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Earlier today I shared this screenshot, but I will re-post the entire thread, because it's an unbelievable, insane story which reads like #globaldev satire (1/n)
Last summer charliecallinan and I flew to Africa to figure out how to build a city.
We had no zero connections, but we networked our way into the upper echelons of multiple African governments, eventually meeting the Vice President of Ghana.
Here’s how: (2/n)
We had no zero connections, but we networked our way into the upper echelons of multiple African governments, eventually meeting the Vice President of Ghana.
Here’s how: (2/n)
In March ’19, we were working together at a hedge fund in NYC.
We’d both just left athletics & school to learn how to invest
I did surf contests and philosophy. Charlie played football at Boston College and was briefly signed to the BuffaloBills (3/n)
We’d both just left athletics & school to learn how to invest
I did surf contests and philosophy. Charlie played football at Boston College and was briefly signed to the BuffaloBills (3/n)
We both love public markets investing — savage research, quick turnaround times, and deep thought.
But we missed the physicality of sports and wanted an adventure. We wanted to build something on the frontier.
We wanted to do something heroic. (4/n)
But we missed the physicality of sports and wanted an adventure. We wanted to build something on the frontier.
We wanted to do something heroic. (4/n)
I had followed paulmromer, patrissimo, and the Seasteading movement since high school, and was obsessed with the idea of building a new city.
Over beers, Charlie and I cooked up a plan. (5/n)
Over beers, Charlie and I cooked up a plan. (5/n)
We saw the opportunity cost of living in SF & NYC falling due to a loss of community, poor city management, broken infrastructure, and the rise of the cloud labor market.
But the timing wasn’t yet right for the city we wanted to build. (6/n)
But the timing wasn’t yet right for the city we wanted to build. (6/n)
But the timing wasn’t yet right for the city we wanted to build. The market for a balajis -style exit was still small.
We decided to find existing new city projects and learn the nuts and bolts of the industry. (7/n)
We decided to find existing new city projects and learn the nuts and bolts of the industry. (7/n)
In April 2019, we left our jobs at the fund to build the next great city. May - July was maniacal research mode: we read every book we could find on ancient, modern, and future cities (8/n)
We met w/ all the top master planned community developers (e.g. Howard Hughes, Tavistock, Brookfield, etc.) Then we spoke to all the awesome people interested in cities in SV: MarkLutter & _TamaraWinter (formerly) at CCIdotCity, mwiyas, iaboyeji, patrissimo, William_Blake, (9/n)
In July, we became convinced that Nigeria was the best market in the world for a new city.
A couple projects like EkoAtlantic were already being built, but given the population growth, there’s room for more (iaboyeji
).
Unfortunately, we couldn’t afford the flights. (10/n)
A couple projects like EkoAtlantic were already being built, but given the population growth, there’s room for more (iaboyeji
).Unfortunately, we couldn’t afford the flights. (10/n)
That weekend, Charlie won $2,000 at a golf tournament, taking our bank balance to $2,047.
A few days later, CCI gave us a small grant, so we bought tickets to Nigeria.
We packed our bags with a few sites in mind (thanks Google Earth) and no connections. (11/n)
A few days later, CCI gave us a small grant, so we bought tickets to Nigeria.
We packed our bags with a few sites in mind (thanks Google Earth) and no connections. (11/n)
