International entrepreneurs in
international waters

Table of contents 1. There's
no startup place like Silicon Valley 2. But there’s no U.S. entrepreneur visa 3. Blueseed’s novel win-win solution 4. What will we offer? 1. Cost of living 2. Visas 3. Questions 5. How can you help?

What’s the best place on
Earth for a startup entrepreneur? Silicon Valley? Keep readingTell me more Skip next 6 slides Of course R E A S O N

Silicon Valley is the best
place for startups – a unique combination of: Ideas Capital Culture R E A S O N Silicon Valley is the best place for startups

Ideas – US is #1
place to file patents Source: WIPO - http://www.wipo.int/ipstats/en/statistics/patents/ R E A S O N 0 500,000 1,000,000 1,500,000 2,000,000 2,500,000 3,000,000 Germany Russian Federation China European Patent Office Republic of Korea Japan US Patents by office, 1995-2010

Ideas – Silicon Valley is
#1 U.S. area 0 10,000 20,000 30,000 40,000 50,000 60,000 70,000 San Francisco Bay Area New York- Northern New Jersey-Long Island Los Angeles-Long Beach-Santa Ana, CA Boston- Cambridge-Quincy, MA-NH Top U.S. regions by number of US Patent & Trademark Office patents, 2006-2010 Source: http://www.uspto.gov/web/offices/ac/ido/oeip/taf/cls_cbsa/allcbsa_gd.htm R E A S O N

$0.10 $0.20 $0.70 $0.47 $1.40
$7.70 Canada India China Israel Europe US $0.00 $1.00 $2.00 $3.00 $4.00 $5.00 $6.00 $7.00 $8.00 $9.00 Venture capital investment (US$b) Capital – US is the #1 region R E A S O N Source: Ernst & Young - Global quarterly venture capital investment by geography, 2Q’2010

Sacramento/N.Cal South Central Upstate NY
North Central Philadelphia Metro SouthWest Colorado Northwest San Diego DC/Metroplex Southeast Midwest Texas LA/Orange County NY Metro New England Silicon Valley US venture capital investments by region, 2011 Capital – Silicon Valley is #1 area R E A S O N 41.0% 11.2% 9.5% 6.8% 5.2% 5.2% 3.7% 3.5% 3.1% 2.7% 2.2% 1.9% 1.7% 1.3% 0.4% 0.4% 0.2% % of total $11930M $3248M $2771M $1986M $1527M $1504M $1091M $1019M $892M $781M $627M $565M $485M $382M $119M $115M $67M Amount Source: PricewaterhouseCoopers National Venture Capital Association MoneyTree Report, Regional Aggregate Data 2011 http://bit.ly/PWCMoneyTree2011

Culture – Silicon Valley is
unique Risk taking It’s OK to fail Engineering tradition World class universities Cultural diversity R E A S O N

So you want to come
to Silicon Valley… P R O B L E M But you are a foreigner!

“There simply are no US
visas available for entrepreneurs” -- American Immigration Lawyers Association, March 2012 PROBLEM Source: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FLCYfhZEFb8#t=3m15s

Visa type Can work? Can
self- employ? Expires Restrictions B1/B2 Business, Tourist or Waiver ✗ ✗ <6 mo/yr in U.S. Can’t earn income But can travel! E-2 Treaty Investor, or Employee of ✓ ✓ 2+2+2… yrs Not for India, Brazil, Russia, China “substantial” investment (~$100K) must own 50%+ of the business can’t convert to Green Card EB-5 Investor ✓ ✓ Never Must invest $1M+ and create 10 jobs H1-B Skilled worker ✓ ✗ 3+3 yrs If laid off, must find new sponsor ASAP – there is no grace period Cap at 65,000 per year L-1 Intra-company Transfer ✓ ✗ 3 yrs Must have worked at foreign branch for 1+ years No U.S. visas for entrepreneurs Inadequate existing alternatives: P R O B L E M

No progress in U.S. Congress
on Startup Visa Acts • Startup Visa (Mar ‘11) - died • Startup Act (Jun ‘11) - died • IDEA Act (Dec ‘11) - died • Startup Act 2.0 (May ‘12) - died • Startup Act 3.0 – 2% chance • Comprehensive Immigration Reform – opposed by House Political solutions? Source: GovTrack.us - http://www.wipo.int/ipstats/en/statistics/patents/

