STARTUP SOCIETIES AND Decentralization

Society’s Immune System

Decentralized governance reacts to overcentralization in much the same way an immune system reacts to a viral infection. Throughout history, history has been replete with the rise and inevitable fall of massive empires, each of which fall victim to complacency and corruption.

WHAT IS A STARTUP
SOCIETY?

A startup society is typically a small territorial experiment in government. For centuries, innovators have created enclaves to escape institutional barriers. The United States of America itself was created to escape religious persecution in Europe. The startup societies of today are making the world into a more diverse and competitive place.

Startup societies fall into three main categories:

 Physical Startup Societies:

Physical communities allow people to live and interact in ways not as prevalent or available in a wider community. These types of communities are usually (but not always) focused on a particular social issue or communal way of life. Examples of physical communities include new cities, ecovillages, and intentional communities, such as the Polestar Village in Colorado.

 Legal Startup Societies:

Legal communities are jurisdictions that provide unique policies, laws, regulations, and rules that differ from that of its host community. The most common example of a legal community are Special Economic Zones (SEZs), which are sub-jurisdictions located within a host country, but have adopted policies designed to attract economic investment. Successful SEZs, such as Shenzhen, just outside of Hong Kong, were crucial to China’s economic success and continue to be important engines of the economy.

   Digital Startup Societies:

Digital communities are virtual platforms, protocols, and communities that allow people to interact, share information, and exchange value outside of a centralized governance authority. Common examples include blockchains, Decentralized Autonomous Organizations (DAOs), and open-source development communities.

Types of Startup societies.

This ven diagram summarizes 3 Categories for Startup Societies (legal, physical and digital), and mentions examples of Startup Societies that emerge from two of these traits.

JUST LIKE BUSINESS STARTUPS

STARTUP SOCIETIES TEND TO BE:

Small

Usually the size of a neighborhood or a city, although digital ones are deterritorialized.

Cayman Islands Entreprise City

53 Acres only. Its economic impact in 2020 reports half a billion during its first 10 years of operation.
Learn more

Data

Useful when they fail because they are able to provide data about how to improve and how not to.

Example: Floating Island Project in French Polynesia

The FIP is a seasteading attempt that can help generate best practices on how not to set up seasteads or floating zones
Read how

Prosperous

Huge prosperity has been created from successful startup societies.

Example: Dubai

Dubai has 11 Special Economic Zones. They are responsible for Dubai being one of today’s most prominent business and financial centers.
Watch how

Innovative / Experimental

Startup Societies venture into new areas of governance, producing localized reforms.

Example: Próspera

Located in Honduras, Próspera has a next-generation legal system
Know more

Focused

Usually they center on a niche: sustainability, technology, automation, blockchain, freedom, walkability, decentralization, tax incentives, regulatory incentives, VR, among others.

The Catawba Digital Economic Zone

The CDEZ is a Special Economic Zone in the United States. While it’s able to register almost any type of business, it’s target market are the blockchain, fintech and web3 industries.
Visit

Responsive

Successful if listen to and/or adapt to their communities needs and environments

Example: Singapore

Singapore is a small-city state that is responsive to its citizens needs, and even gives them the upsides of increases in land value.
Learn more

Here are some examples

Próspera, Honduras

Based on the Honduran ZEDE law, Próspera is an entirely new city that has its own civil law and regulatory structure, independent of that of Honduras, though it remains bound by the Honduran constitution and its criminal law code. Inspired by successful special economic zones such as Shenzhen in China or Dubai in the United Arab Emirates, Próspera intends to make it much easier for residents to interact with government services by better aligning local government incentives and residential needs.

Celebration, Florida

Conceived and financed by the Walt Disney Company, Celebration is a master-planned community located near Walt Disney World. Though Disney divested control of the community, it still owns and operates many local services, including power utilities. Voting is restricted to landowning entities – with Disney remaining the largest such entity.

Songdo, South Korea

Songdo is among the largest private real estate developments in history, occupying 1500 acres of reclaimed land along the Incheon waterfront. Built from the ground-up with sustainability in mind, Songdo offers over 25km of bike paths, a central pneumatic waste disposal system that eliminates garbage pickup, and over 22 million sq-ft of LEED certified space.

Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC)

The DIFC is self-governed financial and business district with its own legal system and business regulations aimed at attracting foriegn investment. Laws are issued in English, businesses can operate without a local partner, companies can take advantage of a 50-year guarantee of zero taxes on corporate income and profits.

Ethereum

Ethereum is the blockchain technology powering ether (ETH), the world’s second-largest cryptocurrency, as well as thousands of decentralized application (dapps). Though it may be digital in nature, the Ethereum community has had huge impacts on the world at large.

Cayman Island Enterprise City

Made up of three Special Economic Zones (SEZs), the Cayman Island Enterprise City aimed to attract tech and service-industries to setup a physical presence in the Cayman Islands with incentives such as a 100% exemption from income and sales tax, and renewable 5-year work/residency visas that can be obtained in as little as 5 working days. As of 2020, the economic impact is estimated at over $500 million, and more than 250 companies are currently headquartered there.

Our Idea is Simple

Don’t argue about it, Build the alternative

Around the world, people are dissatisfied with their governments. Most governments are difficult (and slow) to change, in part due to their size. Our idea is simple: don’t argue about it, build the alternative. While the term “startup society” is new, the concept is not. American colonies began as startup societies to escape religious persecution in Europe.

While every society in history began as a startup, there are plenty of modernexamples. Cities such as Hong Kong, Shenzen and Singapore have lifted millions of people out of poverty and have the same economic output as many nation states. Currently, there are more than 5400 startup societies across the globe.

Success Cases

Shenzen, China

Dubai, United Arab Emirates

WHAT IS THE STARTUP SOCIETIES FOUNDATION?

“OUR MISSION IS TO CONNECT, EDUCATE AND EMPOWER SMALL TERRITORIAL EXPERIMENTS IN GOVERNMENT — ALL OVER THE WORLD.”.

Startup societies (SEZs, eco villages, micro states, intentional communities, seasteads and smart cities) typically operate in isolation. No support network. This leads to a greater likelihood of failure due to a lack of connections, information and resources.

Start For Free

 
Startup Societies Foundation studies, promotes, and connects startup societies. We want to create a vibrant, global startup societies industry through international conferences, investment summits, digital content and academic studies.

WE INTEND TO BUILD ALTERNATIVES TO TRADITIONAL POLITICS, BUSINESS, CULTURE AND TECHNOLOGY.

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