Terms of Service & Refund Policy

1. What this is

The Tech Founders List ("the Index", "we", "us") is a paid ranking: within each category, a limited number of positions are held by whichever listed company has committed the highest amount of capital for that spot. Any company may reclaim ("outbid") a held position at any time by paying at least the minimum increment above the amount currently held. Doing so immediately displaces the previous holder to the next position.

2. How a claim works

• The minimum to claim an empty position is $1.00 USD. The minimum to outbid a held position is the current amount plus $1.00 USD.
• Payments are processed exclusively through PayPal. We never see or store your full payment details.
• A position is only transferred once your payment is captured and confirmed server-side — never on submission alone.
• If the position's price rose (someone else outbid it) between your quote and your payment clearing, your payment is automatically refunded in full and no position changes hands.

3. Refund policy

A successfully claimed position is not refundable. This is the core mechanic of the product, not a limitation of it: you are paying to hold a position for as long as no one outbids you, and that value is delivered the moment the claim is confirmed — not over time.

Refunds are issued automatically, without you needing to request one, only when:

• your payment cleared for an amount that turned out to be below the minimum required at that moment (a pricing race with another claimant), or
• the position could not be recorded due to a technical failure on our end after your payment was captured.

If a refund is owed but our automatic refund fails, this is logged for manual review; contact us with your payment reference and we will resolve it.

4. No guarantee of outcome

We do not guarantee any specific amount of traffic, visibility, leads, or business outcome from holding a position. The Index is a ranking mechanism, not an advertising performance product.

5. Company listings

By submitting a company, you confirm you are authorized to represent it and that the information provided (name, URL, description, logo) is accurate and not infringing. We may remove listings that are fraudulent, spam, or unlawful, without refunding any amount already committed to that position, at our discretion.

6. AutoDefend (optional)

If you enable AutoDefend for a position, you authorize us to automatically charge your saved PayPal payment method, without your presence, to reclaim that exact position if someone outbids you — up to (and never beyond) the ceiling you set. You may disable AutoDefend at any time; it does not refund past auto-charges, which are subject to the same refund policy as any other claim above. If an auto-charge fails, AutoDefend is automatically disabled for that position.

7. Contact

For payment disputes or refund follow-ups, contact us with your PayPal payment reference (shown on your PayPal receipt) and the position/category affected.