P R O B L
E M Startup entrepre- neur kicked out of US due to visa issues

P R O B L
E M Startup kicked out of US due to visa issues

P R O B L
E M Startup entrepre- neur kicked out of US due to visa issues

Image credit: siliconvalley.com P R
O B L E M

International waters line Ship located
12 miles offshore, in international waters, outside US jurisdiction – Bahamas flag 1

Convert the cruise ship to
a live/work/play space for 1000 2

30 minutes to shore 20
minutes to Palo Alto Convenient travel both ways by ferry, helicopter 3

Use B1/B2 business/tourist visa to
travel to mainland & stay <180 days 0 500,000 1,000,000 1,500,000 2,000,000 2,500,000 3,000,000 3,500,000 4,000,000 H-1B (skilled worker) L-1 (intracompany transfer) B1/B2 (business/tourism) Average # of U.S. visas granted per year, 2006-2011 Source: http://www.travel.state.gov/xls/FYs97-11_NIVDetailTable.xls O F F E R 4

Streamlined customs checkpoint – e.g.
“Global Entry” 5 • U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) program • For frequent low-risk travelers • Enter the U.S. by using automated kiosks

S O L U T
I O N Business/Tourist Visa: • can travel to US, 180 days/yr • can attend meetings, events • streamlined border entryBahamas flagged ship: • can earn income, start companies • streamlined regulatory environment Work on the ship, in international waters Travel to the US using business/tourist visas, which are easier to obtain

Where are we right now?

Press from A to Z
(working on Qz and Xconomy)

On TV – CBS, CNN,
BBC etc. (click to play videos)

Startups that expressed interest Latest
stats at blueseed.co/come-aboard/results 1516 entrepreneurs 496 startups 72 countries United States 23% India 10% Canada 4% Australia 4% Russia 2% Italy 2%UK 6%Spain 3%Brazil 3% France 3% Germany 2% China 2% Singapore 2% Other 34%

Motivations for moving to Blueseed
Not important Somewhat important Important Very important Critical An alternative to having to get US work visas for myself or other company founders 25.7% 16.0% 17.8% 18.8% 21.7% An alternative to having to get US work visas for my employees 26.3% 21.9% 21.7% 18.4% 11.7% Streamlined legal and regulatory environment made with low overhead in mind 7.5% 13.4% 26.5% 28.1% 24.5% Ease of finding talent 6.3% 14.0% 22.5% 30.8% 26.5% Proximity to Silicon Valley's investors 3.4% 10.5% 19.2% 30.8% 36.0% Living and working in an awesome startup- and technology- oriented space 1.0% 2.8% 10.9% 30.0% 55.3% Coolness factor / fame 14.2% 16.0% 24.3% 22.5% 23.1%

Top motivation for moving to
Blueseed “Living and working in an awesome startup- and technology- oriented space”

High-tech university dorm 24/7 hackathon
& coworking space Awesome startup- and technology- oriented space The Blueseed formula S O L U T I O N

Live/work/play environment onboard: “Googleplex of
the Sea” O F F E R

Cabins for different budgets O
F F E R

O F F E R
Customizable office space

Recreational facilities O F F
E R

24/7 food/medical/security O F F
E R

Wireless 1Gbps+ link to shore
Liquid Robotics ocean drone relays mesh network O3b satellite backup, 130ms round-trip, 500Mbps Future: fiber-optic cable O F F E R High-speed Internet access

Transportation to/from the mainland •
Large capacity round-trip ferry boats, morning and evening • ~30 minutes from ship to shore

When time is critical, helicopters
• Medical or other emergencies • ~20 minutes to Palo Alto

Shared equipment: 3D printers etc
Gyms Pool Sports fields Entertainment venues Convenience stores Game rooms Post Office ATMs Cafes Food service Concierge O F F E R Amenities onboard

Accelerator programs 300 startups on
the ship means… …multiple cohorts in parallel …variable-length programs, e.g. • 3 months for web startups • 6 months for biotech or robotics companies O F F E R

Startup accelerator services Connection with
Silicon Valley startup events Access to angel investors and venture capital Networking activities Mentors and training programs Legal help: immigration, IP/patents etc. Events onboard + more… O F F E R

No visas or immigration restrictions
Much lower regulatory costs – you choose where to incorporate Simplified business and regulatory environment Bring into your team talent from anywhere in the world No stressful commuting, no traffic “Perpetual hackathon” atmosphere You’ll be in the middle of cutting-edge innovation S O L U T I O N Benefits of being aboard Blueseed

