Operating Budget and Funding Model#
Status as at 1 November 2025.
We run a lean platform for early-stage founders by combining free-tier tooling with a handful of paid services. This page is a hand-maintained snapshot while the OpsDev.NZ collective finishes the automation that will power our Open Collective presence. Once that work lands, this ledger will redirect to the live public reporting.
💸 Actual Costs and Prepaid Balances#
| Date | Service | Description | Amount (NZD) | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025-05 | Metaname | Account credit top-up | $120.00 | Prepaid, balance below |
| 2025-05 | Domain Registration | startmeup.nz | $34.50 | Deducted from Metaname credit |
| 2025-05 | Domain Registration | getjjobs.nz | $34.50 | Covered from Metaname credit |
| 2025-05 | ForwardEmail | Paid Plan (1 year) | $60.00 | Covers forwarding + DNS tools |
| 2025-06 | Bytescale | Monthly subscription | $14.00 | Video/file storage, initial months covered by SMUNZ |
| 2025-07 | Bytescale | Monthly subscription | $14.00 | Now paid directly by the JJobs project |
| 2025-08 | Bytescale | Monthly subscription | $14.00 | JJobs project |
| 2025-09 | Bytescale | Monthly subscription | $14.00 | JJobs project |
| 2025-10 | Domain Registration | opsdev.nz | $34.50 | Deducted from Metaname credit |
| 2025-10 | Event | Event ticket | $10.00 | Startup World Cup Event Ticket |
| 2025-10 | Bytescale | Monthly subscription | $14.00 | JJobs project |
💰 Current balance at Metaname: $6.73 NZD
We waived reimbursement from JJobs for the first few months of hosting, but now that the business banking account is live, JJobs have covered their own Bytescale hosting since July.
As of 1st November 2025, JJobs has $77.20 in the SMUNZ account. The Bytescale hosting is actually $13.67 a month for the plan we are on, but we have rounded it up to $14 for clarity when we report.
From November onward SMUNZ will resume paying for the Bytescale hosting. SMUNZ and JJobs are sharing the account (SMUNZ uses it for image hosting). Hosting is provided to JJobs at no charge until August 2026.
🧰 Free Services We’re Using#
We actively take advantage of industry-standard free tiers to minimize operational costs while building out our platform and partnerships.
| Service | Purpose | Plan Type | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| GitHub | CI/CD, public and private repos | Free Tier | Ideal for public code and collaborative work |
| GitLab | CI/CD, public and private repos | Free Tier | Currently using for project scaffolding |
| Miro | Visual collaboration and planning | Free Tier | Used for brainstorming and stakeholder diagrams |
| Figma | UI/UX design, prototyping | Free Tier | Sufficient for lightweight design needs |
| Slack | Internal ops and partner comms | Free Tier | Monitoring usage; may upgrade in future |
🧠We continually evaluate usage to ensure we stay within free limits or plan for upgrades only when needed.
💸 Services We’ll Likely Pay For#
Some tools are essential for our secure operations and future scaling. Once JJobs has the ability to fund itself, the hosting costs associated with that project will become their responsibility.
| Service | Purpose | Est. Cost (NZD) | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1Password | Secure password and secrets management | $20–35 | Essential; applying for startup program (6 months free) |
| Firebase | Backend as a Service | $0–30 | Usage-based; may stay on free tier initially |
| Vercel | App hosting and serverless deployment | $0–30 | Usage-based; might migrate to it from Firebase or combine, has a startup program |
| Bytescale | Media hosting for GetJJobs (images/video) | $5–25 | Preferred choice for media-rich apps |
| OpenAI | GPT/Codex for automation, support, etc. | $5–50 | R&D, prototyping, and intelligent assistant integrations |
💡 We aim to keep predictable monthly costs low (~$50–120 NZD) while retaining flexibility for high-impact tools.
💡 Funding Model Overview#
1. Founder-Friendly Contributions#
We operate on a pay-what-you-can basis. Supported startups are encouraged (but not required) to contribute:
- One-time donations
- Small recurring amounts
- Equity or token-based reciprocity (for mission-aligned orgs)
2. Sponsorships and Philanthropic Support#
We’re exploring support from:
- Individual donors
- Values-aligned companies
- Grantmaking bodies (e.g. InternetNZ, community foundations)
We aim to keep all financial relationships transparent and tied to outcomes that benefit the ecosystem.
3. Sweat Equity and Reciprocity#
Our syndicate model encourages:
- Mutual aid among startups
- In-kind services (e.g. design, code review, storytelling)
- Shared infrastructure and collaborative governance
📊 Expense Tracking and Transparency#
All spending is tracked here and will eventually be managed through the Open Collective platform.
🔄 Sustainability Principles#
- Keep burn rate low
- Avoid dependence on a single funder or partner
- Use open-source and decentralized tools where practical
- Build systems others can fork and reuse
This budget is intentionally lean — as we grow, our operating model may evolve. But our goal remains: to offer reliable infrastructure with minimal financial friction, and to invite a network of mutual support rather than extractive transactions.