# One Person, many Startups

URL: /systems/trust-and-governance/one-person-many-startups · Id: `page:systems/trust-and-governance/one-person-many-startups`

> Family rules for sibling Startups that reach the same person, with one identity, one opt-out, one monthly limit on promotion, one Thread, and honest labels.

A [Studio](/business/nouns/studio) runs many [Startups](/business/nouns/startup), and one [Person](/business/nouns/person) can meet several of them. Family rules make the siblings treat that Person as one courteous company would.

## One identity, many views
Siblings are Startups held by the same [Company](/business/nouns/company). A Person has one identity across every Startup, and each Startup knows that Person as its own [Contact](/business/nouns/contact).

A Contact records where it came from: the form, [Order](/business/nouns/order), list or referral, and the rights that came with it. A sibling sees a Contact only when the Person gave [Consent](/business/nouns/consent) to that sharing, or already buys from that sibling as a [Customer](/business/nouns/customer).

## The rules
| Rule | What it means |
| --- | --- |
| One opt-out | Opting out of one sibling's promotion stops promotion from every sibling within the hour |
| One monthly limit | Each Person receives at most a set number of promotional [Messages](/business/nouns/message) a month from all siblings together |
| One [Thread](/business/nouns/thread) | Replies and support from every sibling land in one Thread per Person |
| Honest labels | A sibling recommending another says that both share an owner |
| Linked only with Consent | Contacts join across siblings only when the Person agrees |
| Recorded origin | Every Contact keeps where it came from and what it allows |

## How the rules run
Before any promotional send, a [Guard](/business/nouns/guard) reads three records. They are the Company's [Suppression](/business/nouns/suppression) list, the Person's count across siblings this month, and the Consent for the Message's [Purpose](/business/nouns/purpose). Any failure stops the send.

Portfolio distribution picks which sibling [Offer](/business/nouns/offer), if any, a Person sees next. Siblings never compete for the same inbox.

Receipts, sign-in links and delivery updates carry no promotion. They reach a Person who opted out, because the law treats them as part of the purchase.

## Example
A wedding photographer buys a contract-template pack from one sibling and a client-gallery app from another. At nine one morning, she opts out of the gallery app's newsletter. By ten, no sibling sends her promotion, and both still send her receipts.

## Next
- [Acceptable use](/systems/trust-and-governance/acceptable-use): the conduct every agent follows.
- [Customer guarantees](/systems/trust-and-governance/customer-guarantees): what every Customer is owed.