Backup plans Source: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424053111903480904576512250915629460.html O
F F E R When moving to Blueseed, you’ll deposit an amount to cover transportation to your country of choice Q: Did your startup fail? A: The startup in the next cabin is probably hiring. “[in Silicon Valley] every company I work with is absolutely starved for talent: qualified software engineers, managers, marketers and salespeople” - Marc Andreessen, August 2011, Wall Street Journal 83% of the tech startups in the U.S. are looking to hire in 2012. – Silicon Valley Bank survey

Cost of living aboard Blueseed
(preliminary estimates; Blueseed doesn’t impose tax) • More cash + less equity, or • Less cash + more equity Combination of rent + startup equity Cash rent: from $1200/person/month (shared room for 4) Up to $3000/person/month (private room with ocean view) • San Francisco rent (May 2013): $2,211/mo • Plus desk at startup incubator: $500+/mo. Cost includes office space! O F F E R

Blueseed’s interests are aligned with
yours Blueseed taking equity in startups We succeed if you succeed O F F E R

How we’ll work to reduce
your rent (extra revenue streams) • Shows like “Shark Tank” can bring significant revenueMedia • Offices aboard for big companies looking to hire brilliant entrepreneurs like youTalent scouting • Since 2009, Google has been acquiring one new company per week. We’ll own equity in startups onboard, and cash in on exits. Early acquisition of startups • Rent out space for events, conferences etc. • Hotel rooms for visitors • Other partnerships enhancing the ecosystem We’ll be a unique environment O F F E R

Visas you’ll need To live
and work aboard Blueseed: no visa To travel to the U.S. mainland: • business visa (B-1), or • tourist visa (B-2; often combined with B-1), or • Visa Waiver (some countries, valid only 3 months), or • transit visa (least recommended) B1/B2 visas generally valid for 10 years Must spend at most 180 days/year in the U.S. Americans (e.g. investors) visit Blueseed freely O F F E R

Ease of getting business/tourist visa
vs. work visa 0 500,000 1,000,000 1,500,000 2,000,000 2,500,000 3,000,000 3,500,000 4,000,000 H-1B (skilled worker) L-1 (intracompany transfer) B1/B2 (business/tourism) Average # of U.S. visas granted per year, 2006-2011 Source: http://www.travel.state.gov/xls/FYs97-11_NIVDetailTable.xls O F F E R

What laws apply on board?
• Bahamas (English common law) The laws of the flag state • Fair, efficient, speedy, predictable • You choose what country to incorporate in International commercial arbitration • To country of residence/incorporation • No taxes paid to Blueseed Taxes • International patents (WIPO) • United States patents (USPTO) Patents – as usual O F F E R

FAQ – blueseed.com/faq • Not
a problem: large vessel (200m x 30m) • Meclizine - inexpensive preventative medication Seasickness • Tsunamis/earthquakes doesn’t affect ships at sea • Hurricanes don’t exist near California Tsunamis, Hurricanes • Happen rarely; affect large vessels less • In case of “force majeure”, we can come to shore Storms • We’re the only ones in the region :)Pirates :) O F F E R

When will Blueseed launch? Estimated:
Q1 2015 R&D we’re conducting – your help is welcome: • Startup incubators – partner with us! • Media exposure – the more, the merrier • Cleantech companies – get in touch • Ambassadors – spread the word! If you can help – contact us: blueseed.com O F F E R

Blueseed Los Angeles Blueseed East
Coast Near future

Long term vision

Concept ship – Terraces

Concept ship – Artful Containers

Concept ship – Hive

Blueseed Atoll concept – stabilization
barges and floating breakwaters

Concept ship – Modern Hull

How can you come aboard?
• Investor • Startup network – see blueseed.com/partners • Trusted contact – make a profile on AngelList Get referred by a reputable: • Be awesome – apply online – get selected! Or directly:

Dario Mutabdzija CEO Dan Dascalescu
CTO/COO Baoguang Zhai Bus. Dev. + partners… advisors… mentors… ambassadors… YOU! The Blueseed Team

Apply online

Want to be a partner?

“The people who are crazy
enough to think they can change the world, are the ones who do.” -- Steve Jobs, 1955-2011 www.blueseed.com info@blueseed.com