Partnership Proposal
Partnership Model
How Alex and Joshua build the first app that bridges physical fitness with spiritual practice. Equal partnership, different domains, shared mission.
The Vision
Dr. Joshua Belk's "Spiritual Fitness" — the first app built around daily guided routines, prayer sets and reps, confessional reflections, fasting frameworks, and community mentorship. Not a prayer app with a content library. Not a meditation app with a Bible verse. A complete system that moves people from inconsistency to stability, from habitual sin to intentional virtue, from isolation to loving service — powered by AI personalization and grounded in Joshua's spiritual fitness framework.
Theological Alignment & Content Integrity
Non-Negotiable Foundation
Everything in this app — every prayer routine, every confessional reflection, every fasting guide, every piece of content — must be aligned with the teachings of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, as most purely preserved in the Holy Orthodox Church. This is not a wellness product. This is a tool for salvation.
We are not looking to impose any specific teaching or diminish any Christian tradition. We honor all who follow Christ. Our foundation is the Early Church Fathers — the ancient Christians who walked with the Apostles, who were martyred for the faith, who built the framework of prayer, fasting, confession, and virtue that every Christian tradition draws from. St. John Chrysostom, St. Basil the Great, the Desert Fathers — these are not denominational figures. They belong to all of Christianity. We're putting their 2,000-year-old spiritual discipline system in your pocket.
The app welcomes all Christians — and anyone seeking God. The content will be accessible regardless of denomination. But the framework, the method, the theological backbone comes from the ancient undivided Church — the deepest well in Christianity.
What we will never do: preach a gospel of prosperity, sell indulgences or spiritual shortcuts, promise God's favor in exchange for money, or reduce the faith to self-help with Bible verses. This app is about repentance, discipline, and transformation — the narrow path, not the comfortable one. If it doesn't cost you something, it's not spiritual fitness.
Theological Review Committee
We will establish a committee of clergy and theologians to review and approve all content before it reaches users. Nothing publishes without their sign-off.
Committee Composition
- ✓ Orthodox priest (spiritual director)
- ✓ Theologian with patristic expertise
- ✓ Monastic advisor (prayer & fasting authority)
- ✓ Lay theologian with pastoral care experience
What They Review
- ✓ All prayer content and guided meditations
- ✓ Confessional reflection questions and prompts
- ✓ Fasting guidelines and spiritual discipline methods
- ✓ Scripture interpretation and devotional readings
- ✓ AI-generated recommendations and personalization logic
- ✓ Mentorship matching criteria and coaching frameworks
Content Guardrails
We Will Always
- ✓ Root all practices in Scripture and Holy Tradition
- ✓ Direct users toward the sacraments and church life
- ✓ Teach prayer as relationship with God, not self-help
- ✓ Present fasting as ascetic practice, not a diet
- ✓ Frame virtue as pursuit of Christ-likeness
- ✓ Acknowledge the app supplements, never replaces, the Church
We Will Never
- ✗ Mix Christian prayer with non-Christian practices
- ✗ Present spirituality as self-improvement divorced from God
- ✗ Contradict Church teaching on faith or morals
- ✗ Use gamification that trivializes sacred practices
- ✗ Let AI generate theological content without human review
- ✗ Offer confession or spiritual direction as a substitute for a priest
The Standard
Before any content publishes, we ask one question:
"Does this lead the user closer to Christ and His Church?"
If the answer isn't clearly yes, it doesn't ship.
Two Phases to Scale
Build & Validate
Months 0-12 • MVP to Product-Market Fit
Build the MVP, launch a beta community, reach 1,000 active users, and validate that people will pay for spiritual fitness.
Success Criteria
1,000 MAU, 40%+ D30 retention, 5%+ free-to-paid conversion, NPS 50+
Scale & Expand
Months 12-36 • Growth to 50K Users
Scale to 50,000 users, launch B2B licensing for churches and studios, build the team, and establish spiritual fitness as a category.
