Clear Terms, Fair to Everyone

These Terms of Service ("Terms") form a binding agreement between you and StartupForge Inc. ("StartupForge", "we", "our", or "us") governing your access to and use of the StartupForge platform, including startupforge.app and all related services (the "Services").

By creating an account, accessing, or using the Services, you acknowledge that you have read, understood, and agree to be bound by these Terms, along with our Privacy Policy. If you do not agree, you may not use the Services.

You must be at least 16 years old and capable of entering into a binding contract to use the Services. By using the Services, you represent and warrant that:

We may, at our sole discretion, refuse to offer the Services to any person or entity and may change eligibility criteria at any time.

• Age: You are at least 16 years old, or the age of majority in your jurisdiction, whichever is higher.
• Accuracy: All information you provide during registration is true, accurate, and current.
• Compliance: Your use of the Services does not violate any law or regulation applicable to you.

You are responsible for maintaining the confidentiality of your account credentials and for all activity that occurs under your account.

• One Account Per Person: Each person may maintain a single StartupForge account. Accounts for automated or bot use are prohibited.
• Account Security: Notify us immediately at takebulislam@gmail.com if you suspect unauthorized access to your account.
• Account Type: When registering, you select a role (founder or collaborator). Switching roles is supported through your profile settings, subject to verification.
• Prohibited Impersonation: You may not create an account on behalf of another person, or misrepresent your identity, qualifications, or affiliation.

StartupForge is a two-sided marketplace that connects startup founders with collaborators:

We reserve the right to modify, suspend, or discontinue any part of the Services at any time, with or without notice. We are not liable to you for any such change.

• For Founders: Create and manage startup profiles, post open opportunity roles, review applications, message candidates, and access recruitment tools. Paid tiers unlock additional roles, priority placement, and advanced filtering.
• For Collaborators: Build a portfolio profile, browse and search startup opportunities, apply to roles, message founders, and track application status. Paid tiers unlock more monthly applications and visibility features.
• For Administrators: StartupForge staff may moderate content, manage users, and maintain platform integrity in accordance with these Terms.

When you list a startup or opportunity on the platform, you agree to:

• Provide Accurate Information: Descriptions of your startup, role responsibilities, compensation, and equity arrangements must be truthful and not misleading.
• Act Professionally: Evaluate applications fairly, respond in a timely manner, and treat collaborators with respect.
• Respect Candidate Data: Use application materials solely for evaluating candidates for the listed role. Do not use candidate information for unrelated purposes.
• Comply With Law: Your listings and hiring practices must comply with applicable employment, anti-discrimination, and labor laws.

When you apply to opportunities or represent your experience on the platform, you agree to:

• Be Honest: Your skills, experience, portfolio, and availability must accurately reflect your qualifications.
• Respect Opportunities: Apply only to roles for which you are genuinely qualified and interested. Withdraw applications you no longer wish to pursue.
• Respect Founder Data: Treat non-public information shared by founders as confidential and use it solely for evaluating the opportunity.

Certain features of the Services require a paid subscription. Paid plans are billed in advance on a recurring monthly basis through our payment processor, Stripe.

• Plans & Pricing: Current pricing for founder and collaborator tiers is displayed on our Pricing page. We may change prices prospectively with at least 30 days' notice.
• Payment Authorization: By subscribing, you authorize us (through Stripe) to charge your payment method on a recurring basis until you cancel.
• Taxes: You are responsible for any applicable taxes, which may be added to your charges where required by law.
• Failed Payments: If a payment fails, we may attempt to collect the charge again, and your access to paid features may be suspended until payment succeeds.

You can cancel your subscription at any time from your dashboard profile settings or by contacting support.

• Effective Date: Cancellation takes effect at the end of the current billing period. You retain access to paid features through that date.
• Refunds: Fees are non-refundable except where required by law or where a service defect prevented use of the purchased features. Promotional or trial-period credits are non-cashable.
• Downgrades: Downgrading takes effect at the end of the current billing period, at which point feature limits apply.

