How To Build A Startup City: The Blueprint for ReTribalizing

Introduction to ReTribalization and Decentralization

The Retribalize Project is about building networks, communities, and, ultimately, a startup state. To me this is the most worthy goal possible: creating human flourishing and high culture.

This blueprint is a video many people have been asking me for. It was inspired by my reading of The Network State by Balaji, and a decade of studying philosophy, religion, and history’s high points. I’ve created brotherhood groups, lived in communities and eco-villages, and connected with dozens—if not hundreds—of cultural leaders worldwide. You see, I’ve always craved tribe. I have searched for it everywhere. Yet, I always let down, because what I need does not exist yet.

So let’s talk about the vision.

And before I get 100 hate comments from dissenters, No, Im not an expert in any of this. Yes, I’m still learning and will make additions in the future. But there are many principles here that are important for building culture and societies that you won’t find elsewhere, and honestly, even the experts like Balaji miss a few key points. For those guys, I direct you to section 5, my favorite part of this video about how to build an ethnos or a people. And for all you skeptics, I address the main problems you’re burning to voice at the end.

Watch the full blueprint on YouTube

So Buckle up:

The Retribalize Project has two levels:

Initial Micro Level: Small community + Business/Media + Culture

Macro: A City-State and worldwide network with its own economy, governance, infrastructure, agriculture, and citizenship, etc. Essentially, a state with many outposts of highly aligned communities.

Obviously, we all need to focus on the micro to get to the macro. And Thankfully, this larger vision has thousands of brilliant minds working on it and the myriad of problems, and this makes me hopeful that we could pioneer a new paradigm.

Also, destiny and timing is on our side. Heraclitus once said, “Change is the result of strife and necessity.” And the strife, necessity, as well as the opportunity, are coming to a boiling point. I have grown ever more convinced something new must emerge. My whole being demands it, as does the soul of humanity.

It’s so evident to me: this dream of retribalizing isn’t just a wishful fantasy. It is a universal cosmic impulse trying to manifest onto Earth. There’s a role call out from God, from the cosmic intelligence, asking for leaders to step up and figure some shit out.

Most people I speak to through this channel, they all have the the SAME DREAM. And similar visions. How crazy is that.

They all want to build a new cultural & community project of some kind.

There’s a million different angles, approaches, and ways to skin this cat. Some people want a small off-grid house and family, or maybe an eco-village of friends. Others want to get involved with new startups in the tropics, or start running retreats and a wellness center, and, the biggest dreamers and crypto entrepreneurs are talking about Network States. For me, I want to found a city and international tribe. I don’t just want a earth centered commune, or vacation community, I want a brotherhood on a mission. And it just might be possible.

THE MACRO VISION – Decentralization & Network States

Decentralization has been humanity’s norm for 98% of history—villages, tribes, fiefs, and city-states like Athens and Ephesus dominated. The rise of empires and nation-states with millions of people is the anomaly, often prone to totalitarianism or collapse back into smaller units.

Today, with the advent of the internet, cryptocurrency, global travel, and remote work, decentralization is becoming viable again. People are questioning why they live in disconnected cities instead of vibrant, self-governing communities built around shared values. Hell, even my normie aunts and uncles are starting to ask this question.

Decentralized systems offer freedom, experimentation, and the chance to build high-functioning societies tailored to specific visions. This is the case for what Balaji calls network states: using today’s advanced technology to create a new kind of nation.

Ultimately, smaller voluntary governments solve countless issues. They foster stronger social identities and purpose, eliminate the corruption of sprawling bureaucracies, and allow individuals to align with communities that match their ideologies and aspirations. As Nietzsche and others have argued, the city-state—made up of thousands or tens of thousands of citizens—is the ideal model. And now, we get to put a modern spin on it.

I see this Macro vision manifesting in a few different ways:

A pure network state starts as an online community with shared goals and ideals. Over time, it gathers resources, and crowdfunds land. The aim is to create a decentralized nation with many hubs, and where citizens can travel and live throughout the international network. These states function like lean startups, growing around a team and a vision. Integrated with blockchain and self-regulating systems, they constantly adapt and evolve toward their ideal.