Success Criteria
50K MAU, $50K+ MRR, 10+ B2B contracts, team of 5+, category recognition
Partnership Structure
Equal partnership, different domains. Each partner brings irreplaceable value.
Joshua
50% Equity • Content & Community
Joshua brings the soul of the product — the domain expertise in spiritual fitness, the ability to coach and inspire, and the community that will become the foundation of growth.
Spiritual fitness content — workout programs, meditation guides, devotionals
Community building — coaching groups, ambassador program, culture
Coaching & mentoring — 1-on-1 and group sessions, live workshops
Retreats & events — in-person experiences that deepen engagement
Alex
50% Equity • Technology & Growth
Alex brings the engine — the technology that makes the app intelligent, the marketing machine that drives growth, and the data infrastructure that turns user behavior into product improvements.
App development — iOS, Android, web platform, backend services
AI personalization — adaptive content engine, recommendation system
Marketing engine — SEO, paid ads, email automation, analytics
Data & analytics — user behavior, retention metrics, A/B testing
Equal in Everything
50/50 equity. 50/50 time investment. 50/50 financial investment. Different domains, equal skin in the game.
This is not "one partner writes checks while the other writes code." Both partners invest equally — time and money. If there's a $500 expense, it's $250 each. If there's a 60-hour week, both are working it. The domains are different (Joshua: content & community, Alex: technology & growth) but the commitment is identical.
Strategic decisions — pricing, budget, expansion, hiring — are made jointly. See the full RACI matrix for detailed ownership.
Revenue Model
Freemium
Limited content, ad-supported
$0
3 workouts/week, basic devotionals, community access
Premium
Full access, no ads
$9.99/mo
or $79.99/year (33% savings)
All content, AI coaching, live sessions, retreat discounts
B2B Licensing
Churches, studios, corporate
Custom
White-label for churches, yoga studios, corporate wellness programs
Retreats & Events
In-person revenue share
Rev Share
Quarterly retreats, workshops, community gatherings
The Mission Model: Your Subscription Funds Spiritual Projects
This isn't just an app — it's a movement. A percentage of every subscription goes directly to spiritual projects around the world. And users choose where their money goes.
50%
Of Profit to Projects
Not revenue — profit. After costs, half goes to the mission.
🌎
User Chooses
In the app, each user selects which project gets their share.
📈
Full Transparency
Quarterly reports showing exactly where the money went.
Example Spiritual Projects
Build a Chapel
Fund construction of prayer spaces in underserved communities
Scripture in Every Language
Fund Bible translation and audio recording for unreached languages
Feed the Hungry
Partner with food banks and soup kitchens — service as spiritual practice
Youth Mentorship
Fund spiritual fitness programs for at-risk youth and schools
Mission Trips
Subsidize mission trips for app community members who can't afford them
Addiction Recovery
Fund faith-based recovery programs using spiritual fitness framework
Why this is a marketing superpower
When a user's subscription feeds the hungry or builds a chapel, they don't cancel. They tell their friends. They post about it. The mission is the marketing. "I work out, I pray, and my subscription built a chapel in Guatemala" — that's a story people share.
Try the Assessment
Answer 7 questions about your current spiritual practice. See your score, your gaps, and what a personalized program looks like.
Take the Spiritual Fitness Assessment →Investment & Cash Contributions
What each partner puts in at every stage — time first, cash only when revenue supports it.
