Principles
Our Principles turn our Values into action.
They guide how we collaborate, solve problems, and move toward realising our Mission.
This is a living document. As an open startup, we aim for clarity to help new contributors align quickly. These principles may evolve, but they will always reflect how we work, why we work this way, and what we expect from each other.
1. Community First
Meetball exists to serve its community, and when we get that right, people rally around what we’ve built. We focus on meeting real needs and empowering creation over passive consumption.
We measure success by the value we create for our users, not by how efficiently we capture it.
Related values: Integrity, always, Community-made, Earned trust, fair rewards.
2. Mission Alignment
We connect our mission to each contributor’s personal growth. When direction and motivation align, initiative is natural, trust builds, and teams move together without needing to be pushed.
We check for alignment often. If the mission no longer serves the team, we update it. Everyone should be able to ask, “What’s my why?” and know how the mission supports it.
Related values: Purpose over noise, Work that fuels growth, Pragmatism with principles,
3. Ask for Help
We make progress by clearly articulating what we need. When we surface specific needs to the right people, we create the conditions for the right help to show up. That’s when magic happens.
We avoid working in silos. Instead, we invite input, share openly, and create space for others to contribute. Asking for help is a strength, not a weakness.
Related values: Human, not polished, Open by default, Community-made, Humility over ego.
4. Open Collaboration
We keep our doors open. Anyone aligned with the mission can contribute and share in the value they help create. Building with users means co-creating with them.
We design clear entry points for new contributors, track impact, and tie contribution to rewards. Voice and influence grow through meaningful participation, not job titles. We show up as we are and make space for others to do the same. Collaboration grows stronger when we bring honesty, humility, and empathy into the work.
Related values: Open by default, Community-made, Earned trust, fair rewards, Human, not polished.
5. Dynamic Roles
We assign roles based on what's needed now, not who held them before. Contributors step into responsibilities as the work evolves, and step aside when someone better suited emerges.
Leadership means owning outcomes and making room for others. When contributors step up with initiative, we welcome it.
Related values: Earned trust, fair rewards, Humility over ego, Pragmatism with principles.
6. Build What Matters
We focus on the problem, not just the current idea. We test fast, involve users early, borrow what works, and drop what doesn’t.
Every decision should move the mission forward. If it doesn’t, either the work needs to change, or the mission needs to evolve. The right ideas grow people as well as our product. We care about building things that have a positive impact on our mission and the people we touch.
Related values: Purpose over noise, Build what’s missing, Pragmatism with principles, Work that fuels growth.
7. Value Impact
We measure value through outcomes, not effort alone. Rewards reflect contributions that meaningfully move the mission forward.
We hold ourselves accountable to results. The test is simple: does something exist today that helps the project because of what you did? We build systems to track progress and improve continuously. We also recognize personal growth as a sign of team health. When contributors stretch their skills and gain confidence through impact, that's value too.
Related values: Integrity, always Earned trust, fair rewards, Pragmatism with principles, Work that fuels growth
8. Be Local
We scale by embedding into real communities. That means building with local champions, adapting to cultural context, and respecting local traditions.
Ambassadors come first. They help us take root in small communities, grow into cities, and carry that momentum into the next.
Related values: Community-made, Build what’s missing, Integrity, always.
9. Learn and Adapt
We hold our work lightly and our mission tightly. When we learn something that changes our understanding, we pivot without ego. We test assumptions through experiments, gather feedback, and aren't afraid to kill ideas that aren't working. We have the courage to build differently, challenge conventions.
We build to learn, not to be right. The best solution wins, even if it means starting over. We docuemnt our experiments and celebrate changing direction when it serves the mission better.
Related values: Humility over ego, Purpose over noise, Pragmatism with principles,
10. Make Space for Growth
We make space for people to explore curiosity and learn. This means pairing people with mentors, rotating responsibilities to build new skills, celebrating learning and makign space for individual interests. We budget time and resources for this, even when it doesn't immediately serve current projects.
Related values: Work that fuels growth, Human, not polished.
Grounded in our Values, these principles guide how we work every day.
Operating Principles for our Handbook (Meetball Recipe)
Each page of our handbook, as we draft it, will start with the Principles that inform that page. That's how we ensure our handbook doesn't become a set of rules and dogma misaligned with our principles. If we ever start operating like a bureaucratic dinosaur, the principles will help us get back to what matters.
(Will add them to the relevant pages)