Core Concepts#

Before diving into features, it helps to understand the key concepts that make Nanabase different from other contact management tools.

The Dual-Layer Model#

At the heart of Nanabase is the dual-layer ownership model. Every contact exists in one of two layers:

┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│                    YOUR NANABASE                        │
├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│                                                         │
│   PRIVATE LAYER              COMPANY LAYER              │
│   (yours forever)            (shared power)             │
│                                                         │
│   ┌─────────────┐            ┌─────────────┐           │
│   │ Your        │   Share    │ Company     │           │
│   │ Contacts    │ ────────►  │ Directory   │           │
│   │             │            │             │           │
│   │ • Portable  │            │ • Visible   │           │
│   │ • Private   │            │ • Searchable│           │
│   │ • Forever   │            │ • Collective│           │
│   └─────────────┘            └─────────────┘           │
│                                                         │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘

Private Layer#

Your private contacts are:

• Owned by you — They're your career asset, not company property
• Portable — They follow you when you change jobs
• Private — Only you can see them (unless you choose to share)
• Persistent — They stay with you forever, across all jobs

Think of this as your personal professional Rolodex that you build over your entire career.

Company Layer#

The company layer contains contacts that have been shared with the organization:

• Visible to colleagues — Anyone in your company can search and find them
• Searchable — Full-text search across all shared contacts
• Attributed — Shows who added each contact and when
• Persistent — Stays with the company even when employees leave

How Sharing Works#

When you share a contact with your company, you're creating a copy in the company layer. You keep the original in your private layer.

BEFORE SHARING:
Private Layer: [Maria G. - Translator]
Company Layer: [empty]

AFTER SHARING:
Private Layer: [Maria G. - Translator] ← Still yours
Company Layer: [Maria G. - Translator] ← Copy for company

This means:

• You never lose access to contacts you share
• The company benefits from your network
• If you leave, you keep your contacts; the company keeps its copy

Key Entities#

Users#

A User is anyone with a Nanabase account. Users have:

• A global profile (name, email, photo)
• Private contacts that are theirs forever
• Memberships in one or more companies

Companies#

A Company is a workspace where teams collaborate. Each company has:

• A unique subdomain (e.g., acme.nanabase.co)
• A shared contact directory
• Team members with different roles
• Settings and preferences

Members#

A Member is a user's relationship to a specific company. The same person can be:

• An Admin at Company A
• A Member at Company B
• A Viewer at Company C

Membership includes a role that determines permissions.

Contacts#

Contacts are the people in your network. They can be:

• Private Contacts — In your personal vault
• Company Contacts — In the shared directory

Contacts include information like name, email, phone, company, job title, and notes.

Roles & Permissions#

Every member has a role that determines what they can do:

| Role | Level | Can Do | |------|-------|--------| | Owner | 100 | Everything, including delete company and transfer ownership | | Admin | 80 | Manage contacts, members, settings, import/export | | Member | 50 | Create contacts, edit own contacts, view directory | | Viewer | 20 | View contacts and directory (read-only) | | Pending | 0 | Waiting for approval to join |

Learn more about roles →

Privacy Principles#

Nanabase is built on privacy-first principles:

1. Private by Default#

When you add a contact, it's private by default. You must explicitly choose to share it with your company.

2. Explicit Consent#

Nothing is shared without your clear, active consent. No automatic sharing, no default visibility.

3. Clear Ownership#

It's always clear who owns what:

• Private contacts are yours
• Shared contacts have clear attribution
• Company access doesn't mean company ownership

4. Portable Data#

Your data is never locked in:

• Export your contacts anytime
• Private contacts follow you between jobs
• Standard formats (CSV) for portability

5. Minimal Collection#

We only collect what's necessary:

• No tracking beyond what the product requires
• No selling or sharing data with third parties
• No advertising-based business model

The Collective Network#

When employees share contacts, the company gains collective network power:

Before Nanabase#

Sales: knows Maria (translator)
Legal: doesn't know Maria exists
HR: doesn't know Maria exists
Finance: doesn't know Maria exists

Result: Each department finds their own translator

With Nanabase#

Sales: shares Maria to company directory
Legal: searches "translator" → finds Maria
HR: searches "translator" → finds Maria  
Finance: searches "translator" → finds Maria

Result: One vetted contact benefits everyone

This eliminates:

• Duplicate effort finding the same service providers
• Quality inconsistency across departments
• Knowledge loss when employees leave

Who Knows Who#

Nanabase enables relationship discovery across your organization:

• "Who in our company knows someone at Stripe?"
• "Does anyone have a connection to this investor?"
• "Who knows a good employment lawyer?"

This transforms your company from a collection of individual networks into a collective intelligence where everyone benefits from everyone's relationships.

Learn more about Who Knows Who →

Next Steps#

Now that you understand the concepts, explore the features: