1. Who we are and what this is

The Founders Guild (“FG,” “we,” “us”) is a membership community, platform, and curriculum for founders building economically sustainable companies. That includes solopreneurs, small-team operators, acquirers, franchise builders, corporate refugees, and everyone else building something real that isn’t trying to become a unicorn.

These Terms of Service govern your use of our website, platform, community spaces, classes, roundtables, and any other products or services we offer (collectively, “the Guild” or “the Platform”). By creating an account or accessing any part of the Guild, you’re agreeing to these terms.

If you don’t agree — no hard feelings. But you shouldn’t use the platform.

2. Your account

To access most of what the Guild offers, you’ll need an account. A few things about that:

• You need to be 18 or older to create one.
• The information you give us when you sign up should be accurate. We’re building a community where trust matters — starting with honesty about who you are.
• Your account is yours. Don’t share your login credentials with others or let someone else use your account.
• You’re responsible for anything that happens under your account. If you think someone else has accessed it without your permission, tell us immediately at hello@foundersguild.com.
• We reserve the right to suspend or close accounts that violate these terms or that we believe are being used in bad faith. We won’t do this lightly, and we’ll tell you why if we do.

3. What the Guild is for

The Founders Guild exists to help founders build better companies and live better lives while doing it. Everything on the platform — the community, the classes, the roundtables, the peer groups, the tools — is designed to serve that purpose.

To keep it that way, here’s what we ask:

Be here in good faith

Engage honestly. Share what’s actually true for you, not a polished version designed to impress. The Guild works because people are real with each other. That’s the whole point.

Don’t use the Guild to sell to other members

The community is not a lead-generation tool. You can talk about what you do. You can be helpful in ways that also reflect well on your business. But direct solicitation of other members — pitching your products or services without an invitation to do so — isn’t what this space is for. If we see it repeatedly, we’ll ask you to stop. If it continues, we’ll close your account.

Respect other members’ time and attention

Founders are busy. Don’t spam the community with low-value posts, repetitive self-promotion, or content that’s clearly designed for your benefit rather than theirs.

Keep confidences

What happens in a peer group or roundtable stays there. Members often share things that are sensitive — about their business, their team, their finances, their mental state. Treat that information the way you’d want yours treated: with discretion.

Be a decent human being

This probably goes without saying. But: no harassment, no discrimination, no behavior that makes other members feel unsafe or unwelcome. We have a diverse community and we intend to keep it that way. Anyone who makes it harder for others to show up will be removed.

4. Classes and paid content

Some Guild content — classes, workshops, curriculum — requires a separate purchase or is included at specific membership tiers. A few things to know:

Access

When you purchase a class or enroll in a program, you’re purchasing a license to access that content for your own personal use. You’re not purchasing ownership of the content itself. That stays with us (or with the instructor or creator, where applicable).

Refunds

If you’re not satisfied with a class, contact us within 14 days of purchase and we’ll work something out. We’d rather you feel good about the experience than hold onto your money and lose your trust. We handle refund requests case by case — if you’ve completed the entire class and are asking for a full refund, we’ll have a conversation about it. If you’re two modules in and it’s not what you expected, we’ll make it right.

Recordings and materials

Class materials are for your use, not for redistribution. Don’t share login access, repost videos, or distribute downloadable materials without our written permission. This isn’t just legal protection — it’s fairness to the instructors and creators who built the content.

5. Your content

Anything you post, share, or contribute to the Guild — in community discussions, peer groups, roundtables, or anywhere else on the platform — is yours. We don’t claim ownership of it.

That said, by posting it you’re giving us permission to display it within the Guild platform, and (with your permission, where relevant) to use it in ways that help us share what the Guild is about — things like testimonials, case studies, or community highlights. We’ll always ask before using anything in a public-facing way that identifies you.

We do reserve the right to remove content that violates these terms or our community guidelines, or that we believe is harmful to other members. We’ll use judgment here, not just rules.

6. Privacy

We take your privacy seriously. We collect information you give us directly (like your name, email, and professional background) and some information automatically (like how you use the platform). We use it to run the Guild, improve the experience, and communicate with you about things relevant to your membership.

We don’t sell your data. We don’t share it with third parties except as needed to operate the platform (for example, payment processors or the tools that power our classes and community). We treat your information the way we’d want ours treated.

Our full Privacy Policy lives at https://thefoundersguild.org/privacy. It’s worth a read — it’s written in the same spirit as this document.

7. Membership and billing

If you have a paid membership, your subscription renews automatically at the end of each billing period unless you cancel. You can cancel any time from your account settings — no hoops, no retention flows designed to frustrate you into staying.

We’ll notify you before any price changes take effect. If we raise prices, your existing subscription rate is honored through the end of your current billing period.

If a payment fails, we’ll let you know and give you a reasonable window to update your billing information before we suspend access. We’re not trying to catch you out — we just need the billing to work.

8. Things we can’t promise

We’re building this as carefully and thoughtfully as we can. But a few honest disclaimers:

• The Guild is provided “as is.” We work hard to keep it running reliably, but we can’t guarantee it will be uninterrupted or error-free.
• The content in classes, roundtables, and community discussions is educational and informational. It’s not legal, financial, tax, or professional advice. Your situation is your own — please exercise your own judgment and consult appropriate professionals when the stakes are high.
• Results vary. What works for one founder won’t automatically work for another. We believe in what we’re building, but we can’t promise any specific outcome from your membership.
• Other members are human. We maintain community guidelines and we enforce them, but we can’t vet every member or guarantee every interaction will be a good one. Use your own judgment.

9. Limitation of liability

This is the part where we have to be a little more formal. Bear with us.

To the fullest extent permitted by law, The Founders Guild and its team will not be liable for any indirect, incidental, or consequential damages arising from your use of the platform — including lost profits, lost data, or business interruption. Our total liability to you for any claim related to the Guild will not exceed the amount you paid us in the 12 months preceding the claim.

We know that reads like boilerplate. It is, a little. But it’s also just the honest acknowledgment that we’re a community and a platform, not an insurer. We’ll always act in good faith when something goes wrong — we just can’t carry unlimited financial liability for every possible outcome.

10. Changes to these terms

We’ll update these terms from time to time as the Guild grows and evolves. When we make meaningful changes, we’ll notify you by email and give you time to review before the new terms take effect. Minor changes — clarifications, formatting, fixing typos — may happen without formal notice.

The current version of these terms will always be at https://thefoundersguild.org/tos, with the date of the last update at the top.

If you continue using the Guild after updated terms take effect, that counts as acceptance. If you disagree with a change, you can close your account.

11. Ending the relationship

You can close your account and leave the Guild at any time. We’ll be sad to see you go, and if there’s something we could have done better, we’d genuinely like to know.

We can suspend or terminate accounts that violate these terms. We’ll do this with judgment and fairness, not as a first resort. For most situations, we’ll reach out first and give you a chance to correct things.

If your account is terminated for violations, any paid content access associated with that account may also be terminated. If you believe a termination was in error, contact us and we’ll review it.

12. The legal basics

These terms are governed by the laws of the State of [State], without regard to conflict of law provisions. Any disputes will be resolved in the courts of [State/County], and by using the Guild you consent to jurisdiction there.

If any part of these terms is found to be unenforceable, the rest remains in effect. Our failure to enforce any provision doesn’t waive our right to enforce it later.

These terms represent the entire agreement between you and The Founders Guild with respect to your use of the platform.