Jody Shapiro was inspired to make the documentary after discovering a copy of How to Start Your Own Country by Erwin Strauss in a book store. Shapiro elaborated: "The more I talked about the concept, the more I realised people didn't know this sort of thing existed - that individuals all over the world were claiming to start countries of their own. So I thought this would make a really interesting documentary." Shapiro and his team spent the next eight months travelling to sixteen micronations around the world.[3]