# Startup States Society

> A Geneva-based think tank and policy institute, constituted as a Verein under Swiss law (UID CHE-418.101.559), dedicated to the research, study, and promulgation of peaceful, lawful, treaty-first new country formation (de novo statehood) under public international law. Founded 2025. Founding Director: Julien Andrew Starr.

Startup States are new, independent, self-governing countries intentionally built from first principles, channelling an entrepreneurial ethos in the design and deployment of modular governance, innovative technologies, and market-aligned systems: delivering legally grounded, deliberate, treaty-enabled statehood.

The Society does not itself act as a state builder. It supports credible founders, provides legal and strategic frameworks, and facilitates introductions across law, capital, and diplomacy.

## Key resources
- [Startup States monograph, Second Edition (PDF, open access)](https://www.startupstates.swiss/StartupStates_v2.final.pdf): DOI 10.5281/zenodo.19115519, ISBN 978-1-291-75753-8
- [HowToStartANewCountry.com](https://howtostartanewcountry.com): plain-language introduction (sister site)
- [Swiss UID Register entry](https://www.uid.admin.ch/Detail.aspx?uid_id=CHE-418.101.559)

## Research & publications
- [Startup States: A New Framework for Jurisdictional Innovation](https://journalofspecialjurisdictions.com/index.php/jsj/article/view/64): Peer-Reviewed · Journal of Special Jurisdictions. Journal of Special Jurisdictions, Vol. 4 (2024). Authored by John McCone, Advisor to the Startup States Society. The first peer-reviewed treatment of the Society’s conceptual framework.
- [Startup States and the Architecture of Treaty-Based Sovereignty](https://www.ia-forum.org/Content/ViewInternalDocument.cfm?ContentID=21313): Policy Essay · International Affairs Forum. International Affairs Forum. Authored by Julien Andrew Starr, Founding Director. A substantive policy introduction to the Startup States concept for an international relations readership.
- [How to Build New Countries](https://www.academia.edu/165235244/HOW_TO_BUILD_NEW_COUNTRIES): Monograph · Open Access. Julien Andrew Starr, 2026. DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.19115519 · ISBN: 978-1-291-75753-8. Available open access and in retail editions worldwide.
- [Beautiful and Possible](https://utopiainbeta.substack.com/p/beautiful-and-possible): Essay · Utopia in Beta. Isabelle Castro, Ambassador of the Society. A thoughtful exploration of the conditions under which radically better societies become imaginable.
- [3 Reasons to Start New Countries, Not New Cities](https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/3-reasons-start-new-countries-cities-julien-starr-u9ozf/): Commentary · LinkedIn. Julien Starr, LinkedIn Pulse. Why full country formation surpasses city-level reform as a vehicle for lasting governance innovation.
- [The Monaco Effect: How Governments Can Unlock the Hidden Value of Idle Territory](https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/monaco-effect-how-governments-can-unlock-hidden-value-julien-starr-vqfwf/): Policy Essay · LinkedIn. Julien Starr, LinkedIn Pulse. How sovereign states can convert underutilised land into high-value jurisdictional assets through strategic partnership.
- [New Countries Should Rent Land, Not Buy It](https://www.elysian.press/p/new-countries-should-rent-landnot): Guest Essay · The Elysian. Julien Andrew Starr, The Elysian, June 2026. Part of the Post Nation essay series. Why the treaty-lease model is the gold-medal path to lawful de novo statehood.
- [Don’t Pay People to Build Your City. Give Them a Stake in It.](https://freecitiesfoundation.substack.com/p/dont-pay-people-to-build-your-city): Guest Essay · Free Cities Foundation. Julien Andrew Starr, Free Cities Foundation, June 2026. Drawing on Shenzhen, Próspera, and the Durrës Marina. Why equity participation determines whether governance projects endure.
- [Startup States Society Monograph](https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=7545179): Monograph · SSRN. Julien Andrew Starr, 2026. Social Science Research Network (SSRN), Abstract ID 7545179. Open-access scholarly working paper advancing the legal and theoretical foundations of lawful, treaty-first new country formation.
- [Startup States Society Names Mark Beer OBE and Professor Chris Berg as Advisors](https://www.einpresswire.com/article/944486860/startup-states-society-names-mark-beer-obe-and-professor-chris-berg-as-advisors): Press Release · EIN Presswire. EIN Presswire, 23 September 2026. The Geneva institute appoints the former DIFC Courts Registrar General and an RMIT University economist to advise on the lawful establishment of new countries.
- [Startup States Society Launches HowToStartANewCountry.com](https://natlawreview.com/press-releases/startup-states-society-launches-how-start-new-country): Press Release · National Law Review. EIN Presswire via National Law Review, 7 July 2026. Announcing the Society’s educational resource on peaceful, lawful new country formation.

