Seasteading: Which business will thrive in upcoming ocean city-states?
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Max Marty
Feb 23, 2011, 9:22:20 PM2/23/11
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For Immediate Release: February 23, 2010
Contact: Max Marty, mma...@seasteading.org, cell 786-999-9743
The Seasteading Institute is a nonprofit organization which believes that innovative political systems could serve humanity far better than current governments, giving entrepreneurs the freedom to try new business models, services, and products. To get a feel for what these businesses will look like, the organization recently hosted the Sink or Swim business plan contest and offered $10,000 in prize money to the best business plan submissions. Contestants created entrepreneurial models which illustrated a key concept from seasteading theory: international waters provide a legal environment where innovators and entrepreneurs can create sea-based businesses to compete with their land-based counterparts.
Over forty individuals and teams entered, and the top five were awarded a portion of the prize. Grand prize winners Mike Doty and Travis Cannell earned $5,000 for “Delishus Fishes,” their sustainable aquaculture (fish farming) plan. Aquaculture takes advantage of the physical environment of international waters coupled with the right to legally fish without paying duties to the coastal state. Doty proclaimed, "Colonizing the oceans is a natural next step, a stepping stone to colonizing space. The oceans are rich in energy, life, and raw materials. There is plenty of room for an emerging population to grow with a sustainable economy of abundance.” According to Cannell, the oceans are "the next logical place for mankind to leave its mark."
The prize for the most creative plan was awarded to an entrant who drafted “Children on the Sea”, a plan for orphanages on the high seas that would raise underprivileged youth from developing nations who weren't able to get visas into first world countries. "What if you could identify exceptionally gifted young orphans, adopt them, nurture them, and watch them change the world?" the winner wrote about his entry.
According to Max Marty, The Seasteading Institutes's Director of Business Strategy and contest supervisor, “The Seasteading Institute is committed to making sustainable seasteading business a reality, and we think the sooner this happens the better. We hope these entries inspire individuals around the world to tackle today's problems on the seasteads of tomorrow”.
The Seasteading Institute was founded in 2008 by Patri Friedman, grandson of renowned economist Milton Friedman. As of the beginning of 2011, the institute has raised over $1,000,000 in donations, with funding led by Silicon Valley investor Peter Thiel, co-founder of PayPal and first investor in Facebook. Currently the Institute is focused on enabling the success of the first seasteads by researching the critical engineering, legal, and business problems seasteads will face, increasing public awareness, and building a core seasteading community.
For more information about The Seasteading Institute, visit www.seasteading.org. For more information about the winning entries and other submissions, and to read the business plans or see pictures of their authors, visit www.seasteading.org/sinkorswim-contest-winners.
Contact mma...@seasteading.org for questions, comments, or to set up interviews with the authors of our winning business plans!
Contact: Max Marty, mma...@seasteading.org, cell 786-999-9743
Which businesses will thrive in upcoming ocean city-states?
The Seasteading Institute awarded $10,000 in prize money to five teams who entered the Sink or Swim business plan contest.
The Seasteading Institute is a nonprofit organization which believes that innovative political systems could serve humanity far better than current governments, giving entrepreneurs the freedom to try new business models, services, and products. To get a feel for what these businesses will look like, the organization recently hosted the Sink or Swim business plan contest and offered $10,000 in prize money to the best business plan submissions. Contestants created entrepreneurial models which illustrated a key concept from seasteading theory: international waters provide a legal environment where innovators and entrepreneurs can create sea-based businesses to compete with their land-based counterparts.
Over forty individuals and teams entered, and the top five were awarded a portion of the prize. Grand prize winners Mike Doty and Travis Cannell earned $5,000 for “Delishus Fishes,” their sustainable aquaculture (fish farming) plan. Aquaculture takes advantage of the physical environment of international waters coupled with the right to legally fish without paying duties to the coastal state. Doty proclaimed, "Colonizing the oceans is a natural next step, a stepping stone to colonizing space. The oceans are rich in energy, life, and raw materials. There is plenty of room for an emerging population to grow with a sustainable economy of abundance.” According to Cannell, the oceans are "the next logical place for mankind to leave its mark."
The prize for the most creative plan was awarded to an entrant who drafted “Children on the Sea”, a plan for orphanages on the high seas that would raise underprivileged youth from developing nations who weren't able to get visas into first world countries. "What if you could identify exceptionally gifted young orphans, adopt them, nurture them, and watch them change the world?" the winner wrote about his entry.
According to Max Marty, The Seasteading Institutes's Director of Business Strategy and contest supervisor, “The Seasteading Institute is committed to making sustainable seasteading business a reality, and we think the sooner this happens the better. We hope these entries inspire individuals around the world to tackle today's problems on the seasteads of tomorrow”.
The Seasteading Institute was founded in 2008 by Patri Friedman, grandson of renowned economist Milton Friedman. As of the beginning of 2011, the institute has raised over $1,000,000 in donations, with funding led by Silicon Valley investor Peter Thiel, co-founder of PayPal and first investor in Facebook. Currently the Institute is focused on enabling the success of the first seasteads by researching the critical engineering, legal, and business problems seasteads will face, increasing public awareness, and building a core seasteading community.
For more information about The Seasteading Institute, visit www.seasteading.org. For more information about the winning entries and other submissions, and to read the business plans or see pictures of their authors, visit www.seasteading.org/sinkorswim-contest-winners.
Contact mma...@seasteading.org for questions, comments, or to set up interviews with the authors of our winning business plans!
--
Max Marty
Director of Business Strategy
The Seasteading Institute
(786)250-2895
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