The Services, including their design, code, branding, and content (excluding user-generated content), are owned by StartupForge and protected by intellectual property laws.

• StartupForge IP: You may not copy, modify, distribute, sell, or create derivative works from any part of the Services without our prior written consent.
• Your Content: You retain ownership of the content you post. By posting, you grant StartupForge a non-exclusive, worldwide, royalty-free license to host, store, display, and distribute your content solely to operate and improve the Services.
• License Grant: We grant you a limited, revocable, non-exclusive, non-transferable license to use the Services for their intended purpose.

You agree not to engage in any of the following activities:

• Illegal Conduct: Using the Services for any unlawful purpose or in violation of these Terms.
• Harassment & Abuse: Harassing, threatening, intimidating, or discriminating against other users based on race, gender, religion, or any protected characteristic.
• Fraud & Impersonation: Misrepresenting your identity, qualifications, or startup, or creating fake accounts or listings.
• Spam & Scraping: Sending unsolicited messages, scraping data at scale, or using automated tools to manipulate listings, applications, or rankings.
• Circumventing Payments: Attempting to take platform-mediated relationships off-platform to avoid subscription fees, or encouraging others to do so.
• Security Interference: Attempting to breach, probe, or disrupt the Services, its infrastructure, or other users' accounts.

You may stop using the Services at any time and may delete your account from your profile settings.

• Termination by You: Deleting your account cancels your subscription at the end of the current billing period and removes or anonymizes your personal data as described in our Privacy Policy.
• Termination by StartupForge: We may suspend or terminate your account if you breach these Terms, engage in prohibited conduct, or if we believe your account poses a risk to the platform or its users.
• Survival: Sections on intellectual property, disclaimers, limitation of liability, indemnification, and governing law survive termination of these Terms.

The Services are provided on an "AS IS" and "AS AVAILABLE" basis, without warranties of any kind, whether express or implied.

• No Endorsement: We do not endorse, guarantee, or verify the qualifications, identity, or intentions of any user, startup, or opportunity listed on the platform.
• No Employment Guarantee: We do not guarantee that founders will find collaborators or that collaborators will be offered positions.
• Availability: We do not warrant that the Services will be uninterrupted, error-free, or free of harmful components.

To the maximum extent permitted by law, StartupForge shall not be liable for any indirect, incidental, special, consequential, or punitive damages, or any loss of profits, revenue, data, or goodwill, arising out of or related to your use of the Services.

• Cap on Liability: Our aggregate liability for all claims relating to the Services shall not exceed the greater of (a) the amount you paid us in the twelve (12) months preceding the claim, or (b) $100.
• User-to-User Disputes: You are solely responsible for your interactions with other users. We are not a party to any agreement between founders and collaborators, and we bear no liability for outcomes of those relationships.

You agree to defend, indemnify, and hold harmless StartupForge and its officers, directors, employees, and agents from and against any claims, liabilities, damages, losses, and expenses — including reasonable attorneys' fees — arising out of or in any way connected with:

• Your Content: Any content you submit or post on the Services.
• Your Conduct: Your use of the Services or breach of these Terms.
• Your Violation of Law: Your violation of any applicable law or the rights of a third party.

These Terms are governed by the laws of the Republic of Bangladesh, without regard to its conflict-of-law principles. Any disputes arising out of or relating to these Terms shall be resolved exclusively in the courts located in Dhaka, Bangladesh.

Before initiating formal proceedings, you agree to first attempt to resolve the dispute informally by contacting us at takebulislam@gmail.com. We will work in good faith to address your concerns within 30 days.

We may revise these Terms from time to time. Material changes will be announced by email or through a notice on the platform at least 14 days before they take effect.

Your continued use of the Services after revised Terms take effect constitutes acceptance of those changes. If you do not agree to the revised Terms, you may stop using the Services and delete your account.

If you have any questions about these Terms or wish to reach our team:

• Email: takebulislam@gmail.com
• Mailing Address: StartupForge Inc., Pirojpur, Bangladesh & Global Remote
• Response Time: We aim to respond to all inquiries within 10 business days.