## People
### Board of Directors
- Julien Andrew Starr (Founding Director, Startup States Society · Genève): Author of the foundational monographs Startup States and How to Build New Countries, and the intellectual architect of the Startup States movement. Originator of the Consensual Theory of Statehood. His work has been published in the Journal of Special Jurisdictions, the International Affairs Forum, The Elysian, and the Free Cities Foundation.

### Advisory Council
- Mark Beer OBE (Advisor, The Metis Institute): Professor Mark Beer OBE is a global adviser on international financial centres, governance and institutional reform, with more than 30 years’ experience advising governments, regulators and investors. He specialises in designing legal, regulatory and judicial frameworks that attract investment and support economic diversification. He is Chairman of The Metis Institute and was awarded an OBE by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II for services to strengthening UK–UAE relations.
- Chris Berg (Advisor, Professor of Economics, RMIT University): Professor of Economics at RMIT University, Melbourne, and Co-Founder of the RMIT Blockchain Innovation Hub, the world’s first social-science research centre dedicated to the study of blockchain technology. Author of more than twelve books on regulation, economic freedom, civil liberties, and digital institutional design. A globally recognised authority on decentralised governance and institutional cryptoeconomics.
- Steve Clancy (Advisor, New Nation Project): Creator of the New Nation Project and one of the field’s most active practitioner-advocates. Has engaged in live diplomatic talks with the government of Tuvalu regarding new country formation, demonstrating that the conversation with existing states can be had in earnest. One of the earliest proof-of-concept voices within the movement.
- John McCone (Advisor, johnmccone.com): Web3 community investor, researcher, philosopher, and writer with experience spanning governance frameworks, institutional design, and decentralised communities. Brings intellectual rigour to the Society’s advisory function, with particular interest in the philosophical and legal dimensions of new jurisdiction design and post-Westphalian political economy.
- Eric Miki (Advisor, ericmiki.com): Strategist and thinker at the frontier of distributed systems, decentralised governance, and emerging legal infrastructure. Contributes to the Society’s research on digital-native and algorithmically governed jurisdictions, and on the intersection of technology and institutional design in the context of new country formation.

### Ambassadors
- Isabelle Castro (Ambassador, Utopia in Beta): Writer and researcher working at the intersection of governance, technology, and social imagination. Author of the Utopia in Beta Substack, exploring emerging models of how people might live and organise together. Her essay “Beautiful and Possible” appears in the Society’s research library.
- Zuzana Martakova (Ambassador, Freeth’m): An engaged supporter and informal ally of the Society’s mission, contributing to outreach and the broader community of those interested in governance innovation and new forms of political organisation. An enthusiastic early member of the Society’s network of aligned thinkers and collaborators.
- Veronica Antonio Paulaitis (Ambassador, Klikdiva · OriginTribe.network): Digital brand strategist, entrepreneur, and community architect working across digital media, Web3 infrastructure, and decentralised network design. Founder of Klikdiva, a digital creative studio, and co-founder of OriginTribe.network, a platform connecting aligned communities around shared identity and vision. An engaged supporter of the Society’s mission and an advocate for new models of governance and community-led institutional design.

