VAIS expanded beyond industrial use to CRM, internal systems, and chatbots.
Operating as an autonomous unit, the VAIS team builds its own economics, takes part in client pre-sales, collects feedback, and scales functionality. With pilot projects and proofs-of-concept already delivered, a working business model in place, and key market hypotheses validated, the next step is scaling sales and developing VAIS as an independent AI product in the no-code automation space.
Results: Impact on Growth, Culture, and Positioning
red_mad_robot now scales via business units with micro-economies rather than linear headcount growth. Over ten units exist, from internal teams to external AI products, some fully independent.
Replication of product centers enabled entry into CIS, Central Asian, and Middle Eastern markets without losing control. Bottom-up initiatives now drive a growing share of projects.
Positioning evolved: red_mad_robot is an ecosystem player — a business incubator and AI partner. Strategy follows: ideation → incubation → acceleration → scale. Internal developments, client projects, and investment hypotheses align in a single entrepreneurial architecture.
Culturally, autonomous units strengthened flexibility while maintaining governance:
● Employees act as entrepreneurs, accountable for customer value
● Economic logic and customer focus are embedded in daily actions
Recognition followed: experts share transformation experience at industry forums, international conferences, and C-level meetings. Major awards — from Red Dot and Webby to European Design Awards — affirm the global relevance of our internal architecture and AI solutions.
“red_mad_robot is entering the next phase: reshaping into a group of AI assets — R&D Lab, scientific initiatives, professional services, AI products, and strategic partnerships. Core principles remain: unleashing human potential through technology and creating lasting good for humanity”,
— Alexey Makin, Founder & Shareholder, red_mad_robot
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