Gusto’s ‘Dream Small’ Centers Independent Small Business

Gusto has launched Dream Small, a brand campaign created with Special Group USA that presents small business ownership as a goal in its own right. The campaign centers on entrepreneurs who choose independence and build close relationships with their employees and customers.

The campaign launched October 27, as new US small business applications reach record levels. Gusto cites data showing 66% of millennials and Gen Z have seriously considered starting a business, and that small businesses make up 99.9% of US businesses and 43.5% of GDP.

Nick Ball directed the campaign, and cinematographer Hoyte van Hoytema shot it, using a character-driven approach drawn from film and television. The hero film, The New Big Dream, follows Tony, who opens a single dry-cleaning shop after family and others push him toward a corporate career.

Supporting films show how Gusto’s services work for small business owners and staff, including a massage therapist receiving reliable paychecks, a septic-service owner arranging employee health benefits, a medical aesthetics practitioner opening her own clinic, and an office manager setting up retirement plans. More stories will roll out through the rest of 2026 and into early 2027.

Dream Small runs across broadcast, online video, social, audio, influencer partnerships, and digital out-of-home. Broadcast placements include live sports on CBS, FOX, The CW, Netflix, and Amazon Prime Video through Thanksgiving week. Out-of-home placements run in New York, including LinkNYC kiosks, Penn Station, and Manhattan transit shelters, and in downtown Chicago.

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