Though our labor market is focused on low-skilled, low-waged, working immigrants, the business world is hungry for immigrants with professional experience who want to start businesses here.
The problem is that all immigrants need a visa card in order to live and work in the United States. This may seem simple enough but, the visa application process is tedious and even when the process is complete, a visa isn’t guaranteed.
Well, two Silicon Valley entrepreneurs have a creative idea. Max Marty (CEO) and Dario Mutadzija (President) are the cofounders of Blueseed. The company plans to use a decommissioned cruise ship as a floating office space, where business men from around the world can stay to develop their ideas for implementation on U.S. soil without the burden of a visa. The ship would rest 12 miles off of the coast of California; a ferry ride away from Silicon Valley.
Marty says, “We are enabling people from all around the world to connect with Silicon Valley… People live and work out there on their startup for about six to nine months. When they are in the right position and those companies gain a little bit of traction, look at moving into Silicon Valley itself.”
But Blueseed doesn’t plan to thrive off of boarding profits. The company sees itself as the roots of future successful businesses, from which they take a 6% share of the profits. New companies produce jobs and Blueseed will flourish as a result.
So far, Blueseed has had a receptive audience. The government approved the idea and it already has $9 million in investments. The ship is set to sail in 2014.