Business Plan
Last Edited 5/19/2015
General comment: We’re going to need a couple sweet ass videos. Showing the seastead upon arrival by helicopter, quick tour, etc.
Executive Summary
(This section will be no more than 2-4 pages long, and will detail the business concept and the highlights from the other sections. It will give someone a quick view into the business idea, risks, opportunities, etc. Some investors will just read this section (and perhaps the team section) before deciding to scrap it or read further. Should include a mission statement and vision statement.)
Marinea will be the first substantial, living, growing, sustainable seastead. A seastead takes its name from the traditional homestead – where individuals and families struck out onto the frontier, claimed land, and started a community. Similarly, a seastead will be a group of individuals, families, and businesses that strike out on the ocean, claim an area on the sea, and set up a community. The benefits of a seastead to a business are significant. Costs are low – you don’t have to pay for property, and there are no governmental taxes. Governmental interference is negligible – laws are based on the freedom of the seas. Innovation will thrive – there are no governmental regulations. And though we have a location in mind, the seastead can be placed almost anywhere and can share the same freedoms from regulation, taxation, and governmental oversight.
Does this mean there will be anarchy? No more than anarchy seen on cruise ships, oil platforms, and cargo liners.
The seastead will be a fully functioning, fully realized community. This will not be a “pilot project” whose lifespan is limited. Yes there are risks, but technology, talent, drive, and thoughtful and open discourse will help to reduce those risks to a manageable level.
To think of a seastead as a set of yachts, cruise ships, or barges is an incomplete understanding of the scope of this project. This seastead will be a city. Not fixed like a land-based city, but a fluid one like the water underneath. The core city will consist of a fixed rigid platform supported by pillars and rising above sea level. From this core, several “avenues” will expand and will provide the needed support to the core that can be developed.
Marinea will provide 6 core businesses:
• The construction and deployment of the core and the avenues, along with essential services such as electricity generation and distribution, water purification, and the like
• Continued construction services on site – development of floating homes, work pods, retail “pavilions” (need a word here…), and other components of the
• Transportation services, including a fully functioning marina and helipads
• Basic services, such as police, fire, emergency medical support
• Core housing and food services for employees of the seastead
In addition, there are other core businesses and services we would partner with to develop:
• A full service resort
• A medical facility
• A retail sector
•
The Team
Besides the business concept, this is often regarded as the most important section. Is the team driven and experienced enough to pull it off? The investor will read this section and think to him/herself, “Have they done something like this before? Can they do it? If not, and the idea is good enough, do I know someone who can assist?”
- Individuals (bios, roles)
o What roles/experience we have and what we are missing; how we will address those holes - Board of advisors
o What roles they play, what they add to the team
o Need:
Investor contacts
TSI
Psychology of living on the sea
Resort Management
Large scale construction?
Legal?
Business Details
(This section will detail what the business is. What services/products the business is offering and what we are not offering. What are we doing and what are people going to pay us for?)
The company will consist of the main business lines:
• Construction – both the initial construction of the hub and as the primary source for on-going on-site construction and expansion.
• Core services – including basic services
Additionally, either the company or a partner would fulfill the following needs for phase 1:
- Resort management and services – includes running the resort and all of the associated services
Energy
- The goal is to provide our residents and guests with as much energy as needed, 24/7, five 9’s of availability, from 100% renewable sources. Though site dependent, energy will likely be derived primarily through a local wind farm, far enough away to prevent noise, etc. issues and tethered to the core, or through deep water (???) with additional solar on rooftops to supplement.
- The system will have large scale battery backup and storage for emergencies and peak shaving. Hydrogen-based fuel cells will also be used as a backup. At times of abundant energy, that excess electricity will be used to generate and store hydrogen. As additional technologies arise (Lockheed Martin/micro fusion), those technologies will be reviewed for feasibility and compatibility.
- The primary electric current will be US based x volt/amp with the option for European (etc.) as desired through transformation.
- Heating and cooling for the primary structures via “geothermal”, thereby reducing the energy demands of those resources.
Psychology - Quiet areas will be available for reflection, meditation or other uses
- Religious centers will be available including separate spaces for each major religion (Christian, Jewish, Muslim, Hindu, etc.)
- There will be a psychologist on board, specializing in the psychology of sea based operations (oil platform, cargo/cruise ship etc.)
- Park, pet services (doggie spa?)
Medical services - Doctor and nurses, including pediatrics, geriatrics, and general health will be available.
