Ninety days. A quarter. In the life of a creative business, it is an elastic and paradoxical period. It is enough time for a new cultural trend to be born, explode, and begin to fade away. At the same time, it is the standard, almost sacred timeframe that the market imposes for a creator to receive payment for work already delivered and approved. It is an eternity of waiting in a world that moves at the speed of now.

What does it really mean to wait 90 days? To put this measure of time into a brutally honest perspective, let's explore 10 historical, cultural, and technological milestones that humanity achieved in that same interval. Milestones that prove that while your capital is stagnant, the world is not.

Milestone 1: The First Floor of the Eiffel Tower Was Erected

In 1887, Paris was preparing for the World’s Fair that would celebrate the centenary of the French Revolution. The plan was bold: to build the tallest tower in the world. Work began in January, and contrary to general skepticism, the speed was astonishing. In just over 90 days, around May, the first floor of the structure — a colossal platform 57 meters high, complete with restaurants and a solid base of four pillars — was standing. While tons of iron were forged, transported, and riveted in a demonstration of unprecedented engineering and ambition, a creator today would still be in the first third of the wait for a payment.

Milestone 2: Nirvana Recorded and Mixed the Album "Nevermind"

At the beginning of 1991, the music scene was dominated by pop and glam hard rock. Then, between April and June of that year, in a studio in California, a Seattle band called Nirvana made history. In a surge of creative energy that lasted about two months, they recorded and mixed the 12 tracks that would become the album Nevermind. From the opening riff of "Smells Like Teen Spirit" to the haunting melody of "Something in the Way," a work that would redefine rock, give a voice to a generation, and change global culture forever was conceived, executed, and finalized. All in the time it takes for an agency to get paid for a campaign.

Milestone 3: Bong Joon-ho Filmed "Parasite"

In 2020, the film world was turned upside down when, for the first time in history, a non-English language film won the Oscar for Best Picture. "Parasite" was not just a film; it was a cultural event. And most of its essence was captured in the blink of an eye. The main filming, the complex process of bringing the script to life with actors, sets, and a whole crew, took place between May and July 2018. In less than 90 days, director Bong Joon-ho and his team executed each scene with surgical precision that would be analyzed and celebrated worldwide. A masterpiece of suspense, drama, and social critique, which required impeccable logistics, was entirely filmed in the time it takes for a creator to wait for a payment that is often essential to finance the next project.

Milestone 4: The United States Constitution Was Drafted

After the revolution, the United States was a young and fragile nation, united by a confederative pact that proved ineffective. The need for a new foundational document was urgent. On May 25, 1787, representatives gathered in Philadelphia for what would become the Constitutional Convention. During about 100 days of intense debates, negotiations, and compromises, the text that would become the world’s most enduring constitution was forged. Much of the work, the drafting and defining of articles that balance powers and define citizens’ rights, was consolidated within a 90-day period. The architecture of an entire nation was drawn while a professional today would still be waiting for payment for work already delivered.

Milestone 5: The First Functional Google Server Went Live

In 1997, the internet was a chaotic place, a vast repository of information that was difficult to navigate. It was in this scenario that two Stanford students, Larry Page and Sergey Brin, had a revolutionary idea to organize the web. After registering the domain "https://www.google.com/search?q=google.com" in September, they worked tirelessly. In less than three months, the prototype of the search engine, running on makeshift servers at the university and based on the innovative PageRank algorithm, was already functional and outperforming all competitors in relevance. The technology that would become the operating system of global information and one of the most valuable companies in the world took its first steps and proved its worth in less than 90 days.

Milestone 6: SpaceX Built the Starhopper Prototype

To realize its dream of taking humanity to Mars, SpaceX needed to test its new and revolutionary engine, the Raptor. To do this, they needed an experimental ship. Instead of a years-long process, they adopted a radically agile approach. Between late 2018 and March 2019, at their Texas base, teams worked 24/7 to build the Starhopper. The world watched, via photos from enthusiasts, as a structure resembling a stainless-steel water tower was assembled outdoors in record time. This feat of engineering and rapid prototyping, essential for the development of Starship, demonstrated that even rocket construction, the frontier of human technology, could happen at an impressive speed. All this in the same timeframe that a creator waits for the capital necessary to buy a new computer.

