Operating Budget and Funding Model #
💸 Baseline Operating Costs #
To run an effective, nimble support platform for early-stage startups, we keep costs intentionally lean. Our initial infrastructure is powered by free-tier or low-cost services, while remaining mindful of sustainability and support.
title: “Operating Budget and Funding Model” date: 2025-05-31 description: “How startmeup.nz manages costs and explores sustainable funding for its mission.” #
Operating Budget and Funding Model #
💸 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 | To be reimbursed by the JJobs project |
| 2025-05 | ForwardEmail | Paid Plan (1 year) | $60.00 | Covers forwarding + DNS tools |
| 2025-06 | Bytescale | Monthly subscription | $14.00 | Video/File storage |
💰 Current balance at Metaname: $51.00 NZD
JJobs will reimburse us for the domain and Bytescale hosting so far ($48.50).
🧰 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 | Hosting private repositories | Free Tier | Ideal for public code and collaborative work |
| GitLab | CI/CD and 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 it’s self, 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/Whisper 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 internally and will be shared periodically through public reports or GitLab artifacts. We are currently investigating:
- Lightweight accounting tools (e.g. GNU Ledger, Plaintext Accounting)
- Simple reimbursement workflows
- Prepaid credits for contributors
🔄 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.