Shared Platform Services

Shared Platform Services #

StartMeUp.nz is not just a fiscal host. We are also building a lightweight shared platform capability for early-stage ventures that need practical help getting operational without taking on unnecessary cost or complexity too early.

OpsDev.nz is the delivery arm for that work: a small platform engineering practice inside the wider StartMeUp.nz mission. Its role is to test tools, establish repeatable workflows, and turn the useful parts into support that other founders can actually use.

What We Support Today #

We currently focus on foundational platform needs that help a small team become operational:

  • Domains and DNS using practical, low-drama tooling and managed providers where appropriate
  • Email forwarding and authentication including SPF, DKIM, and DMARC setup
  • Code hosting and version control with GitLab or GitHub-based workflows
  • Documentation and planning support using Markdown-first workflows that are easy to review, version, and improve
  • Lightweight hosting guidance for static sites, simple applications, and project infrastructure
  • Open operational tooling where we can reuse or publish what we build through OpsDev.nz

This is intentionally modest. We are not trying to imitate a large consultancy. We are trying to give early projects enough platform structure to move forward safely and coherently.

How We Work #

Our operating preference is:

  • Open source first where practical
  • Python-friendly tooling where it helps us keep one coherent workflow
  • Low recurring cost unless a paid service clearly earns its keep
  • Plain text and version control for core operational knowledge
  • Small, reversible decisions instead of over-engineering too early

That is the same reasoning behind our use of Beancount for internal bookkeeping, our preference for Git-based documentation, and our general bias toward tools that can be automated, audited, and shared.

Documentation Strategy #

Documentation is now part of the platform story, not an afterthought.

We currently operate two different site stacks:

  • OpsDev.nz uses MkDocs today
  • StartMeUp.nz uses Hugo today

Both have been useful. MkDocs helped us stand up the OpsDev.nz documentation site quickly. Hugo got the StartMeUp.nz website live and has already supported some custom workflow, including the expense-report export from our Beancount ledger.

But the cost of that split is real. Two generators means two configuration models, two sets of conventions, and more maintenance overhead for a very small operation.

Why We Are Interested in Zensical #

Our current direction is to standardise on Zensical as a future documentation platform across the stack.

The reasons are practical:

  • It offers a plausible migration path from the MkDocs site we already run for OpsDev.nz
  • It may also allow us to replace the Hugo site later, reducing stack fragmentation
  • It aligns well with our Python-first workflow while still benefiting from modern native performance
  • It has features we care about, such as a cleaner path for rich technical documentation and native Mermaid support
  • It is a project we would like to support, use seriously, and potentially contribute to over time

This is not a rejection of Hugo or MkDocs. Both got us moving. The case for Zensical is that a unified documentation platform would make the whole operation easier to maintain and easier to teach to others.

That matters because documentation is one of the main ways StartMeUp.nz can help small ventures without creating expensive long-term dependency.

AI-Assisted Delivery #

We also treat AI tooling as part of the platform question.

Over the past month, our use of OpenCode materially changed how we think about AI subscriptions. It showed us that a terminal-native, lower-cost workflow can still be genuinely useful for coding, writing, and day-to-day technical work.

That experience reduced the pressure to default to a premium subscription model for everything. We still evaluate tools like ChatGPT/Codex, and we expect to spend more time with alternatives such as Claude Code, but OpenCode demonstrated an important point:

a small operation does not always need to lock itself into expensive AI tooling to get real value from AI-assisted work.

Our default stance now is:

  • use AI where it improves delivery
  • keep humans accountable for the work
  • prefer flexible and cost-conscious tooling choices
  • avoid recurring spend that outpaces actual benefit

That approach fits the broader StartMeUp.nz philosophy: practical support, careful spending, and systems that remain understandable to the people who depend on them.

What This Means for Supported Ventures #

In practice, this means we want to support ventures with:

  • a cleaner path to domains, DNS, email, and documentation
  • access to proven lightweight tooling choices
  • shared operational patterns that do not assume enterprise budgets
  • a platform engineering mindset grounded in transparency, automation, and maintainability

Where we build something reusable, our preference is to turn it into public documentation or open tooling through OpsDev.nz rather than keep it locked away as private process.

Direction of Travel #

The current direction is straightforward:

  • continue supporting ventures with simple, useful platform services
  • keep financial and operational systems transparent
  • consolidate documentation around a stronger common platform
  • keep evaluating AI tooling with an eye to capability, cost, and independence
  • publish reusable pieces through OpsDev.nz wherever possible

We are still early. The point is not to have a perfect platform. The point is to build a support model that is lightweight, honest about its scale, and useful to founders who need real help more than polished promises.