I want to preface everything I am about to say by emphasizing that I am a huge believer in startups. However, I will acknowledge there are valid constraints (e.g. family obligations, lack of qualifications/skill/capital/startup idea) that pose a barrier for entering that world as a founder, employee, or investor.

Startup Cities

Having said that, the recent acceleration of remote work can reduce some of this friction and enable a new way for people to get involved in startups through being a citizen (either physically or virtually) of what Balaji Srinivasan calls, a startup city:

1. A city where startups happen, what San Francisco used to be prior to the current exodus.
2. A city that acts like a startup, like Miami or Dubai.
3. A city that is a startup itself, like Prospera, Culdesac, or Starbase, TX.

Why do we need startup cities?

Startup cities offer a new form of community, with allegiance created through a shared belief (e.g. technology) rather than a shared geography (e.g. USA). This ultimately creates a much stronger bond among citizens as assembly is voluntary, with governance achieved through persuasion rather than coercion (i.e. nation states). 

For the individuals who are still unable to become citizens of startup cities as employees or founders, they can participate as shareholders. Startup cities could trade publicly, similar to a stock. Both citizens and foreigners would have the opportunity to invest in cities they believe are undervalued in the market. This would ultimately allow one to be rewarded for the success of the startup city, while eliminating the friction of physical migration, joining a startup, and traditional investing. 

How would this work?

Each city issues a digital coin (or City-Coin) through an ICO. Any individual has the opportunity to purchase the coin, with each city issuing the coin receiving the capital.

The specifics of ownership at ICO stage, as well as use case of capital raised, would be determined by the citizens of the startup city. Investment of capital could include: crowdfunding land, funding startups, infrastructure, and R&D. Given the programmability of smart contracts, the options are near infinite.

There are currently constraints when looking to join the legacy startup ecosystem. However, the innovation of startup cities, combined with the introduction of City-Coins, can democratize participation for everyone.  

The City-Coin provides ownership to both citizens and outside investors. It motivates and rewards individuals to build startup cities while providing outsiders the opportunity to invest. 

Bitcoin was the first cryptocurrency to align a large mass of people around a common belief. Startup cities take that alignment to another level by going beyond digital coins or tokens. Wherein cryptocurrency involves voting with your dollars, startup cities involve voting with your feet. 

We have already seen the opportunity to invest in platforms (Ethereum), artists (NFTs), memes (Dogecoin), and individuals (BitClout), why not cities? 

Matthew J. Gilmour
@mattjgilmour

Thoughts, comments, disagreements welcome.