Privacy Policy

Last updated: June 2026

1. Introduction

Welcome to Founders Verbinden ("we", "our", or "us"). We respect your privacy and are committed to protecting your personal data. This privacy policy complies with the Information Technology Act, 2000 (IT Act) and the Information Technology (Reasonable Security Practices and Procedures and Sensitive Personal Data or Information) Rules, 2011 (SPDI Rules) of India. This policy informs you as to how we look after your personal data when you visit our networking and mentorship platform and tells you about your privacy rights and how the law protects you.

2. The Data We Collect About You

We may collect, use, store and transfer different kinds of personal data about you, tailored to your experience as a founder, mentor, or investor, including:

• Identity Data: includes first name, last name, user handle, profile picture, and verified credentials (e.g., LinkedIn profiles).
• Startup Data: includes information about your company, startup ideas, stage, funding details, and pitch decks shared on the platform.
• Contact Data: includes email address and optionally telephone numbers.
• Technical Data: includes internet protocol (IP) address, browser type and version, time zone setting and location.
• Usage & Interaction Data: includes messages sent via our chat system, mentor booking history, event attendance, and community feed interactions.

3. How We Use Your Personal Data

We will only use your personal data when the law allows us to. Most commonly, we will use your personal data to:

• Facilitate connections between co-founders, mentors, and investors.
• Provide core platform functionalities, including direct messaging and scheduling meetings.
• Verify user identities to maintain a high-quality, trusted community environment.
• Comply with Indian legal obligations, including maintaining logs as required by the IT Act.

4. Data Security & Storage

We have put in place appropriate security measures (including encryption and secure database hosting) to prevent your personal data from being accidentally lost, used, or accessed in an unauthorized way, in compliance with the SPDI Rules. All data is stored on secure cloud servers, and we enforce strict access controls.

5. Sharing of Information

We do not sell your personal data to third parties. Information shared within the community feed or in direct messages is visible only to intended recipients. We may share data with trusted third-party service providers (like email delivery or cloud hosting providers) strictly under confidentiality agreements, or with law enforcement agencies if mandated by a lawful order under Indian jurisdiction.

6. Grievance Officer

In accordance with the Information Technology Act, 2000 and rules made there under, the name and contact details of the Grievance Officer are provided below:

We will strive to address your feedback and concerns in a timely and effective manner within the period prescribed by law.

7. Your Legal Rights

You have the right to request access, correction, erasure, or restriction of your personal data. You may also withdraw your consent at any time, subject to legal or contractual restrictions, by deleting your account via your platform dashboard or contacting our grievance officer.