Imagine a floating city of entrepreneurs; a veritable Googleplex of the sea. That's the vision behind Blueseed, a San Francisco startup.
The company plans to deploy a cruise ship 12 nautical miles from Silicon Valley -- in international waters -- and convert it into a metropolis of floating offices so foreign workers can launch their companies without obtaining work visas.
Despite a number of bills currently in Congress that aim to expand immigrant work visas, "there is no entrepreneurial visa," says co-founder Max Marty. "I think that's a terrible problem."
The answer, according to Marty and his team, is to take to the high seas.
So what will this startup metropolis look like?
The ship will have pools, massage areas, gyms, rock climbing walls, and indoor soccer fields according to Marty. His model is very Google-esque--the fostering of creativity through colors, aesthetics, and food.
"Those elements are the same sort of thing we're bringing to this workspace," he says.
But unlike the Googleplex, where employees can actually walk out the door, entrepreneurs must take a ferry (or helicopter) to the mainland. Right now Marty is anticipating twice daily ferry service costing up to $30 a ride.
Marty says over 250 companies have expressed interest in coming aboard the vessel, where standard cabins cost $1,600 a month.
However, the challenges to Blueseed are many. There are steep regulatory hurdles ... [Read more]
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