Objective
The process of starting a new country begins with the invitation to build a digital-first community that transitions into physical territory and sovereignty. According to Balaji Srinivasan, this route—termed the “cloud country” or “network state”—identifies six conventional pathways (election, revolution, war, micronations, seasteading, space) and then advances a seventh: forming a virtual network of committed individuals, launching an internal economy, acquiring land in fragments, and scaling toward full legitimacy. The method prioritises getting the community right (culture, governance, currency) before acquiring large contiguous territory, thereby aiming for global membership and recognition over immediate geographic control.
Key steps include building a digital community, issuing a shared currency or economic system, founding local physical outposts, acquiring real-world property in increments, and achieving metrics of scale (members, area, GDP) that can drive recognition as a sovereign polis.
Recognising that world-recognised states often have populations under ten million, the proposal sees a path toward international legitimacy once these thresholds are met with coherent governance and economic integration.
Subjective
As an entrepreneur deeply involved in building ventures and incubation structures, this framework resonates for me because it flips the usual paradigm: start with network, values and culture before wrestling with land and borders. The idea of treating a “country” like a startup—validating community, building digital infrastructure and then iterating into physical scale—feels entirely aligned with how I approach incubating new projects. It also raises profound questions: what do we mean by sovereignty and membership today when digital identity is already global? Thinking through founding a “new country” becomes not just blueprinting territory but designing culture, economic participation and belonging. For me, this is less fantasy and more an extension of how we build platforms—just applied to the ultimate organisational unit of human collective.