Terms of Service

Last updated: May 28, 2026

These Terms of Service ("Terms") govern your access to and use of Startups Map ("we", "our", or "us"), including our website at startupsmap.xyz, mobile applications, and all related services (collectively, the "Services"). Please read these Terms carefully before using our Services. By accessing or using our Services, you agree to be bound by these Terms.

1. Acceptance of Terms

By creating an account, accessing, or using any part of our Services, you confirm that you are at least 16 years of age, that you have read and understood these Terms, and that you agree to be legally bound by them. If you are using the Services on behalf of a company, organisation, or other legal entity, you represent and warrant that you have the authority to bind that entity to these Terms, in which case "you" will refer to that entity.

If you do not agree to these Terms, you must not access or use our Services. We reserve the right to update these Terms at any time. We will notify you of material changes by posting a notice on our website or by sending you an email. Your continued use of the Services after any changes constitutes your acceptance of the revised Terms.

2. Description of Services

Startups Map is an interactive platform that allows startup founders, entrepreneurs, and related professionals to create profiles, list startups, connect with other founders, and discover the broader startup ecosystem. Our core features include:

  • Founder Profiles: Public or private profiles showcasing your background, skills, interests, and startup ventures.
  • Startup Listings: A directory of startups with rich details including team, stage, category, location, and funding information.
  • Interactive Map: A geospatial view of founders and startups around the world, enabling location-based discovery.
  • Networking Tools: Connection requests, direct messaging, and relationship management between founders.
  • Premium Features: Paid plans that unlock featured listings, verified badges, enhanced visibility, and priority placement on the map and directory.
  • Admin Tools: Moderation and administration capabilities for approved platform administrators.

We reserve the right to modify, suspend, or discontinue any part of the Services at any time, with or without notice, and without liability to you. We may also impose limits on certain features or restrict your access to parts or all of the Services.

3. Account Registration & Security

To access most features of the Services, you must register for an account. When registering, you agree to:

  • Provide accurate, current, and complete information during registration and keep your profile information up to date.
  • Maintain the security of your password and accept all risks of unauthorised access to your account.
  • Notify us immediately at [email protected] if you discover or suspect any security breach related to your account.
  • Take responsibility for all activities that occur under your account, whether or not you authorised them.
  • Not share your account credentials with any third party or allow any third party to access or use the Services through your account.
  • Not create more than one account per individual or use automated means to create accounts in bulk.

We reserve the right to disable your account at any time if, in our reasonable opinion, you have failed to comply with any provision of these Terms or if we suspect fraudulent, abusive, or illegal activity.

4. User Content & Conduct

Our Services allow you to submit, upload, publish, and share content, including text, images, logos, banners, startup descriptions, links, and other materials ("User Content"). You retain ownership of your User Content, but by posting it to the Services, you grant us a worldwide, non-exclusive, royalty-free, sublicensable, and transferable licence to use, reproduce, modify, adapt, distribute, publish, translate, and display your User Content in connection with the Services and our business.

You represent and warrant that: (a) you own or have the right to share the User Content; (b) your User Content does not infringe any third-party intellectual property, privacy, or other rights; and (c) your User Content complies with these Terms and all applicable laws.

You agree not to post, submit, or transmit any content or engage in any conduct that:

  • Is false, misleading, fraudulent, defamatory, obscene, offensive, or otherwise objectionable.
  • Infringes or violates any third party's intellectual property rights, privacy rights, or other legal rights.
  • Contains viruses, malware, or any other harmful, disruptive, or destructive code or files.
  • Involves spamming, phishing, soliciting, or harvesting personal data from other users without their consent.
  • Promotes illegal activities, violence, hatred, discrimination, or harassment.
  • Impersonates any person or entity, or falsely represents your affiliation with a person or entity.
  • Interferes with the proper functioning of the Services or attempts to gain unauthorised access to our systems or networks.
  • Uses the Services for any commercial purpose not expressly permitted by these Terms, including unsolicited advertising.
  • Violates any applicable local, national, or international law or regulation.

We reserve the right (but have no obligation) to review, monitor, remove, or modify User Content at our sole discretion, at any time, without notice, and for any reason, including if we believe User Content violates these Terms.

5. Moderation & Verification

All founder profiles and startup listings submitted to Startups Map are subject to moderation review before becoming publicly visible. We reserve the right to approve, reject, or remove any profile or listing that:

  • Does not represent a genuine founder or legitimate startup.
  • Contains inaccurate, misleading, or fraudulent information.
  • Violates our community guidelines or these Terms of Service.
  • Is submitted with the intent to spam, manipulate, or abuse the platform.

