I really hope this model works out for you, I absolutely adore Zulip. At my company, we have the option of self-hosting, since you've made it so easy, but I intentionally keep us on the free plan so we can start paying when we can afford it, to support you.
Zulip is one of the few pieces of software that I think are unquestionably worth their price (some others being Gitlab and some sort of SIP provider, e.g. OnSIP).
Zulip is one of the few pieces of software that I think are unquestionably worth their price (some others being Gitlab and some sort of SIP provider, e.g. OnSIP).