About
Conexus is the name of a contractual network of independent consulting businesses that have agreed the same rules for referring work to each other and working together.
Why it exists
Independent consultants regularly meet opportunities that are outside their expertise, larger than they can deliver alone, or better suited to someone else, and they need specialist peers without building permanent overhead. Conexus gives them a common framework for referring that work, bringing each other in, and getting paid fairly, with the rules agreed before an opportunity arrives.
In Latin, conexus means joined or linked. In the logo, the x is drawn as two separate strokes that cross: two practices meet on a piece of work, and each carries on independently afterwards.
What it is and isn’t
| Conexus does not… | What that means for you |
|---|---|
| employ Members or assign them work | You decide what work you take. |
| require referrals or acceptance of any opportunity | No minimums, no quotas, no obligation to say yes. |
| set, recommend or coordinate consulting rates | Fee percentages are defaults you can change. Pricing to Clients is yours. |
| own, control or allocate Member Clients | No Member owns a Client, and Conexus certainly does not. |
| provide the consulting services or contract with Clients | Your Client contract is yours. |
| supervise professional work or decide Client complaints | Each Member answers for its own work. |
| guarantee Member performance, leads, revenue or payment | Joining is a framework, not a pipeline. |
| certify, rate or endorse Members | Verification confirms facts, not quality. |
| collect, hold or take a share of referral or project fees | Money flows Member to Member. |
| pool Member revenues or profits | Members share no profits or losses. |
Governance
A Network Council administers membership records, the Network Policies, Member conduct and the shared assets. Council service is voluntary and unpaid. A Council seat belongs to the Member and cannot be sold or passed on; a company Member acts through an individual it names, and can change that individual by written notice. Up to nine Council Members serve two-year terms, at least two-thirds of the seats must be held by Members who deliver consulting work, and business-development Members’ votes together count for at most 15%. The Council cannot bind Members commercially, allocate Clients, set prices, hold Member funds or sign deals for the Network.
The first Member and first Council Member is Nabavi & Company Inc., the Sponsor that established the Network, acting through Mike Nabavi. During the Founder Control Period the Sponsor leads the Council. That period ends at the earliest of 15 Independent Members, the Sponsor’s written notice, or the Network passing 50 Members, and it never restarts. As Independent Members join, the Council is opened to them in stages, and an Independent Council Member can publish a dissent from any decision.
Nobody owns the Network the way a shareholder owns a company. Until the Infrastructure Company exists, Nabavi & Company Inc. holds the Conexus name, logo, domain and published materials as interim Asset Holder, as a safekeeper for the Network and not for its own benefit, and must transfer them as the Council directs. The Infrastructure Company’s shares will initially be held by the Sponsor, subject to written limits: it cannot sell the name or the Member database, change its mandate or take a share of Member revenue without a Member vote, and it may not distribute Network Charges or Network Assets to its shareholder.
A separate company with a narrow mandate is planned to run the website, the Register and Directory, shared systems and the brand. It cannot provide consulting, contract with Clients, take a share of fees, set prices or control Member work. It must exist, and be insured, before the Network launches publicly, grows beyond 50 Members or charges any fee. Once it is in place, the Network expects it to recover the cost of shared infrastructure through cost-recovery registration charges, set to cover costs only and never for the use of the Conexus name. It will publish an annual report, including its finances and tax filings, to all Members, and hold an annual general meeting to which every Member is invited to give feedback. Members do not become its shareholders.
Contact
The Network Council: council@conexus.network
