A business model for Ajabbi

Mike's Notes

Here are more notes about what I have been learning.

Resources

• https://www.strategyzer.com/
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexander_Osterwalder
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Business_model_canvas
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Business_model
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steve_Blank
• https://steveblank.com/tools-and-blogs-for-entrepreneurs/
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Customer_development
• https://businessmodelanalyst.com/key-things-to-know-about-mission-canvas/
• https://leanstack.com/
• https://www.leanfoundry.com/
• https://next.canvanizer.com/
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eric_Ries
• https://www.blog.ajabbi.com/2024/06/gitlab-and-posthog-handbooks.html
• https://handbook.ajabbi.com/eng/9/
• Pipi

A business model for Ajabbi

By: Mike Peters
24/02/2025

Mike is the inventor and architect of Pipi and the founder of Ajabbi.

The New Zealand Ecological Restoration Network (NZERN) was originally behind Pipi. I was its founder and National President and was responsible for the design of Pipi. Many people helped with the work. Pipi 4 was highly successful in New Zealand. It drove the 17th most popular website in NZ for many years, but it ultimately failed because NZERN was financially dependent on funding from the NZ government. They changed their funding criteria just like the weather. They also demanded processes that got in the way of serving the many users best.

I didn't have a way to understand the problem at the time. Much later, I discovered business models for businesses and non-profits like NZERN, which can lead to better decision-making.

In 2016, I realized that Pipi was a decade ahead of its time and an early form of cloud computing. I also realised that if the applications it could run were broader, income could be generated, making it financially self-supporting. Things like health, space, utilities, transport, agriculture, and movies.

I then discovered Alex Osterwalder, Steve Blank, Eric Reis, and Ash Maurya, who all developed systematic methodologies for achieving success using simple tools called Canvases.

So, in 2017, while I rebuilt the core of Pipi 4 from memory and called it Pipi 6, I also deep-dived into cloud computing to catch up with recent changes and watched video talks from DevOps teams on better processes. I also systematically studied the experiences of others in launching new products and how to ensure success.

In 2025, Ajabbi is mission-driven, not a business, and will use the Mission Canvas. However, a small company has been established to collect usage fees and pay bills. All profits will be donated to a mission-driven foundation that supports open-source SaaS applications and users. A separate R&D institution is also planned for the long-term development of Pipi. Each will be quite different and need its own canvas.

Open Handbooks are also being written so everything is out in the open.

You can read the detailed history of Pipi on this blog.