I love balaji’s work. But it’s written from a highly intelligent tech bro, digital nomad perspective. From what I understand: They want freedom and ideological alignment and cool tech projects, which I’m all for, but I don’t think that’s actually enough for humans to flourish. WE NEED CULTURE, and I’m aiming at high culture, not just economic freedom, tennis clubs, and vacation communities. Culture is built through prolonged interaction and commitment, not transience. It’s built through cultivating a common spirit and an ethnos, or a group identity. (Which we will soon discuss in the Cultural Principles Section.)

So instead of some loose confederation of likeminded online business owners, which Network sates seem to be based on as of now, my version starts with what I call “wolf packs”. Highly aligned teams of leaders, who start a small community, and yes, business or economic project of some kind in real life. Building high level relationships are the key factor. And resource sovereignty is really important at the beginning. As the team builds their culture, skill, and uniqueness, they meet and ally with other aligned groups. Ultimately, once there’s enough small, highly capable teams, founders can get together under one larger banner, to create a city state, that has many outposts, but a central hub. Kind of like how Athens had many farms and villages surrounding it. Except for us, those outposts will be around the world. This vision is similar to the network state, but the emphasis is on creating an ethnos and deep bonds, not just freedom.

THE MICRO VISION: ACTUALLY DOING IT ON THE SMALL SCALE

These dreams are so grandiose. Is this even possible?

Well, every grand vision needs to be broken down into actionable steps. The micro-level projects and strategy I see is about building small communities that are both businesses and cultural hubs.

FIRST: COMMUNITY. This is a problem for everyone in the West. The bottom line is we need to build our circle, with the aim of developing a village for raising children and for the return of basic friendship. I see off-grid, tiny home communities, or eco villages as a decent start here. But far from satisfactory.

SECOND: BUSINESS/MEDIA:

A shared mission or economic project fuels resources and camaraderie. Most existing communities lack this focus beyond farming, leaving members unaligned and transient. Real connections—especially among men—require shared challenges and opportunity. Economic engines like businesses or media projects are the foundation of thriving communities.

THIRD: CULTURE/NETWORK: A successful group must aspire to something greater than mere life, friends, or business. From just a couple successes here. A town, and one day a city-state as many teams band together into a larger civilizational project.

MY MICRO-LEVEL VISION:

To explain this, I’ll share my vision with you.

I want to build an academy + Martial Arts Farm. A school. I think there’s huge promise here as Higher education continues to degenerate into leftwing, corporat funnel. I know that myself and many people want a place for deep spiritual, intellectual, and physical training. So I want to start a holistic bootcamp with worldclass teachers, and a live in community.

This is how I see it playing out:

Building my social capital and online reach and inner circle.
Connecting with investors and other leaders
Assemble a highly aligned and motivated team, skilled in diverse areas. (people already doing their own projects reach out to me weekly, and I’d unite the best of them.) (Hence, why you should start a youtube channel)

Sidenote, YouTube is the most powerful social filtering tool I have ever found. Ive met my best friends and business partner through the internet. So If you are a leader, who has a message or a passion to share, it’s essential to start building your online presence.

Im putting together a SMALL YouTube MasterMind only for leaders in this space who are starting on youtube. Needing 4 more members: sign up here https://kristianbell.com/youtube-mastermind-2025/

The Project = The Academy. A holistic school and bootcamp for training on all levels. I want to combine the rigor of higher education with martial arts, spirituality, and welllness, along with team events and festivals. A hogwarts targeted at a niche demographic….. I don’t want to reveal everything, but you get the picture.
Hence, I will continue to seek incredible human beings that A) I want to live by and work with. B) are valuable to the project. The culture will naturally emerge from the leaders I attract, and the families who come with them.
In terms of bulding a town or a city, all you need is a couple economic engines like the academy. I have talked to people who are working on building a Biotech and medical center, and others who want to create a new type of resort and wellness temple.

In terms of building a town or a city, all you need is a couple economic engines like the academy. I have talked to people who are working on building a Biotech and medical center, and others who want to create a new type of resort and wellness temple.

One early example of this kind of project is Próspera, which is a new and controversial city in Honduras. It is attempting to build a mini state around crypto and biotech. Similarily, Praxis is another network state with tons of different businesses and a vision that is actually quite aligned with my own…. Please send this video to anyone connected with that, I’d love to chat.

