Terms of Service

1. Acceptance of Terms

These Terms of Service ("Terms") govern your access to and use of the Novum Startup platform at novumstartup.com and any related services (collectively, the "Service"), operated by Novum Startup ("we," "us," or "our"). By creating an account or using the Service, you agree to be bound by these Terms and by our Privacy Policy. If you do not agree, do not use the Service.

2. Eligibility

You must be at least 13 years old to use the Service, and you must not be barred from using it under any applicable law. If you use the Service on behalf of an organization, you represent that you are authorized to bind that organization to these Terms.

3. Accounts & Security

You are responsible for providing accurate account information and for keeping your credentials secure. You are responsible for all activity that occurs under your account. Notify us promptly if you believe your account has been compromised. How we handle your account data is described in our Privacy Policy.

4. Acceptable Use

You agree not to:

• Use the Service for any unlawful purpose or in violation of these Terms
• Abuse, harass, or harm other users, or impersonate any person or entity
• Scrape, crawl, reverse engineer, or attempt to extract the source code of the Service except as permitted by law
• Interfere with or disrupt the integrity or performance of the Service, including by introducing malware or circumventing rate limits or access controls
• Attempt to gain unauthorized access to any account, system, or data

5. Contribution Scoring & Equity Splits

Novum Startup provides tools to track contributions and calculate contribution scores and sweat-equity splits among the members of a team or pod. These outputs are informational only and are not legal, tax, financial, or investment advice. Any binding equity, ownership, compensation, or revenue-sharing arrangement is solely between you and your team, pod, or project members — Novum Startup is not a party to those arrangements and does not guarantee their enforceability. You are responsible for obtaining independent professional advice before relying on any score or split, and for ensuring your arrangements comply with applicable law.

6. Payments & Subscriptions

Paid subscriptions and project invoicing are processed by Stripe and are subject to Stripe's terms. Fees for paid plans are billed in advance and are non-refundable except where required by law. For project invoicing and contributor payouts, Novum Startup provides record-keeping and coordination tools only — payments between project owners and contributors are made directly between those parties, and Novum Startup is not a party to, and is not responsible for, those payments. You are responsible for any taxes arising from your use of the Service.

7. Intellectual Property

The Service, including its software, design, and branding, is owned by Novum Startup and protected by intellectual property laws. We grant you a limited, non-exclusive, non-transferable license to use the Service in accordance with these Terms. You retain all rights to the content and data you submit; by submitting it, you grant us the rights necessary to operate and provide the Service to you and your team.

8. Termination

You may stop using the Service and delete your account at any time. We may suspend or terminate your access if you violate these Terms or if necessary to protect the Service or other users. On termination, your right to use the Service ends. We handle deletion of your personal data as described in our Privacy Policy.

9. Disclaimer of Warranties

The Service is provided "as is" and "as available," without warranties of any kind, whether express or implied, including warranties of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, and non-infringement. We do not warrant that the Service will be uninterrupted, error-free, or secure, or that any score or calculation will be accurate or complete.

10. Limitation of Liability

To the maximum extent permitted by law, Novum Startup and its affiliates will not be liable for any indirect, incidental, special, consequential, or punitive damages, or for any loss of profits, revenue, data, or goodwill, arising from or related to your use of the Service. Our total liability for any claim arising from these Terms or the Service will not exceed the greater of the amount you paid us in the twelve months before the claim or one hundred U.S. dollars (USD $100).

11. Indemnification

You agree to indemnify and hold harmless Novum Startup and its affiliates from any claims, damages, liabilities, and expenses (including reasonable legal fees) arising from your use of the Service, your violation of these Terms, or your infringement of any rights of a third party.

12. Governing Law

These Terms are governed by the laws of the State of Tennessee, without regard to its conflict-of-laws rules. You agree to the exclusive jurisdiction of the state and federal courts located in Tennessee for any dispute arising from these Terms or the Service.

13. Changes to These Terms

We may update these Terms from time to time. We will notify you of material changes by posting the updated Terms on this page and updating the effective date. Continued use of Novum Startup after changes constitutes acceptance of the revised Terms.

14. Contact Us

If you have questions about these Terms, contact us at legal@novumstartup.com.