Tone

One of our community's greatest assets is access to successful, seasoned Australian entrepreneurs and founders who make themselves available to give back to others that are starting their founder journeys.

There are varying levels of expertise in the group and knowledge about different areas, depending on a founder's experience with various technologies or markets. "Newbie" questions are an opportunity for seasoned founders to give back by sharing this knowledge. Please offer your opinions and personal experiences, but do so in a respectful way to others that may feel differently.

Questions and Answers

The Founder Forum's main goal is to provide a safe and private place to ask questions that can likely be answered from the experience of other Aussie founders who have gone through the same/similar experiences before.

Some guidelines on this:

Search before you ask: Before you ask a question, use the forum's search bar to look up any keywords. You can also look at topics under different categories that can help you narrow down your search to find the answer you are looking for.

If you see a question that has already been asked and answered, you can link the answered post in the thread.

Responding to a post thread: If you're responding to a thread that was posted as an answer to a question, you can quote the thread by using the 'reply with quote' or " icon tool provided by the Founder Forum.

Question format: When you're asking a question, take the time to choose an appropriate category for it, as this will help others find it in the future. Ensure the question has a clear subject line so that other founders can quickly see if they'd be knowledgeable on the subject. Provide as much information on your situation as you can to get a more specific response.

Answer format: Respond to questions in the topic's thread. Private replies don't help others who have the same problem but didn't ask it.

When you're answering, think about scenarios the question might be asked beyond this, and respond in a way that will have the maximum benefit, not just this one time, but also for founders who might ask this question in the future.

Service Provider discussions

There are a large number of founders who are also service providers. We understand that they have a lot of value to add and that their expertise in specific areas can be extremely valuable to the AFN community.

Commentary by Service Providers: We want to encourage service providers (consultants, recruiters, lawyers, accountants, etc.) to share their expertise in their given area. Service providers must not answer a question by offering their paid services, but instead, provide a knowledgeable solution to the problem. Providing a disclosure that you are a service provider to help the reader understand your expertise in answering as well as your likely perspective/bias is essential (and good for you, too).

We do not want to limit our community from using your services, but this should be done by giving back to the community by sharing your knowledge. By doing this, you're giving founders the opportunity to engage you, should they need additional/ongoing support.

When considering if your answer falls within these guidelines, think about whether or not you have answered the question and if this will add value to others who may have a similar problem in the future. Any response that solely promotes your services will be removed.

Direct messages to individuals who raise particular problems are okay, in a respectful, consultative manner. But your knowledgeable response on a topic should be public first, followed by a private message. Private messages that don't align to these standards should be reported to AFN (hello@aussiefounders.org).

Recruiting

Members of the Founder Forum are generally looking for business advice, not employment. Please do not use the Founder Forum as a place to recruit for your business. Any posts or private messages that don't align with these standards should be reported to AFN (hello@aussiefounders.org) and will be removed.

Promotion

As a community, we want to hear about and encourage your successes, as well as offer feedback on new products/services you may be offering. That said, we ask that you exclusively post about these under the ‘Founder News/Feedback Requested’ category on the Founder Forum. We understand that in some cases you will need to speak to your experience and business when responding to a post, and in these circumstances we understand the need to provide such context.

Take out what you put in: Think about what you can add to the community, whether it's asking questions that may arise from others, or answering them by sharing your experiences and knowledge on a topic.

Improvements: Suggestions for improvements are always welcome, and can be shared with us (hello@aussiefounders.org).

New Members

New members can join the Founder Forum by using the Forum link on the AFN website. Before a user is given access, they will be verified by the AFN team.

Email Management

You change your email settings on your Forum account by clicking on your profile on the top right-hand side and clicking on the 'settings' in the drop-down menu. From there, you can adjust which emails you receive and how often you receive them.

If you still need help, please email hello@aussiefounders.org, and we can help adjust these settings.