Approach to Partnerships and Governance¶
Our partnerships are built on shared values: openness, sustainability, and public good. We engage with startups, funders, and contributors who align with our mission and contribute to a thriving, ethical technology ecosystem.
🤝 Partnership Principles¶
| Principle | What It Means |
|---|---|
| Reciprocity | We give support with the expectation of future collaboration, not obligation. |
| Transparency | We disclose goals, funding sources, and decision-making processes. |
| Autonomy | Startups maintain creative and legal independence. |
| Alignment | We work only with partners aligned to ethical and sustainable goals. |
🌱 Types of Partnerships¶
| Type | Description |
|---|---|
| Startup Support | We provide infra + advice to early-stage teams in return for optional reciprocity. |
| Funder Relationships | We accept grants and donations from values-aligned organizations. |
| Tool Collaborators | We welcome integration with open tools (e.g. FOSS projects, DNS platforms). |
| Volunteers/Allies | Individuals contributing time, code, or advice are welcomed as equal co-creators. |
⚙️ Technology Planning as a Prerequisite for Partnership¶
At startmeup.nz, we don’t jump straight into provisioning infrastructure. Instead, we begin each potential partnership with a collaborative Technology Planning process.
This ensures that:
- 💡 Your mission and vision are clearly articulated
- 🔍 Your goals align with our values and capacity
- 🛠️ We understand the specific infrastructure and tooling needs of your project
- 🗺️ A technology roadmap is produced, giving everyone clarity on next steps
🎯 Why We Do This¶
We’re not here to throw tools at problems. We believe in building just enough, guided by purpose, to create resilient, ethical, and sustainable systems.
This planning process:
- Helps us understand how best to support your initiative
- Helps you clarify priorities, avoid tool bloat, and reduce technical debt
- Produces a technology plan that you can carry forward — even if we don’t end up working together
📄 What You Get¶
- A lightweight Technology Plan and Roadmap in plain Markdown or shared doc format
- Recommendations for open tools, hosting, security, and team workflows
- Optional support in implementing the early steps of your plan
🤝 Our Commitment¶
We invest time in this process because we believe in relationship-first infrastructure. Our goal isn’t to “own” your stack — it’s to make sure you’re set up to succeed, with or without us.
🧭 Governance Philosophy¶
We are not a traditional top-down consultancy. Our structure is modular, open, and intentional.
- Initial decisions are made by the core maintainers (currently John Billings).
- We use ADR-style documentation to log and explain key technical and operational decisions.
- As contributors and partners grow, we’ll evolve toward:
- Shared decision-making
- Delegated project ownership
- Lightweight, consent-based governance models
✋ How to Get Involved¶
- 🚀 Startups: Join our Technology Planning intake process
- 💬 Funders & donors: Contact us to learn how your support can empower early-stage innovation
- 🛠️ Contributors: Browse our open issues or propose your own ideas
We welcome you to be part of this experiment in open, sustainable, and community-first tech infrastructure.