Those well versed in the latest happenings of Web3 are familiar with the popularization of Startup Cities, more specifically how blockchains and smart contracts enable a group of people to create a community which eventually can prosper into a commonly known city.
Balaji lays out his concept of how new cities will form:
Unless you spend copious amounts of time in this area of Twitter, the idea of starting a new city likely sounds foreign and impossible. Cities are well entrenched, and most have identities that have led to their success (SF=tech hub, NYC= finance hub, Boston= Biotech hub). While the pandemic has seemingly taken a turn toward an endemic in both case numbers/severity and attitude, I’d encourage you to consider how many of those bullet-points are already “set in stone” in society.
Our entires lives are driven directly or behind the scenes by cloud-based tech, remote work is more common than not, and VR has made it’s way into everyday conversation with Meta’s rebranding. In fact, CityDAO bought 40 acres of land in Wyoming, so crowfunding land has arrived.
Disruption is already here.
City Thoughts
Growing up in New Jersey and spending the past four years in Texas, I’ve become hyper-aware of how location drives thought. This is not to say that geographic position alone is to blame, but it is conveniently a barometer of the most likely thought and belief of those in that area.
When I travel between the locations for holidays it is quite glaring how the general population in each state leads such different lives. My intent is not to bore you and tell you the obvious in that those in Texas have largely returned to normal life over a year ago, while the attitude and atmosphere of New Jersey left me feeling like we were still at war with air.
Rather, I’ve decided the lesson is the power in which our location, both physical and virtual, can dictate our thoughts and therefore our life. The internet has opened up relationships, jobs, and ideas for me that the benefits of Texas and New Jersey combined never could. I’m currently working for a bunch of random German men I’m inspired by on how we can disrupt the conventional drug development arena for the betterment of patients and investors. I’ve never met them, but I’m passionate about the way in which emerging tech like blockchains and smart contracts has enabled the work. I see the next logical step to be centered around how this tech re-imagines geographic relationships. You can “live” anywhere.
I believe for many young adults, their world view is tied to their location, and I remain convinced that for most they must stay in that location to maintain that worldview. This piece is the farthest thing from an advertisement to book that backpacking trip in Europe to find yourself and “experience the world”. To the contrary, this new era of the internet represents an opportunity to find your city of people and not even have to move there to experience the benefits, although I bet in a few years you’ll find yourself “there”.
How I Plan to Participate in Startup Cities
Until the strength of the idea grows to full maturity, I simply plan to continue to build my “internet community”. These ideas start at small scale levels, both at the personal and city level
For instance, I have a group of 6 guys I’ve been in a groupchat with over the past year and half called Junto, based off of Ben Franklin’s club for mutual improvement. While there might be occassional extreme high risk financial advice passed along in the groupchat, it’s largely centered around idea generation and mutual improvement. We’re 6 guys from across the country, and are in fact meeting up for the first time in late February. While on a super small scale, this is yet another example of like minded individuals using the internet to re-imagine conventional life.
I recently completed Petri Bio’s Founder Led Biotech Summit, meeting individuals who are also in the process of launching Biotech companies. This was yet another way in which remote work creates communities in the cloud. I met a variety of individuals from Professors, fellow undergrads, all the way to those who have already raised a round for their company. The future of web communities will break many of your pre-conceived notions surrounding idea and company generation, just watch.
Biotech Hacker House this summer?
If you’re a young adult interested in finding your niche in this corner of the internet that’s still in it’s infancy, please let me know. I’ve sifted through a variety of random opportunities and would love to help you create your own path or find like-minded individuals.
Looking Forward
Excited to publicly announce a personal venture I have been quietly working on in the coming weeks/months as it becomes mature and ready for the public eye.