Terms of Service

These Terms of Service ("Terms") govern your access to and use of the Cohortly platform, including our website at cohortly.app, all associated web applications, APIs, and any related services (collectively, the "Service") provided by Cohortly Inc.("Cohortly", "we", "us", or "our").

By creating an account or using the Service in any way, you agree to be bound by these Terms. If you are using the Service on behalf of an organisation, you represent that you have the authority to bind that organisation to these Terms.

1. Eligibility

You must be at least 18 years of age to use Cohortly. By agreeing to these Terms, you represent and warrant that you meet this requirement. The Service is intended for use by organisations (accelerators, venture capital funds, grant programs, fellowship programs) and their authorised staff. Personal consumer use is not the intended purpose of the Service.

2. Accounts & Registration

To access the core features of Cohortly you must register for an account. You agree to:

• Provide accurate, current, and complete registration information.
• Maintain the security of your account credentials and not share them with any third party.
• Promptly notify us at cohortlyapp@gmail.com if you suspect any unauthorised access to your account.
• Accept responsibility for all activity that occurs under your account.

We reserve the right to suspend or terminate accounts that violate these Terms, engage in fraudulent activity, or are left inactive for an extended period.

3. Acceptable Use

You agree not to use the Service to:

• Violate any applicable local, national, or international law or regulation.
• Collect application data for purposes other than the administration of a bona fide cohort, accelerator, grant, or fellowship program.
• Upload or transmit any malicious code, viruses, or other harmful software.
• Attempt to gain unauthorised access to any part of the Service or its underlying infrastructure.
• Engage in any data scraping, reverse engineering, or systematic extraction of platform content.
• Use the AI scoring features to make final accept/reject decisions without human oversight in contexts where automated decision-making is regulated.
• Misrepresent your identity or the nature of your program to applicants.
• Harass, intimidate, or discriminate against applicants or reviewers.

4. Subscription Plans & Billing

Cohortly offers a single paid monthly subscription plan, billed through our payment processor, Lemon Squeezy. By subscribing, you authorise Lemon Squeezy to charge your designated payment method on a recurring monthly basis at the rate in effect when your trial or billing cycle begins.

4.1 Trials

We may offer a free trial for a limited period, including a 14-day trial on the paid plan. At the end of the trial period, your subscription will begin automatically if you have provided valid payment details, unless you cancel before the trial ends.

4.2 Upgrades & Downgrades

You may upgrade or downgrade your plan at any time via Settings → Billing & Plans. Upgrades take effect immediately. Downgrades take effect at the start of the next billing cycle. No partial refunds are issued for unused time on a downgraded plan.

4.3 Cancellation & Refunds

You may cancel your subscription at any time through the Lemon Squeezy customer portal, accessible from Settings → Billing & Plans → Manage Subscription. Cancellation stops future charges but does not entitle you to a refund for the current billing period. If you believe a charge was made in error, contact us at cohortlyapp@gmail.com within 14 days of the charge date.

4.4 Price Changes

We reserve the right to modify pricing at any time. We will give you at least 30 days' notice of any price changes via email or in-app notification before they take effect. Continued use of the Service after a price change constitutes acceptance of the new pricing.

5. Intellectual Property

All software, design, text, graphics, and other content comprising the Cohortly platform are the exclusive property of Cohortly Inc. or its licensors, protected by copyright, trademark, and other intellectual property laws. These Terms do not grant you any right, title, or interest in the platform beyond the limited licence to use the Service as described herein.

You retain full ownership of all content you create, upload, or configure within the Service, including program forms, rubrics, applicant data, and comments ("Customer Data"). By using the Service, you grant Cohortly a non-exclusive, royalty-free licence to host, store, and process your Customer Data solely for the purpose of providing and improving the Service.

6. AI-Powered Scoring — Important Limitations

Cohortly's AI scoring engine (powered by Google Gemini) is a decision-support tool and not a decision-making system. The scores and analyses it produces are probabilistic estimates based on the rubric criteria you define.

• You acknowledge that AI-generated scores may contain errors and should not be used as the sole basis for accepting or rejecting any application.
• Final acceptance decisions must always involve human review. The platform intentionally does not offer an auto-accept feature.
• You are responsible for ensuring your use of AI scoring complies with any applicable regulations governing automated decision-making in your jurisdiction (including, where applicable, the EU AI Act and GDPR Article 22).
• Cohortly is not liable for any decisions made by you or your organisation based on AI scoring outputs.

7. Data & Privacy

Your use of the Service is also governed by our Privacy Policy (see the Privacy tab above) and our Cookie Policy. By using the Service, you consent to the collection and use of information as described in those documents.

Where you collect personal data from applicants through public-facing application forms, you are acting as the data controller for that data. Cohortly acts as your data processor. You are responsible for ensuring you have a lawful basis for collecting and processing applicant data and that applicants are provided with adequate notice of how their data will be used.

8. Availability & Service Levels

We strive to maintain high availability of the Service but do not guarantee uninterrupted, error-free access. We reserve the right to perform scheduled or emergency maintenance at any time and will endeavour to provide advance notice where possible. We are not liable for any loss arising from downtime, data unavailability, or service disruptions.

9. Limitation of Liability

To the fullest extent permitted by applicable law, Cohortly, its directors, employees, and suppliers shall not be liable for any indirect, incidental, special, consequential, or punitive damages — including but not limited to loss of profits, data, goodwill, or business opportunity — arising out of or in connection with your use of the Service, even if we have been advised of the possibility of such damages.

Our total aggregate liability to you for any claims arising out of or relating to the Service shall not exceed the greater of (a) the amounts you paid to Cohortly in the 12 months preceding the claim, or (b) USD $100.

10. Indemnification

You agree to indemnify and hold harmless Cohortly Inc. and its officers, directors, employees, and agents from any claims, losses, damages, liabilities, and expenses (including reasonable legal fees) arising out of or related to: (i) your use of the Service; (ii) your Customer Data; (iii) your violation of these Terms; or (iv) your violation of any third-party rights.

11. Termination

You may terminate your account at any time via Settings → Danger Zone → Delete Account. Cohortly may suspend or terminate your access immediately, without notice, if you breach these Terms or if we are required to do so by law. Upon termination, your right to use the Service ceases immediately and we may delete your account data in accordance with our data retention policy.

12. Governing Law & Dispute Resolution

These Terms shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of the State of Delaware, United States, without regard to its conflict of law provisions. Any disputes arising out of or relating to these Terms shall be subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of the courts located in Delaware. If you are a consumer in a jurisdiction where mandatory consumer protection laws apply, those laws shall take precedence over the provisions in this section to the extent required by law.

13. Changes to These Terms

We may update these Terms at any time. When we do, we will revise the "Effective Date" at the top of this page and, where changes are material, notify you by email or in-app notice. Your continued use of the Service after changes become effective constitutes acceptance of the revised Terms.

14. Contact

If you have any questions about these Terms, please contact us at cohortlyapp@gmail.com.