What we collect, and where it lives.

Last updated 8 August 2026 · New Zealand Privacy Act 2020

Build Own Stack is a small business run by Mark Mandeno in New Zealand. This is the plain-English version — no dark patterns, no fine print that says the opposite of the headline. If anything here is unclear, email mark@buildownstack.com and ask.

What we collect

Your email address — required, so we can send you what you asked for.
Optional extras you choose to give us — your first name, what you run, your biggest system headache, and a rough sense of what feels fair to pay. All optional; leave them blank and nothing changes.
A record of your consent — the date and time you ticked the box, and the wording you agreed to. We keep this so we can prove you opted in, which the law expects of us.

Why we collect it

To send you the build logs and founding-cohort news you signed up for, and to shape the course around what people actually need. That's it. We don't sell your data, we don't share it with advertisers, and we don't hand it to third parties for their marketing.

Where it's stored

On a server we operate ourselves, running self-hosted software (Listmonk) that we control — not a third-party marketing platform holding your details. Our server is hosted with Hostinger; depending on the data-centre region this may be outside New Zealand, so by joining you consent to it being stored and processed there, protected by the safeguards described here. We deliberately keep the dataset small.

Owning our own stack — and being straight about where your data sits — is the whole point of what this course teaches. We hold your details the same way we'd want ours held.

Email is delivered through a reputable email provider (initially Titan, on our own domain) purely to get the message to your inbox reliably.

Your choices and rights

Unsubscribe any time — one click, from the bottom of every email. We action it immediately and keep you on a suppression list so you're not accidentally re-added.
See or correct your details — email us and we'll show you what we hold, or fix it.
Be forgotten — ask us to delete your details and we will.

Double opt-in

After you sign up we send one email asking you to confirm it's really you. You're only added to the list once you click that link. If you never confirm, we don't email you again.

Contact

Questions, requests, or complaints: mark@buildownstack.com. If you're not satisfied with how we've handled your information, you can contact the Office of the Privacy Commissioner (privacy.org.nz).