Launching a Startup mobile App in Australia? How hard can it *really* be?? Day 4 Report
I thought I would make mention of the way I chose Go Daddy as my hosting provider. Besides having them recommended to me, people often overlook that we have a relationship with hosting providers through BizSpark that allows you to take advantage of further discounts – search the list in your BizSpark portal by selecting Hoster Relationship – then pick your hoster 
Search for the hosting providers here (https://www.microsoft.com/bizspark/Startup/HostingOrganization.aspx):
After I signed up it was less than 30 minutes before my site was setup and then all I had to do was deploy the Wordpress blog from in WebMatrix to the new site.
Now, unfortunately, instead of configuring the DNS, I managed to confuddle myself. Fortunately I work with some really smart people who hopefully will give me some help to get that sorted soon!
I guess it's worth pointing out once again that there is no personal financial gain planned for this project. However I do plan to test out monetisation models and as such - the exciting thing that I get to announce today is that we have formed a strategic alliance with the Touched By Olivia foundation.
I came across this group when visiting the Livvi's place playground in Timbrell Park for a picknic with my son. As he has been diagnosed with Asperger's it is a fantastic park for him and many others as its designed for inclusiveness for kids for children of all abilities.
What does this mean for Picknic? It means that through this project, if any revenue generated, the funds will be donated to the Touched by Olivia foundation. In return, they will be doing some promotion of the application. Probably not a standard strategic alliance – but as I mentioned I am not looking to generate any personal financial gain from this project. I still do think that forming strategic alliances & thinking about monetisation methods is an important part of building your application.
The benefits of forming strategic alliances is often overlooked by startups and so I have asked Jack Delosa of The Entourage to share some of the reasons you may want to consider this as a crucial part of your plan.
"Developing Strategic Partnerships with complimentary businesses in your space is one of the fastest ways any small business can grow. If you're looking to accelerate growth while minimising costs, strategic partnerships is the most effective solution."
I suggest you check out this valuable session he delivered to the attendees at Melbourne Startup camp: https://vimeo.com/19889493