In this episode of “The Soul of Enterprise,” hosts Ron Baker and Ed Kless engage with Lonis Hamaili, Vice President of Growth at Próspera, to explore the innovative concept of startup cities and their potential to revolutionize business environments. Próspera, located on Roatán Island, Honduras, offers a unique platform for entrepreneurs, featuring efficient business setup processes, favorable tax regimes, and a flexible regulatory system designed to foster rapid growth and innovation. The discussion delves into how Próspera’s e-Governance platform enables seamless business management, allowing entrepreneurs to focus on building their ventures. Loni shares insights into the community’s development, the opportunities it presents for startups, and the vision behind creating a dynamic, forward-thinking environment that supports both business and lifestyle aspirations.
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SHOW NOTES
Segment one
Our guest today, Lonis, wrote an article called, “Why I Left Silicon Valley for a Honduran Startup City” for FEE. More here: https://fee.org/articles/why-i-left-silicon-valley-for-a-honduran-startup-city/
Today I learned that Prospera is the world's only startup CITY with significant legal freedoms. https://www.prospera.co
What is the perceived advantage of Prospera, the startup city? The key enablers of progress are minimal government, strong property rights, and a lot of personal freedom.
There are taxes in Prospera but that is their business model. They generate revenue and returns for a shareholder to the extent that they generate enough useful economic activity.
Segment two
Did you know that Peter Thiel, Sam Altman, Mark Andreessen and Patrick Friedman were involved in some level of funding for Propsera, the startup city? https://www.prospera.co/en/about
Paul Romer was an early player in the creation of Prospera, the startup city. He gave a TED Talk called, “Why the world needs charter cities”. More here: https://www.ted.com/talks/paul_romer_why_the_world_needs_charter_cities
You can sign up to be an eResident of Prospera and then quickly create a corporate entity as well. They have the lowest barrier to entry for entity creation in the world. More here: https://intercom.help/prospera-c3520d800849/en/articles/8258594-overview-of-e-residency
Honduras has north of a 50% poverty rate. Prospera (located in Roatan) brought in $50 million in investments and has generated 3,000 jobs so far.
Segment three
At a high level, the goal of Prospera as a startup city is to unlock as much economic freedom and prosperity as possible. That’s hard to argue against. https://www.prospera.co/en
You do not need to commit to living in Prospera without seeing it. You can visit during an event or a weekend, talk to the startups, talk to the community and meet the leadership team https://www.prospera.co/en/visit
There are real estate opportunities in Prospera. Here are some of the current listings: https://share.hsforms.com/1cLK3A6meRdKtxZ8_Wb55aQde980
Segment four
Lonis addressed the concerns in this NY Times article titled, “The For-Profit City That Might Come Crashing Down” In the spirit of what Prospera represents, here is the link without a paywall: https://archive.is/pMGIP
Prospera gives power to the people and is a decentralized power. It is a grassroots project started by economists and business leaders. As you can imagine, some politicians feel threatened.
A big THANK YOU to Lonis Hamaili for joining us today. Prospera is a startup city in Roatan, Honduras that is largely unrestricted and open for business. Learn more here https://www.prospera.co/en
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