Verified badges are awarded at our sole discretion and may be revoked at any time if we determine that the conditions for verification are no longer met. Verification does not constitute endorsement of any individual, startup, or their claims.

6. Payments, Subscriptions & Refunds

Startups Map offers premium paid plans that provide enhanced features, visibility, and functionality. By subscribing to a paid plan, you agree to the following payment terms:

6.1 Billing

All payments are processed through Stripe, our third-party payment processor. By providing your payment information, you authorise us to charge the applicable fees. All fees are stated in US Dollars (USD) unless otherwise indicated and are exclusive of any applicable taxes (such as VAT, GST, or sales tax), which will be added where required by law. You are responsible for all applicable taxes.

6.2 Subscription Renewal

Paid subscriptions are billed on a recurring basis (monthly or annually, depending on your chosen plan) and will automatically renew at the end of each billing period unless you cancel before the renewal date. You can manage and cancel your subscription at any time from your account dashboard under Settings > Billing. Cancellation takes effect at the end of the current billing period; you will retain access to paid features until then.

6.3 Refund Policy — 14-Day Money-Back Guarantee

We offer a 14-day refund window from the date of your initial purchase or subscription renewal. If you are not satisfied with your paid plan for any reason, you may request a full refund within 14 days of payment by contacting us at [email protected] with your account email and the reason for the refund request.

Refunds are subject to the following conditions:

  • Refund requests must be submitted within 14 calendar days of the original payment date.
  • Only one refund per account per 12-month period may be granted.
  • Refunds for annual subscriptions are pro-rated only within the 14-day window; no partial refunds are issued after 14 days.
  • One-time purchases (e.g., featured startup listings purchased as a standalone item) are eligible for refund within the same 14-day window, provided the promotional period has not yet commenced.
  • Refunds will be processed to the original payment method within 5–10 business days of approval.
  • We reserve the right to decline refund requests that we reasonably believe are made in bad faith or that abuse this policy.

After the 14-day window has passed, payments are non-refundable except where required by applicable law.

6.4 Price Changes

We reserve the right to change our pricing at any time. We will give you at least 30 days' notice of any price change by email or via an in-app notification. Your continued use of the paid Services after the price change takes effect constitutes your agreement to pay the updated amount.

6.5 Failed Payments

If a payment fails, we will attempt to re-charge your payment method. If payment remains outstanding for more than 7 days after the due date, we reserve the right to downgrade or suspend your account until payment is received.

7. Intellectual Property

The Services and all content, features, functionality, design elements, logos, trademarks, and technology used in connection with the Services (excluding User Content) are owned by Startups Map or its licensors and are protected by copyright, trademark, patent, trade secret, and other applicable intellectual property laws.

You are granted a limited, non-exclusive, non-transferable, revocable licence to access and use the Services strictly in accordance with these Terms. You may not:

  • Copy, modify, distribute, sell, or lease any part of our Services or software.
  • Reverse engineer or attempt to extract the source code of our software.
  • Use our trademarks, logos, or brand assets without our prior written consent.
  • Remove any copyright, trademark, or other proprietary notices.
  • Scrape, crawl, or use automated means to access or collect data from the Services.

8. Privacy & Data Protection

Your privacy is important to us. Our Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, store, and share your personal information when you use the Services. By using the Services, you consent to our collection and use of your information as described in the Privacy Policy.

We comply with applicable data protection laws, including the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) where applicable. If you are located in the European Economic Area (EEA), you have certain rights regarding your personal data, including the right to access, correct, delete, and port your data. Please see our Privacy Policy for more information.

9. Third-Party Services & Links

Our Services may contain links to or integrate with third-party websites, services, and APIs, including but not limited to:

  • Stripe — for payment processing
  • Supabase — for database and authentication infrastructure
  • Mapbox — for interactive map rendering and geolocation features
  • WorkOS — for enterprise authentication

These third-party services have their own privacy policies and terms of service, which we encourage you to review. We are not responsible for the content, policies, or practices of any third-party service. Your use of third-party services is at your own risk.

10. Disclaimers

THE SERVICES ARE PROVIDED "AS IS" AND "AS AVAILABLE" WITHOUT WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EITHER EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, NON-INFRINGEMENT, AND TITLE.