One issue here, is that to build the real culture that I want to see, we first have to build a people or an ethnos that goes deeper than skin color or business arrangements. Leaders must unite kindred people around a vision and identity, and revive the fierce bonds of friendship and loyalty that once defined us. Tech does not build a people, leaders do.

Coming back to the Academy, it is the Center piece of my vision. Leveraging it and a large media engine around it will allow the higher levels of culture to be born.

The way I see it, BUSINESS + VALUE must be the priority, especially at beginning, or you have no team and no sovereignty.

Doing retreats is easy entry point many choose. Creating experiences for westerners, in tropical places. But retreats are a dime a dozen unless you have audience + differentiation.

I like what I’ve seen from BioCulture, Bunch of health chads, living and breathing wellness retreats in mexico, and building community. It’s a good start
Budukon also has the seed of a great model. I’ve only heard incredible things about the martial arts, human optimization school in Montana.

But realize, the business doesn’t have to be spiritual or wellness oriented at all. I think moving away from spiritual shit is a huge opportunity. AI, biotech and crypto obviously have big potential, and the benefit of online freedom. Another option is brick and mortar. Recently, talked to someone who just moved to a small town to revive it. He is starting a trade shop there and is hiring locals, and wants to start a coffee bar next.

Any local or online business can serve as a front of house work opportunity for a growing community. The Osho cult of the 80s, for example, used nightculbs and cafés as the front of house operation for worldwide sexual-spiritual commune.

The bottom line is founders must be entrepreneurial, or at least highly skilled in diverse areas. Starting a business is always 100x harder than you think it will be. Hance the founding teams needs to be multi-faceted, competent, and clear.

If you’re not cut out for entrepreneurship, which I really don’t recommend for 90% pf people, focus on gaining skills that will be valuable to the future city and tribes. Building, engineering, science, philosophy, economics, permaculture, media production, teaching… it’s all important. Commit to your strengths, find the others, and the rest will work out.

Building Your Wolfpack: Tight knit group of chosen family and leaders.

This is the critical point everything else revolves around. Only great teams will have any shot of success at creating sovereignty and community.

As you go through life and evolve, keep your eye out for your people. These are the one’s who you could do life with, and that share your aspirations. They are RARE. So start looking now.

Almost more than anything, I crave true friends. Friends who knows my mind like their own, and our will and aspirations reach for the stars. Friendships like these are exceedingly rare today, but they are what build empires, ignite voyages, and overcome all limitations. And great leaders, give to friendship the same level of devotion most men reserve for lovers.

Building a wolfpack is non-negotiable. I consider myself lucky if I add more than one good friend a year to my inner circle, even though the truest sort of friend still eludes me. The two steps to building a wolfpack are:

Cultivate your personal value and skills in everyway. Become someone interesting.
Prioritize relationships and brotherhood. This starts at shared rituals and gatherings.
- Shameless plug here: I have a whole Building tribe and Social Capital course in the free Retribalize community. + It’s a place to discuss these ideas with me on multiple live calls every week, and network with others. https://www.skool.com/retribalize

I challenge every man here to consciously build their brotherhood and team starting now. To revive tha ancient ideal of true friendship.

PRINCIPLES OF BUILDING HEALTHY CULTURE

My favorite section finally. This is what a lot of my content covers – the cultural and personal elements required for flourishing.

What MOST people get wrong, is that Culture doesn’t just come from proximity, work, business, or ideologies. It doesn’t even come from values and principles. Those are guard rails put on later. It comes from A) shared vision and will B) Shared Rituals

VISION

Of course the thing that truly unites people in the first place is a common goal. And shared purpose and ideal. The more lofty and spiritually juicy that ideal is, the stronger the potential for the community.

A leader, communicates the vision, and embodies it. People rally behind leaders of personality and conviction.

RITUAL: the most interesting point here.

Leadership and building culture is ultimately about WINNING HEARTS, NOT MINDS.

Ritual is the heart of the community, the vision is the mind.

Studies have shown that ” a community that dances togethers, stays together.”

