2020: A Hackathon, a Landing Page, and an Idea Too Big to Ignore
A hackathon. A landing page. A wild idea—what if we built a country on the internet?
It was late 2020, and the team at SafetyWing—a startup building a global social safety net—set out to answer that question. They envisioned a future where people could move freely, work anywhere, and access essential services across borders. A country not defined by land, but by its people.
The concept was powerful, obvious even. A new way to think about citizenship in an increasingly digital world. After the hackathon, they launched a landing page and invited 30 influential voices in the remote work and digital nomad space to a private call.
I was on that call.
And I wouldn’t leave it alone.
For months, I followed up, asking for updates. Silence. Eventually, I stopped waiting for permission and just started doing the work—arguing in the Plumia Discord, debating strangers about what an internet country should look like, hosting Plumia dinners in cities I passed through as a digital nomad. It wasn’t a job. It wasn’t even a formal project. It was just an idea too exciting to let go.
Then, I gave up.
I had an offer from another company. It was time to move on. I sent a WhatsApp message to SafetyWing’s CEO, Sondre Rasch:
“I’m going to take a job with another company. Just wanted to check in one last time.”
He replied immediately: Of course I want to hire you.
2021: From Community Member to Executive Director
In 2021, I officially joined SafetyWing to lead Plumia. That meant figuring out what to do with all the energy and vision—both from the team and the growing Plumia community.
Casey Rosengren Joins to Seed the Plumia Community
At the same time, SafetyWing hired Casey Rosengren—founder of Hacker Paradise—to start developing the Plumia community. I already knew Casey from my Guardian reporting days, where I’d written about Hacker Paradise in 2015.
Casey brought experience in building remote communities and helped shape the early conversations around what Plumia could become. Meanwhile, I was already hosting the Plumia Speaker Series, interviewing academics, NASA scientists, researchers, and activists about the future of citizenship and countries.
Becoming Executive Director
Then, SafetyWing posted a job ad for Executive Director, Plumia.
Three members of the community messaged me privately: You should apply.
I hesitated. I had been shaping the conversation, but was I ready to lead it? I already knew the answer. I sent in my application.
2022: Plumia Gains Recognition
By September 2022, TIME Magazine featured Plumia, interviewing me about the project. Meanwhile, Chance McAllister, who had been working on Balaji Srinivasan’s Network State project, reached out to me for a call about Plumia. After our conversation, I encouraged him to apply for a Plumia community role, and he joined the team.
Chance ran Plumia’s internet country cohorts, bringing together thinkers and builders to explore what a country for the internet age could be.
2023: The Nomad Border Pass and Social Gardens
In 2023, I started developing the concept for the Nomad Border Pass—a simple but powerful idea: Nomad visas should be networked. I spoke about it at conferences, on podcasts, at dinners—anywhere people were discussing the future of work and migration.
It became clear that making it happen would require two parallel missions:
• Policy – Governments would need a framework to harmonize and connect their digital nomad visas. Plumia took on this side.
• Product – The infrastructure to make the Nomad Border Pass function in practice. SafetyWing took this on, expanding beyond insurance to add a global mobility arm.
That same year, Chance launched Social Gardens—WhatsApp-based communities for digital nomads and global citizens. These micro-communities became a space for high-trust, high-signal discussions on borderless living.
2024: Crafting the Policy Standard & Launching the Connect Summit
By 2024, Plumia had evolved into a full-fledged think tank working at the intersection of policy, technology, and migration.
Crafting the Nomad Visa Global Standard
That year, we crafted the Nomad Visa Global Standard, a framework to unify digital nomad visas worldwide.
The idea took shape in the back of a taxi from Rabat to Casablanca, when I had a pivotal conversation with Rambod, a former diplomat and Iranian refugee like my father. As we shared the ride to catch our flights out of Morocco, we outlined what would become Plumia’s core policy standard.
That conversation convinced me I needed him on the team—I hired him in 2024.
Launching the Connect Summit
Plumia’s evolution wasn’t just about research—it was about action. In 2024, I co-founded the Connect Summit with Faical, someone I’d known for 15 years, since my Guardian reporting days.
“I think we can really do something here,” he told me. He was right.
The summit brought together policy leaders, founders, and researchers to discuss the future of global mobility. It became a space where ideas weren’t just exchanged—they turned into action.
At the end of 2024, Chance moved on to focus more deeply on pop-up villages, but he remains involved in Plumia’s broader mission.
2025: Launching the Policy Standard & Presenting at the UN
This year, Plumia is launching the Nomad Visa Global Standard, bringing the framework we developed in 2024 into action. The goal is to find a state champion and 10 countries to participate in the pilot program.
In March 2025, I’ll present Plumia’s policy paper as the opening keynote at the UN’s migration meeting. This will be the first time a coordinated vision for harmonized nomad visa policy is presented on the world stage.
Meanwhile, Interintellect reached out for a collaboration, inviting us to join their community of thinkers to push forward discussions on digital citizenship and global mobility. The collaboration solidified our role as leaders in shaping the future of cross-border living and working.
2026: What’s Next
In 2026, we’ll focus on identity verification—exploring blockchain identity and proof of personhood, foundational technologies for the future of citizenship and global governance.
Plumia: From Idea to Action
Five years ago, Plumia was an idea on a landing page. Today, we’re influencing policy, shaping the global conversation, and laying the groundwork for a borderless future.
And we’re just getting started.