We do not warrant that: (a) the Services will be uninterrupted, error-free, or secure; (b) any defects or errors will be corrected; (c) the Services or the servers that make them available are free of viruses or other harmful components; or (d) the accuracy, reliability, or completeness of any information on the Services.

Any content on the Services, including founder profiles and startup listings, is provided by users and we make no representations or warranties regarding the accuracy, completeness, or legitimacy of such content. We are not responsible for verifying user-submitted information unless expressly stated.

11. Limitation of Liability

TO THE MAXIMUM EXTENT PERMITTED BY APPLICABLE LAW, STARTUPS MAP AND ITS OFFICERS, DIRECTORS, EMPLOYEES, AGENTS, LICENSORS, AND SERVICE PROVIDERS SHALL NOT BE LIABLE FOR ANY INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, CONSEQUENTIAL, EXEMPLARY, OR PUNITIVE DAMAGES, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO LOSS OF PROFITS, LOSS OF DATA, LOSS OF GOODWILL, BUSINESS INTERRUPTION, OR COST OF SUBSTITUTE SERVICES, EVEN IF WE HAVE BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES.

OUR TOTAL CUMULATIVE LIABILITY TO YOU FOR ALL CLAIMS ARISING FROM OR RELATING TO THESE TERMS OR THE SERVICES, WHETHER IN CONTRACT, TORT (INCLUDING NEGLIGENCE), OR OTHERWISE, SHALL NOT EXCEED THE GREATER OF: (A) THE TOTAL FEES YOU HAVE PAID TO US IN THE 12 MONTHS PRECEDING THE CLAIM, OR (B) ONE HUNDRED US DOLLARS ($100.00).

Some jurisdictions do not allow certain limitations of liability, so some of the above limitations may not apply to you.

12. Indemnification

You agree to defend, indemnify, and hold harmless Startups Map and its officers, directors, employees, contractors, agents, licensors, and service providers from and against any and all claims, liabilities, damages, judgments, awards, losses, costs, expenses, and fees (including reasonable attorneys' fees) arising out of or relating to:

  • Your violation of these Terms.
  • Your User Content or your use of the Services, including any infringement of third-party intellectual property or privacy rights.
  • Your violation of any applicable law or regulation.
  • Any misrepresentation made by you in connection with the Services.

13. Termination

We may suspend or terminate your access to the Services at any time, with or without cause and with or without notice, including if we reasonably believe you have violated these Terms. You may also delete your account at any time from your account settings.

Upon termination: (a) your licence to use the Services will immediately cease; (b) we may delete your account and associated data in accordance with our Privacy Policy and data retention practices; (c) provisions of these Terms that by their nature should survive termination (including ownership, warranty disclaimers, indemnity, and limitations of liability) will survive.

If your account is terminated by us for cause (i.e., a violation of these Terms), you will not be entitled to any refund of fees paid.

14. Governing Law & Dispute Resolution

These Terms shall be governed by and construed in accordance with applicable laws, without regard to conflict of law principles. Where consumer protection laws in your country of residence apply and cannot be excluded by contract, those laws will apply to the extent required.

Before filing a formal legal claim, we encourage you to first contact us at [email protected] to attempt to resolve any dispute informally. We will try to respond and resolve matters within 30 days.

15. Changes to These Terms

We may revise these Terms at any time by posting an updated version to this page. If we make material changes, we will notify you by email or by placing a prominent notice on our website at least 14 days before the changes take effect. Your continued use of the Services after the effective date of the revised Terms constitutes your acceptance of the changes.

16. Miscellaneous

Entire Agreement: These Terms, together with our Privacy Policy and Cookie Policy, constitute the entire agreement between you and Startups Map with respect to the Services and supersede all prior agreements, representations, and understandings.

Severability: If any provision of these Terms is found to be invalid or unenforceable, the remaining provisions will continue in full force and effect.

Waiver: Our failure to enforce any right or provision of these Terms will not be considered a waiver of those rights.

Assignment: You may not assign or transfer your rights or obligations under these Terms without our prior written consent. We may assign our rights and obligations without restriction.

Force Majeure: We shall not be liable for any failure or delay in performance caused by circumstances beyond our reasonable control, including acts of God, natural disasters, pandemics, governmental actions, or internet infrastructure failures.

17. Contact Us

If you have any questions, concerns, or requests relating to these Terms of Service, please contact us:

Startups Map

Email: [email protected]

Website: startupsmap.xyz