## Frequently asked questions
### What are Startup States?
Startup States are new, independent countries created through lawful and peaceful agreements with existing sovereign states, often by treaty. They are deliberately designed jurisdictions seeking full international recognition from inception, applying entrepreneurial discipline to governance, law, and economics. They are purpose-built, high-performance jurisdictions optimised for freedom, trust, innovation, and long-term institutional viability.

### Why create Startup States?
Many existing countries are weighed down by bureaucratic sprawl, outdated systems, and political gridlock. Startup States offer a blank canvas to rethink how we organise law, governance, economics, and community without overthrowing existing regimes. They complement rather than conflict with the international order: a strategic reallocation of human talent and capital into more effective, accountable, and innovative systems.

### Are Startup States legal under international law?
Yes, when structured correctly and formed through mutual consent. Startup States comply with the Montevideo Convention on the Rights and Duties of States, the United Nations Charter, and the Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties. They are peaceful, treaty-based initiatives grounded in established international norms: lawful, negotiated statehood for the twenty-first century.

### What is the Montevideo Convention, and why does it matter?
The Montevideo Convention on the Rights and Duties of States (1933) codifies four criteria for statehood that have since been adopted as customary international law: a permanent population, a defined territory, an effective government, and the capacity to enter into relations with other states. These criteria are declaratory, meaning a state exists once they are met, irrespective of formal recognition by others. Startup States are designed to satisfy each criterion from inception, making the Montevideo Convention the foundational legal instrument in the Society’s analytical framework.

### Are Startup States just a rebrand of micronations?
No. Micronations are typically symbolic or hobby projects lacking legal standing, enforceable treaties, and serious pathways to recognition under international law. Startup States are formed through lawful bilateral treaties with existing sovereign nations, designed to be recognised, self-governing, and institutionally robust from the outset. They are backed by capital, governed by enforceable rules, and structured for long-term sustainability.

### How are Startup States different from Charter Cities or Special Economic Zones?
Charter Cities and Special Economic Zones are subnational experiments legally subordinate to the host country and revocable at will. Honduras revoked the ZEDE framework in 2022; no equivalent unilateral revocation is possible for a properly constituted bilateral international treaty. Startup States are countries formed through international law: their autonomy is a right secured by treaty, not a domestic licence that can be withdrawn.

### How are Startup States different from Network States?
Network States are often described as digital-first communities seeking future recognition. Most lack defined territory, formal recognition, and binding treaties with existing states. Under current international law, statehood is not achieved by community consensus or online declarations. Startup States begin with territory, law, and recognition, not ideology and aspiration. Network States often seek to bypass the existing international order; Startup States work within it.

### Is this digital colonialism in disguise?
No. Digital colonialism is extractive, imposed, and top-down. Startup States are lawful, opt-in, and co-created through mutual consent. A Startup State cannot exist without the host country’s active agreement and participation as a co-architect. These are joint ventures for aligned growth with enforceable terms, transparent governance, and measurable local benefit. Startup States validate the standing of host nations rather than undermining it.

### What are the first steps to founding a Startup State?
Develop a clear, compelling, credible thesis covering legal structure, governance architecture, economic model, preferred locations, and diplomatic strategy. A Startup State begins with law and structure, not a manifesto. Then recruit legal experts, economic strategists, capital providers, and diplomatic operators. The Startup States Society can support this process, helping founders move from conceptual pitch to structured protocol. Think of the Society as a seed-stage accelerator for geopolitical ventures.

### Can I invest in or help create a Startup State?
Yes. Startup States represent a frontier opportunity where geopolitics, innovation, and capital intersect. Whether you are a venture capitalist, a sovereign wealth fund, a family office, an infrastructure builder, or a policy professional, there are multiple ways to participate: land vehicles, governance-as-a-service protocols, legal architecture, and institutional design. This is not only investing in a project; it is joining the cap table of a country. The Society facilitates strategic introductions for serious contributors.

## Contact
Startup States Society, SwissMailBox 467, 12 Rue Le Corbusier, 1208 Genève, Suisse. Tél. +41 27 539 16 11.
X: https://x.com/startup_states · Telegram: https://t.me/startupstates