In college I considered participating in Semester at Sea (I ended up studying at Kansai Gaidai near Osaka Japan). Just read about a new idea to have a boat near Silicon Valley (in international waters) that would serve as a place for entrepreneurs, investors and others to interact with Silicon Valley without visa hassles. Its called Blueseed and its pretty wild. From the NY Times:

Technology gurus have long lamented how hard it is for foreign talent to secure American visas and create start-ups here. As Congress spins its wheels with endless debate over immigration, an ambitious venture based in Sunnyvale, Calif., is trying to chart a more productive course aboard a 600-foot boat, or possibly a barge.

That’s the idea behind Blueseed, which aims to create a visa-free, floating incubator for international entrepreneurs off the California coast near Silicon Valley.

Blueseed’s co-founders, Max Marty, 27, and Dario Mutabdzija, 31, envision a seaworthy, 1,000-passenger hothouse for entrepreneurs from around the world, moored 12 nautical miles offshore — just outside California’s territorial waters — with enough appealing amenities to make it a “Googleplex of the Sea.” Passengers could take a day trip by ferry to the mainland on temporary tourist or business visas, returning to sleep in cabins that would rent for $1,200 to $3,000 a month.

“Blueseed is a way to connect Silicon Valley with the amazing founders and entrepreneurs out around the world,” Mr. Marty said. “Existing visa policies were designed for a different era. The nature of business has changed, and what’s lacking now is an avenue for people to be able to come in and create great companies.”

Its interesting to note that two of the founders worked at the Seasteading Institute — they are a Friedman family ‘project’ that views government as inhibiting progress.  Anarchists? (Depends who you ask.) From their website, “we work to enable seasteading communities – floating cities – which will allow the next generation of pioneers to peacefully test new ideas for government. The most successful can then inspire change in governments around the world.”

Its also interesting to note that Peter Thiel has funded the Seasteading Institute.

via A Start-Up Incubator That Floats – NYTimes.com.