Milestone 7: Red Bull Executed Its First Viral Campaign

In the early 90s, the beverage market was an oligopoly of giants. Entering this game with traditional advertising would be financial suicide. Red Bull, then, did the opposite. Instead of a year-long media plan, they executed one of the first and most successful guerrilla marketing campaigns in history in a matter of weeks. The strategy was simple and genius: they paid students to throw parties, sponsored athletes of still unknown extreme sports, and left empty cans in trash bins and bars' counters in key cities. In less than 90 days, the brand built word of mouth and a mystique of "What is this energy drink?" that no million-dollar TV campaign could buy, forever changing the rules of advertising.

Milestone 8: Instagram Reached Its First Million Users

Today, it is the platform where many creators build their careers, but its beginning was a lesson in explosive speed. Instagram was launched in the App Store on October 6, 2010. Without a large marketing budget, the product focused on doing one thing excellently: sharing beautiful photos. The result was seismic. In less than 90 days, by mid-December, the app had already reached its first million users. A vibrant community and a product that would define the next decade of digital culture were established and validated by the market in the same period that an advertising agency would still be checking the statement, waiting for payment from a campaign for a client.

Milestone 9: Queen Recorded "Bohemian Rhapsody"

In 1975, the rules for a hit song were clear: 3 to 4 minutes, a repeating chorus, and a predictable structure. Queen decided to break all of them. "Bohemian Rhapsody," with its nearly 6 minutes, multiple sections ranging from ballad to opera to hard rock, was a logistical nightmare. The recording process was one of the most complex in pop music history, requiring up to 180 vocal overdubs to create the operatic choir. Even with all this complexity and experimentation, most of the recording and mixing of this masterpiece that redefined what was possible in a song was completed in less than 90 days.

Milestone 10: The Transition to the Real Plan Was Executed

In early 1994, Brazil was suffering under the scourge of hyperinflation. The solution was one of the most audacious economic plans ever conceived. Its crucial phase, the transition, took place in approximately 90 days. From March to June, the country operated with a "virtual currency," the URV (Unit of Real Value), which converted and stabilized prices daily, preparing the population for the arrival of the Real in July. This complex maneuver, which required massive coordination between government, businesses, and society as a whole, managed to tame inflation and changed the economic destiny of an entire nation in the time it takes an event supplier to receive payment for a festival that has already taken place.

The Turning Point: The Question That Really Matters

Ten examples. From engineering to culture, from politics to technology, from economics to art. Ten irrefutable proofs that 90 days is more than enough time to initiate a revolution, build a legacy, change a paradigm, or save an economy.

But this article is not about the past. It is about your future.

These historical milestones serve to put into perspective the invisible barrier that holds back your potential. The question remains, the only one that truly matters, is not what others have done.

The question is: What are you leaving undone while you wait?

The 11th Milestone: Your Next Quarter

The question that closed the last part — "What are you leaving undone while you wait?" — leads us to the most important achievement on this list. The eleventh. The one that has yet to be written but has the potential to be the most transformative of all. Your.

What could you, creator, agency, or producer, achieve in the next 90 days if capital was not your main barrier?

Think about this concretely. Would it be the quarter to launch that new content series that positions you as the absolute leader of your niche? Would it be the time to develop and produce a merchandising line that would create a new revenue stream? Would it be the sprint to film the short film that you would submit to festivals? Or to hire that brilliant editor or strategist who would double your production capacity?

The tragedy of the creative economy is that ambition and ideas are rarely the problem. The real obstacle is that your future potential is often held hostage by your past success. The money you've already made, stuck in a receivable contract, is what prevents you from taking the next big step.

It is to break this vicious cycle that DUX exists.

We do not offer a loan. We offer the key to unlock the value that is already yours. By transforming your future contracts into immediate capital, DUX works as the tool that synchronizes your financial reality with the speed of your ambition. We provide the fuel so that your "90-day sprint" can actually happen.

History shows us that greatness does not wait for bureaucratic approval. The innovators, artists, and builders who defined the world did not wait 90 days. You don’t have to either. The question is not if you can achieve something extraordinary in the next quarter. The question is what you will choose to achieve.

What is your "11th milestone"? A new channel? A short film? A product line? Don’t let a payment deadline delay your ambition. Finance your next big project within 24 hours.

Advance a contract and start now.