- An EMT and an on-site surgical arena will be on-site for emergencies.
- A pharmacy will be on site and will stock 99% of common pharmaceutical needs.
- What about xray/CT? I say the core medical system doesn’t, but we offer a partner the ability to create their own medical tourism services, and we negotiate using their services for on-site issues unrelated to scheduled treatments.
- Treatments will not be insured, but will be much lower cost due to streamlined management
- Additional services will be available on shore, such as full pharmaceutical services and medical treatment options.
Fitness/Spa - Focus on relaxation and health
- Classic fitness programs, such as Yoga, spinning, aerobics, wall climbing, etc., a fully stocked gym with lockers, sauna, etc
- Fresh water pool
- Hot tubs
- Full spa services including massage, skin, hair treatments, etc.
- Running/biking paths along the avenues
Hotel
Worker housing - Allow not only for individuals or small groups of individuals living together, but also families
Core services - What do residents need?
o Doctor/pharmacy
o Grocery
o Pet services
o Tailor (cobbler?)
o Concierge
o Internet/communication
o Banking – if we’re going bitcoin, may make it easier. No cash, all electronic transactions. No ATMs
o Investment services? Maybe partner with someone on shore?
o Repair services (electronics?)
o Translation services
o Laundry services
o (we should just go through a list of services from a few resorts and compare…)
Environmental management (heating, cooling, humidity)
Entertainment - Classic television services will be available (can we do this wirelessly?)
- Local radio stations (news/events, plus several other broadcast music stations for various tastes)
- Night club with theme nights
- “beach”, ocean swimming
- bars/pubs
- Library (digital and physical)
- Scuba services and a dive shop
Transportation - Daily shuttles will leave the seastead in the morning and go to shore in (Bahamas, location), and return in the evening. The shuttle will remain docked to the seastead at night. The reason (besides emergency procedures), is that the resident will be the core target. For example, the resident wants to take a day trip to the Bahamas, he/she has that opportunity. Take the shuttle over, spend a few hours shopping, dining, etc., and return that evening. Could potentially have two shuttles for both directions. For example, someone wants to come to the seastead for the day.
- Helicopter pad availability for guests, and a helicopter pad for seastead use.
- Minimum 3 pads? More?
- Daily shuttles to Miami
Life rafts - Life rafts will be available for each permanent and temporary resident. Marina guests will use their vessel for transportation. For additional visiting seasteads, those seasteads will have and use their own emergency transportation and operations.
Water - Water will be obtained through desalination. New technologies are becoming available that will make the process much more efficient, allowing for fresh, clean drinking water for all at a minimal cost.
Food - Importation of food will be arranged with distributors on shore.
- Additionally, discussions have been made to incorporate local fish farming, hydroponics, and so on, using the compost and food scraps as food for fish and vegetation
- Brew pub, incorporating an on-board brewery
- Cafes, fine dining, family dining
Child services - School/Daycare
- Playground
- Kids pool
- Need more here
Market - Sales of necessities, clothing, souvenirs, basic foods (grocery), gourmet foodstuffs, beverages (incl. alcoholic), tobacco and other smokeables
- High end clothier, including jewelry, tailor, cobbler
- Entertainment store (games, books, etc.)
- Electronics store? Maybe part of the entertainment store
Policies/regulations - Restaurants and common areas will be cigarette free
o What about marijuana and cigar, pipe, vaping? Personally I hate cigarettes in public, the others less, though I think restaurants should be “smoke free (incl vaping)”. I’m fine with a cigar bar, marijuana café, etc. - Mediator?
Policing/Security - A private security force will be employed for the purposes of maintaining order on the seastead, and for emergency use in the case of pirates or other aggressors.
- Policies (laws) for behavior
o Entrance into the seastead will require signing a contract to the effect that they agree to be bound to the rules of the seastead, etc.
o All residents and guests can be temporarily detained after an offense
o Guests can be sent back to their point of origin, or if docked at the marina can be asked to leave.
o Residents…? - Brig
- Primary protection will be nonlethal, though firearms would be available in an armory in the security headquarters.
- Advanced technology will be available for seastead protection from pirates, etc., such as laser, microwave, or sound technology.
- Radar and visual identification will be used to spot and track neighboring vessels
Waste management
• Import/Export
o Imports of waste intensive materials will be limited. Examples are soda bottles, etc.
o Exports of waste to the mainland will be done daily with the shuttle.
