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Would you run your startup from a boat docked off Silicon Valley?
This has the potential to be cool. Very cool. It’s a boat that will eventually float 12 miles (19.3km) off the coast of California and it’s attracting attention from startups around the world.
The boat, which bills itself as a floating island, is the brainchild of a company called Blueseed. The fact that it’s in international waters means that people can have close access to funding from Silicon Valley VCs without a US work visa.
According to a report released by Blueseed, that may not be the biggest draw though. Nearly a quarter of the companies that have signed up to the vessel, and bear in mind it doesn’t actually exist yet, are from the States.
The companies are apparently drawn by the promise of an environment that Blueseed claims is set to bring together the “boldest, brightest, and most talented tech entrepreneurs from around the world”.
Oh, and if you want to live on the boat you can too. The price per person will reportedly include living and office space, and will range from $1200 for a shared cabin to $3000 for a top-tier single accommodation cabin.
If you think that might drive you insane, there are also daily ferries to and from the mainland. If the artist’s mock-up is to be believed the vessel will have some pretty impressive features too.
There appear to be two helicopter landing pads, a swimming pool, and a soccer pitch.
Blueseed says it wants to get its floating island operational some time around 2013 or 2014. The whole operation seems fairly legit. Whether or not it launches however is another question entirely.
I will say one thing though, if I had a place on the boat, I know which song I’d be playing the whole of my first day.