1 Phase 1: Sweat Equity + Minimal Cash (Month 0-12)
Cash investment
Domain, hosting, app store fees, basic tools
Time investment
Both partners work alongside other income
What it covers
Joshua: Content creation, community building
Alex: App development, infrastructure, marketing tools
| Joshua | Alex | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cash investment | $0-5K | $0-5K | Domain, hosting, app store fees, basic tools |
| Time investment | 15-20 hrs/week | 20-30 hrs/week | Both partners work alongside other income |
| What it covers | Content creation, community building | App development, infrastructure, marketing tools |
2 Phase 2: Revenue-Funded Growth (Month 12-36)
Cash investment
All growth funded by subscription revenue
Time investment
Transition to full-time as revenue allows
Paid help
Joshua: Content assistant ($2-3K/mo)
Alex: Contract engineer ($3-5K/mo)
First hires funded from revenue
| Joshua | Alex | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cash investment | From app revenue | From app revenue | All growth funded by subscription revenue |
| Time investment | 25-30 hrs/week | 30-40 hrs/week | Transition to full-time as revenue allows |
| Paid help | Content assistant ($2-3K/mo) | Contract engineer ($3-5K/mo) | First hires funded from revenue |
Key Principle
No outside money needed in Phase 1. Both partners invest time, not cash. If revenue reaches $8K+ MRR in Phase 2, we self-fund growth. Outside investors only if we choose to accelerate.
Reinvestment & Distributions
A three-tier waterfall that prioritizes reinvestment early and rewards partners as revenue grows.
Tier 1
$0-$5K MRR
Cover operating costs only. No distributions.
Tier 2
$5K-$20K MRR
Operating costs + growth budget.
Tier 3
$20K+ MRR
Sustainable growth + partner compensation.
Distribution Rules
Distributions are quarterly, not monthly. Both partners must approve any distribution. Either partner can propose increasing reinvestment to accelerate growth.
Future Partners & Investment Vision
How outside parties might enter the business — only when both founders agree.
Founders Only (Month 0-18)
- Just Joshua + Alex, 50/50
- No outside investors, no advisory board
- Focus: build product, prove demand
- Protection: both founders have equal veto on investor conversations
Strategic Advisors (Month 12-24, if needed)
- 1-2 advisors with domain expertise (church tech, app growth, faith-based media)
- Compensation: 0.5-1% equity each from a 5% advisor pool
- Advisory pool comes equally from both founders (2.5% each)
Seed Investment (Month 18-30, only if growth requires)
- Only if organic growth isn't fast enough AND both partners agree
- Target: $250K-500K at $2-5M valuation
- Use of funds: engineering team, marketing budget, church partnership expansion
- Founder anti-dilution: both founders maintain minimum 35% combined
Strategic Partnership (Year 3+, optional)
- Church denomination partnership (e.g., licensing deal with a diocese or denomination)
- Faith-based media company (e.g., EWTN, K-LOVE parent company)
- NOT a VC play — this is a mission-driven business, not a flip
Mission Before Money
The default path is self-funded growth. Outside money is an accelerant, not a requirement. Both partners must unanimously agree to take any outside investment. The mission comes before the money.
Success Criteria
| Metric | Year 1 | Year 2 | Year 3 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Monthly Active Users | 1,000 | 10,000 | 50,000 |
| Paid Subscribers | 50 | 800 | 5,000 |
| Monthly Recurring Revenue | $500 | $8K | $50K+ |
| D30 Retention | 40% | 50% | 55%+ |
| B2B Contracts | 0 | 3 | 10+ |
| NPS Score | 50+ | 60+ | 70+ |
Operational Terms
These are the questions we need to answer together — not final terms. Every number, threshold, and rule below is a starting point for discussion, not a commitment.
AI-generated placeholders
All dollar amounts, percentages, timelines, and thresholds below are AI-generated examples to illustrate the structure of the decisions, not the final values. The actual numbers will be defined together based on both partners' inputs, financial modeling, and legal counsel.
Founder Compensation & Salary Timeline
SAMPLE — TO DISCUSSWhen do founders get paid? What triggers salary? Example structure below.
Stage 1: Pre-Revenue
$0
Both founders work unpaid. Sweat equity only. Shared expenses split 50/50.
Stage 2: $5K+ MRR
$2K/mo each
Minimal founder salary. Covers basics. Revisited quarterly as revenue grows.
Stage 3: $20K+ MRR
Market rate
Salaries move toward market rate for each role. Set jointly, equal total comp.
Key rule: Both founders receive the same total compensation at every stage. If Joshua draws $3K/month, Alex draws $3K/month. No exceptions until both agree to change this.