• Recycling (on board? Miami? Would probably not have significant recycling opportunities in the Bahamas)
• Composting
• We could potentially do waste to energy, but that is not a clean industry and would prefer shipping the waste and recyclables back to shore for processing
Law/legal support - Either legal support on the seastead or a relationship with one or more law firms back in the Bahamas, stateside
- I would recommend having a lawyer on retainer both in the Bahamas and in the US to handle issues as they arise
Concierge - Support for local events, tours
- Concerts (concert hall)
- Fishing, scuba, snorkeling, sailing, etc.
Casino - Full gaming casino and services.
Maintenance of the seastead - Sensor array, big data analytics; predictive model for targeted maintenance
Basic business services - Meeting rooms, catering
- Computer lab (cyber café)
- Banquet room (wedding hall?)
Supply Chain - Mail/package delivery will be done daily via the shuttle (see transportation)
- Food and other necessities will be managed through an on-shore distributor
- More discussion required here
IT/communications infrastructure, including
• 4g/5g wireless
• Latest version of wifi and prior versions for ubiquitous, free access
• Full data center including on site private/public cloud for object/data storage, server/computing access, and room for private racks depending on local business needs
• IT and Cyber security teams to manage the data center and internal and external threats
• There will not be a wired infrastructure for the residential areas (mobile/wifi)
Environmental sustainability - The seastead will be constructed with the goal of being environmentally sustainable.
- Design and operational decisions will be made with an eye to the triple bottom line
Marina - There will be a full service marina for vessels of any size.
- Water/electricity/sewage hookups
- WiFi and 4g/5g available
- Depending on the location, we may include docking services for cruise ships.
Construction will consist of the core hub development, the avenue construction, and the related support systems. Additionally construction will continue on site down the service avenue. There will not be any disruptive outcomes of the construction operations due to the design of the construction area. No noise, fumes, etc. On site construction will allow for continued expansion of the seastead with minimal costs. The structures that can be built on site are limitless, but include housing, separate “pods” for customized use (a park pod, a concert hall, etc.), which can then be attached to other avenues.
Timeline
(What we expect to do by when. How long will it take for construction? Finishing? Note that an investor will add x% to this)
Risks and mitigation
Governmental Interference
Weather
- Waves, including Draupner class waves
- Hurricanes or other large storms
o Pre-partner with a land based hotel to provide temporary housing in the case of evacuation
o Have alternative means of generating energy instead of just solar/wind, which would be shut down in the presence of a large storm
Psychology - Long-term residents may not be used to living in a small community and may experience feelings of claustrophobia or other effects
o Mitigated through information provided to prospective residents
o Psychologist available
o Meditation spaces and other private areas available for relaxation
o Open design
o Daily trips back to the shore
Effects of seawater on the seastead
Pirates or aggressors
Local crime - First off, crime will be limited to those actions taken which directly affect others. Victimless crimes will not be crimes.
Insurance?
Market Analysis
(What is our market? Why does it exist? How big is the market? Who are our competitors? What are the alternatives? Why would a customer choose us vs. a competitor? What part of the market we think we can secure.)
We will target the following markets:
• Real Estate
• Resort/tourism
• Innovation (Tech, medical)
• Libertarian
• Retirement
Marketing and Sales
(Limited applicability to our case (vs. consumer products, for example), but we could talk about the types of partners we are looking for, if we partner with a resort, how they could pitch coming to the resort, etc.)
Financial Projection
(We would have a 5 year income statement and cash flow analysis. What the project will cost, staged, to get us to the point we defined up above. Includes all expected costs and income. Note that an investor would look at this and say “I’m going to add x% to the costs and that’s what they’ll really need”)
Investment Opportunity
(What we are asking for. Should tie to the financial projection plus a margin of error. What types of investors we are looking for. Are there different rounds of funding? (likely) How we are managing shares. What investors will get in return. What the potential exit opportunities would be for investors to get out if they aren’t in it for the long term.)
At this stage of the project, we are requesting angel investment of $x million USD or equivalent foreign currencies or bitcoins. These funds will be used directly towards construction of the hub,
Appendix
Permits and leases
Resumes?
Risk registry – what the risks are, what the impacts are (time/$/success), what the likelihood of them happening are, and how we will mitigate them from happening.
For more information about seasteads, see xyz
What are the different phases beyond this plan; 1, 2, 3, etc
SWOT analysis