Getting in the body together, dancing, competing, expressing, celebrating, and praying. These things nourish the deeper part of our soul, and help us connect in a real and raw way with other humans. Powerful shared experiences are ALWAYS the center of every healthy culture, it is the glue that binds people together. And if you notice, It’s what the West has totally lost. Hence why the West is dying.

Trying to build a family or community solely on intellectual and practical agreemetns is a hellscape of superficial connection and disagreements.

This is what idealogical dorks don’t get, and based on my quick read of the Network State, the tech bros are missing this too.

Probably because they didn’t spend their young twenties hanging with vagabonds and spiritual farmer folk, doing pagan ceremonies in the forest, meditating in ashrams, competing in sports, and partying their ass off at music festivals.

Good thing I did. Always with an eye to this dream too.

What ive discovered beneath the woo woo stuff is:

WINNING THE HEART MUST BE THE FOCUS: Yes, constitutions and values are cool, but people need far more than rationality for actual bonding and investment.

Us humans are not rational creatures who live by principles. We are deeply irrational creatures driven by instincts and the unconscious mind. Hence, story, mythos, dance, music, and ritual, are far more powerful than ideology for binding people. They are what constitute the spirit of a people. And in the end, that spirit will manifest it’s own Ideaology and organic culture. This is what I mean when I say, the culture is a manifestation of the spirit or a god of the people. Literally.

“culture” emerges downstream from kindred people who share mission + ritualistic events. They create a larger ethnos or spiritual identity over time.

People CRAVE THIS TODAY. We are all so repressed and atomized in modernity and we lack the ritualitc festivals that once helped people connect in a real and raw way. How many people do you know who can dance freely without alcohol? Get wild and Lay bear their hearts with close friends. Have you ever conquered the wilderness with a team? freestyle rapped and chanted around a fire all night with the bros. Invoking God and the muses? Try it sometime. There’s something beyond profound about shared ritual, and without it, there can be no ethnos.

Joseph campbell once said something like, Most people are not actually seeking the meaning of life, they are seeking a deeply meaningful experience of being alive.

And this, shared ritual, is something leaders need to build into their week or month right now, and invite friends to join you. Even if it’s just a cold plunge, sauna, and some music, or good ol wrestling, having a ritualisitic event is what breaks up the mundane and brings people together.

Culture comes from your way of life, and the way you connect with others and god. So, lead by example.

PERRENIAL QUESTIONS / VALUES

After those First two pillars of culture are in place, a vision and a consistent shared experiences. Now I think we can move onto the Perrenial questions. Which forms the bases for a highly aligned value system.

The perrenial questions should comprise most of education, but they now sit abandoned. Questions lke what is death, what is god, what is sacred, what is a good life, and what is the purpose or ideal of life… Asking these big questions, and learning to think about them from many angles, is the core of real philosophy. And though we shouldn’t rush to conculsion, the answers to these questions, eventually form the basis of any coherent people and ideology. In every tribe or tradition, the people are united around a way of life that answers these questions sufficiently. Hence, when we cast aside the Big Questions, we cast aside the binding force of culture, and leaving people in meaningless, absurd, and atomized existence.

Forming a coherent and consistent way of relating to god, life, death, and virtue is essential. But use caution here. It will emmerge naturally, from shared conversations and experiences, so don’t force it. No need to write new holy books and or entire philosophy. People are far too skeptical and independent to accept your idealoogy or religion at face value, you must build an understanding together.

RELIGION & CULTS

The best Examples of decentralized communities and real life civilizational projects – are not the million diverse eco-villages or tech communities – it’s the Mormons, Mennonites, and Jews who have been doing this shit for centuries.

The Mormons. Founded their own city, and took over an entire state.
The Mennonites and Amish have their own culture, economy, education, and governance structures. They have been growing decentralized communities all over the Americas for centuries. In Bolivia, the Mennonite population has grown from about 70,000 in 2013 to around 150,000 as of 2023. They are basically self-contained civilizational projects.
Then there’s the Jews, who founded their own nation after ww2.

The thing that these groups have, that network state guys don’t, is they have an ethnos. They have a people that gather together in a way of life. But this is also something that can be created.

