Joe McKinney
Joe McKinney is the CEO and Cofounder at Nuhanse Network and Startup Societies Foundation. He is a speaker and leader in the “Governance-as-a-Service” Industry, which aims to improve governmental services through Special Economic Zones and Distributed Ledger Technologies.
Nuhanse Network is a full-service provider for Special Economic Zones. Their goal is to improve governance to be fair and effective. Their ultimate objective is to create a vast network of innovative Zones across the world and provide them services to become a dominant force for good governance, with Nuhanse Network as the hub.
In 2015, Joe founded the Startup Societies Foundation, a nonprofit think tank that studies and promotes experimental governance zones by conducting studies, publishing digital content, and hosting international conferences. Under his leadership, SSF has hosted over 100 speakers at dozens of sold-out conferences.
Startup Societies Foundation studies, promotes, and connects startup societies. They want to create a vibrant, global startup societies industry through international conferences, investment summits, digital content, and academic studies.
“Our mission is to connect, educate, and empower small territorial experiments in government — all over the world.” — Startup Societies Foundation
Why Startup Societies?
Around the world, people are dissatisfied with their governments. Most governments are difficult and slow to change, in part due to their size. The idea is simple: don’t argue about it, build the alternative. While the term “startup society” is new, the concept is not. American colonies began as startup societies to escape religious persecution in Europe.
While every society in history began as a startup, there are plenty of modern examples. Cities such as Hong Kong, Shenzhen, and Singapore have lifted millions of people out of poverty and have the same economic output as many nation states. Currently, there are more than 3,000 startup societies across the globe.
Joe launched his career in electoral politics by participating in local, state, and national political campaigns. He quit his career in electoral politics after learning that entrepreneurship and technology are the best ways to instigate social change. In 2014, Joseph entered the blockchain space and founded and served as CEO of his first company, Proudsource, a proto-ICO crowdfunding company which allowed small businesses to receive investment in exchange for revenue shares for a definite period of time. Shortly thereafter he was introduced to key leaders in the Zone development sector and while still pursuing Proudsource, he cofounded the Startup Societies Foundation.
Joe started as an Independent Contractor for Commercial Partners Exchange Company, where he learned the skills of managing and deferring the capital gains taxes for businesses and investment property sales under Section 1031 of the Internal Revenue Code.
In 2013 until the beginning of 2014, Joe was an Independent Contractor at David Gerson for Congress, helping with Gerson’s campaign to Congress.
In 2015, he became CEO of ProudSource, a financial tech startup relying on the wisdom of the crowd. Their financial method allows ProudSource users to invest and contribute money to a project in exchange for time limited shares of profit. Entrepreneurs could now seek capital without relying on debt, interest, or selling stock.
In 2016, Joe also became the Operations and Development Manager at Benjamin Rush Institute, where he managed the logistic of a growing nonprofit helping medical students learn about free market solutions. They aided these students by providing resources, planning events, and sharing valuable content.
In December 2016, Joe left the Institute and joined Unite Investing as Investor through Investor Outreach where he has been active to date. Unite Investing is a financial software startup that creates market making tools for financial securities — allowing anyone to invest on any security, using their mobile phone.
Joe earned his Bachelor’s Degree of Arts in Political Science and Philosophy in 2015 from University of Minnesota – Twin Cities. He was a member of Sigma Alpha Mu Fraternity and Vice President of Young Americans for Liberty. Joe also did a Minor in History from the same University.
Read about Joe’s big project to rebuild Puerto Rico with sustainable startup cities. Read the article from Gizmodo featuring Joe, Some Crypto-Capitalists Just Want to See the World Burn. Read the story at The Guardian about Company that builds ‘floating islands’ offers $100,000 bounty to any takers. View the Startup Societies Foundation Dashboard of Startup Zones.
Watch Joe talking talking about Seasteading with Joe Quirk and Nathalie Mezza-Garcia at the GMU Summit. Watch the Blue Frontiers Podcast interview with Joe or listen to it on Stitcher.
Visit his LinkedIn profile. Follow him on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.