Hiring & Team Building
SAMPLE — TO DISCUSSWhen do we hire? Who approves? Example framework below — actual thresholds TBD.
First Hires by Domain
Joshua's Domain — Content & Community
- First hire: Content assistant ($2-3K/mo contractor) — helps edit, schedule, and produce prayer routines and reflections
- Second hire: Community moderator ($1-2K/mo part-time) — manages groups, responds to users, flags issues
- Trigger: When Joshua's content backlog exceeds his capacity (target: 50+ content pieces in pipeline)
Alex's Domain — Technology & Growth
- First hire: Contract engineer ($3-5K/mo) — specific feature builds, bug fixes, not full-time
- Second hire: Marketing assistant ($2-3K/mo contractor) — ad management, email campaigns, analytics
- Trigger: When feature backlog exceeds Alex's build capacity AND revenue supports it
Approval Rules
- Under $2K/month: Each founder can hire contractors in their domain without approval. Inform the other partner.
- $2K-5K/month: Requires discussion + agreement from both partners within 5 business days.
- Over $5K/month or full-time employee: Joint decision. Written agreement on role, comp, duration, and KPIs.
- Firing/ending contracts: Each founder can end contractors in their domain. Employees require joint agreement.
Contractors vs. Employees
- Default: contractors first. Lower risk, no benefits overhead, easier to scale up/down.
- Convert to employee when: the role is permanent (6+ months), full-time (30+ hrs/week), and revenue supports benefits.
- All contractors sign: NDA + IP assignment agreement (their work belongs to the company).
- First employees get: 0.5-1% equity options from a 10% employee pool (5% from each founder).
Separation Strategy
SAMPLE — TO DISCUSSWhat happens if the partnership doesn't work? Topics to define together with legal counsel.
Equity Vesting
50/50 equity vests over 4 years with a 1-year cliff. If either partner leaves before Year 1, they forfeit all equity. After Year 1, equity vests monthly (1/48 per month). At Year 4, both founders are fully vested.
Year 0
0% vested
Year 1
25% vested
Year 2
50% vested
Year 4
100% vested
IP Ownership on Exit
Joshua keeps:
- His personal brand and name
- Right to create new spiritual content (non-competing for 18 months)
- His pre-existing content (brought into the partnership)
Alex keeps:
- His personal brand and consulting practice
- Right to build other apps (non-competing for 18 months)
- His pre-existing tools and frameworks
The company keeps: the app, the brand name, all content created FOR the app, user data, subscriber relationships, B2B contracts, and all code written for the platform. Neither founder can take company assets on exit.
Buyout Mechanism (Shotgun Clause)
If one partner wants out: they name a price for their shares. The other partner can either buy at that price or sell their own shares at that price. This forces honest pricing — if you name too high, you might have to buy; too low, and you sell cheap.
Non-Compete
18 months after departure. Neither founder can build, advise, or invest in a competing spiritual fitness app. After 18 months, both are free. Scope: apps that combine prayer/spiritual practice with fitness tracking. Does NOT prevent Joshua from coaching or Alex from building other tech.
Deadlock Resolution (50/50 Disagreement)
- Discuss — 7 days to resolve between partners
- Mediate — bring in an agreed-upon third party (advisor, pastor, business mentor). 14 days.
- Arbitrate — binding arbitration with a professional arbitrator. 30 days.
- Shotgun clause — if arbitration fails, either partner can trigger the buyout mechanism above.
Death or Disability
If a founder dies, their vested equity passes to their estate. The surviving founder has right of first refusal to buy the estate's shares at fair market value (determined by an independent valuation). If a founder is disabled for 6+ continuous months, the same buyout option applies. Both founders should carry key-person life insurance once revenue allows.
Legal Entity
Recommended: LLC (Limited Liability Company) with partnership tax election. Simplest structure for 50/50, pass-through taxation (no double tax), flexible operating agreement. Can convert to C-Corp later if we take institutional investment. State of formation: to be decided (Delaware is standard, home state is simpler).
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