The most interesting case study in my mind for Retribalize projects is The Osho Community, Rajneesh, formed around a spiritual leader and radical practices of liberation in the 1980s. It was the most explosive movement in recent memory, and a proto-network state. The Osho community bought a 64,000 acre ranch, and in just 4 years, they built a small city, took over a town, accumulated 7000+ residents, and operated with near total autonomy. World wide, the movement grew to over 100,000 sannyasins, or members. These devotees lived in self-sovereign communities that were basically rajneesh outposts. These outposts started businesses and meditation centers to accumulate resources and members for the rapidly growing network.

The reason for its explosive growth in my mind, was the Osho movement was founded on a shared spiritual or ritualistic experience that created a people.

Religion has always been the center of every successful cult or culture, from greek pagans to mormons. Osho’s cult was edgy, fun, liberating, and it answered some of the Big Questions. Hence, it attracted young and talented people from all over the world who were looking for their tribe.

How to NOT be a cult though?

Just DON’T proclaim yourself as a divine mouthpiece of God or sexually assault people, and you should be good.

Regardless though, the NPC world will demonize the startup groups and towns of the future. Be prepared for it.

Religion is simply a shared spiritual practice. A shared ritual. And this will spark the fiercest of debates, but we need to start thinking differently about it, because it is essential.

In my mind, the perennial questions, have perennial answers. Meaning there is a transcendent philosophy that underlies most world religions and esoteric doctrines.

I think the exploration and embodiment of transcendence, could be the basis of a more secular religion that is inviting to all walks of faith. Spiritual practice can be simple. Not dogmatically enforced. A way of meditation, heroic action, dance, and/or quarterly festivals, that leaders create amoungst themselves. And hold as sacred.

For me and my friends, we do these things naturally, even though one friend is a pagan, the other a Christian.

FINAL PRINCIPLES: Frontiers + Private Ownership + Citizenship:

To attract loyalty and leaders, you need to increase the stake and meaning people feel in the project. Hence, citizenship and ownership, borders and frontiers must be well thought out and sacred.

One thing modern people don’t understand is that a unique culture comes from borders and boundaries. From the concentration of a unique “us” as distinguished from everything else. Yes, I understand the urge many people have to be inclusive, but boundaries of the realm must be radically exclusive, and citizenship only given to those who actively want to join the way of life and who would be a net gain for the community.

Could you imagine any Germanic or indigenous tribe giving a foreigner the honor of joining their family? A city state of greece extending citizenship to a barbarian, who now gets to vote on whether the city sends their sons to war? It’d be the highest honor. Almost unheard of. And these clear boundaries allowed for unique cultures to emmerge from a group of peers. Now we definitely can’t be that radical, because we don’t have a people yet, but the idea of citizenship must be held in high regard.

You can see my videos on all of these topics in my ReTribalize Playlist
- Citizenship
- Ownership
- Open Space + Frontiers
- Assabiyyah

Frontiers is another topic we discussed many times on this channel because they are the insanely important for men. Men must be expanding together, expressing their will to power on a mission together, or else there is no comradery. Hence, a business, cultural, scientific, or political frontier is essential.

Building a civilizational project is the GREATEST frontier you could ask for. And because of that, if you get people actually full invested, as citizens, you can build enormous shared group feeling and social bonds.

Technical Details of a Civilizational Project

Blockchain, AI, and the internet are powerful tools that make network states possible, enabling transparency, accountability, and global connectivity. These technologies are essential for scaling the vision, but for a deeper dive, I recommend resources like The Network State by Balaji.

That said, while technical systems are important, it’s the leadership and cultural principles we embody that will determine the success of these projects. Technology is a tool; people are the heart.

The details will require robust, multidisciplinary teams:

Blockchain and AI experts for systems and transparency.
Contractors for defense and infrastructure.
Permaculture and self-sufficiency enthusiasts for food sovereignty.
Lawyers and legal experts.
And of course all the rest that makes a society tick.

Everyone has a role to play. Leaders must rally the right talent and expertise to bring these visions to life.

For aspiring YouTubers and creators: we need 1000X more content on the intersection of history, economics, and philosophy as it applies to creating flourishing states.

For instance, Plato + Aristotle are the OG’s for political philosophy, although, I hate reading dusty old tombs. Likewise, anarcho-capitalism and the Austrian school of economics is interesting, but there’s very little content on any of this.

There’s so much untapped potential here, I’d start 10 channels if I could, and we need voices to explore it in fresh, engaging ways.

Addressing Problems and Concerns

I’m not too concerned with the far out issues like some are, im much more immediate in my thinking. How do we build a community, a village, and business project, now.

Immediate Problems: (make this one paragraph. Brief mentions.)

Building the Team: Success starts with finding the right people—aligned leaders, builders, and creators.
Resources: Second big hurdle for most of you is funding Building a viable business or attracting investors is hard.
Food sovereignty, land development, zoning, legality, and taxes…. Are all big hurdles, but solvable.
The fourth problem, and most dangerous here, is most communities fail because of misalignment between leaders, and or sexual chaos. I’ve seen multiple communities ripped apart by a woman who traded one leader for another, or a man who couldn’t keep it in his pants. In fact, that’s what started the trojan war, no?
A fifth problem: the idea of voluntary community has been dragged through the dirt for almost a century. Most communities I’ve seen are far too hippieish and culty. Or too political and utopian. All of that is a big turn off. So be embodied. Be badass. And promote a higher vision that isn’t just returning to some kumbaya earth or transhumanist dream. Only then, will you actually attract the high potential youths. That’s the key. You need to attract the best of the young generations while simultaneously protecting yourself from old people in power. To solve this, we need expert level tact.

Comment below any other immediate problems. One problem to solve I think, is meeting the right people. A great business partner is almost as rare and valuable as a great wife. It’d be incredible if someone could start the tribe app, like a dating app met linkedin, specifically for network sate matching and recruitment.

Future Problems:

EXTERNAL RESISTANCE: Now let’s be real, enormous powers oppose creating a sovereign state as I outlined here. It is antithetical to central banks, big government, globalists, and the liberal establishment. Hence to survive, we must be strategic, either by maintaining a low profile or becoming highly visible symbols of excellence.

Option A) as a certain anti-xenoestrogen activist pointed out, you could hide the budding state under some non-offensive wilderness protection and animal rights agency. Basically, create a bulletproof organization as the front for a secret society, with outposts everywhere like the Knights templar or Freemasons.

Option B) which I like the most, is to be highly, highly visible. Attract influencers who broadcast everything. If you’re not gonna hide, you need to be top of mind when the attacks start coming. If the team is embodied with a great message, and they broadcast to millions everyday, even if they are called some nazi death cult, they won’t be able to be canceled. Furthermore, all attacks will only serve to make the group more popular, and even more appealing for talented youths.

Military Protection: As machiavelli pointed out, if you really want sovereignty, you can’t rely on any other state. Prospera is learning right now in Honduras, national powers change rapidly, and the globalist liberal machine loves to cancel and destroy.

Things like a military and advanced weapon systems are required for real sovereignty on a global level, but they probably wont happen in our lifetimes. In the short term, I think alliances with welcoming nations, as well as the guise of a peaceful humanitarian, gahdi type group would work even better than weapons.

Industrial Self-Sufficiency: Building advanced technologies like manufacturing systems requires centralized warehouses and global supply chains. Collaboration and leveraging new technologies like 3D printing may help.

Political recognition and legitimacy is another hurdle for the future.

What else am I missing? Probably a whole grocery list 🙂

But all of these objections I see as little consequence. Like any business or grand undertaking, there will be always be 1001 problems and far more doubters. Do you think the founding fathers of America signing the declaration of independence, knew how they would defeat the British Empire and start a nation? It was the most unlikely longshot ever conceived of. But all great men demonstrate, if you have vision, relentless pursuit, and good team, anything is possible.

A CALL FOR LEADERS:

Right now, I believe we need leaders more than ever. People who are awake to this turning of the age, and capable of serving a new vision. First, men and women must liberate themselves learn to stand upright and alone. and then help a tribe standup around them. And together, we just might incarnate a new living symbol of what life could be.

Please share this blueprint with leaders and friends you think it will impact. Tag praxis and other Network state visionaries on X. Help spread the word.

And if you want to build a closer relationship with me, and many likeminded men in this space, come join the ReTribalize free community or YouTube mastermind. Links below.