1. About Exponanta and These Terms
Exponanta, Inc. ("Exponanta," "we," "us," or "our") is a Massachusetts corporation that operates an online community platform connecting founders, investors, industry professionals, executives, service providers, and subject matter experts through weekly vertical-specific networking events, pitch sessions, and structured 1:1 scheduling tools (collectively, the "Services").
These Terms of Service ("Terms") constitute a legally binding agreement between you ("you," "your," or "Member") and Exponanta governing your access to and use of the Services, including the website at exponanta.com, any associated mobile applications, event platforms, community directories, and communications tools we operate.
These Terms apply to all users of the Services, including registered members, event attendees, pitch presenters, investors, sponsors, speakers, and visitors who access the Services without creating an account.
2. Eligibility
To use the Services, you must:
- Be at least 18 years of age;
- Have the legal capacity to enter into a binding agreement;
- Not be prohibited from using the Services under applicable law, including applicable export control laws and sanctions regulations; and
- Not have had a prior account terminated by Exponanta for violation of these Terms.
By using the Services, you represent and warrant that you meet all eligibility requirements. If you are using the Services on behalf of a company or other legal entity, you represent that you have authority to bind that entity to these Terms, and "you" refers to both you individually and that entity.
3. Account Registration and Security
Creating an account
Certain features of the Services require you to create an account. When you register, you agree to provide accurate, current, and complete information and to keep that information updated. You may not impersonate any person or entity, use a false name, or create an account under a name other than your own without Exponanta's prior written consent.
Account security
You are responsible for maintaining the confidentiality of your account credentials and for all activity that occurs under your account. You agree to notify us immediately at security@exponanta.com if you suspect any unauthorized use of your account or any other security breach. Exponanta is not liable for any loss or damage resulting from your failure to maintain account security.
One account per person
You may maintain only one personal account on Exponanta. Creating duplicate or false accounts is prohibited and may result in the suspension or termination of all associated accounts.
4. The Services
Community platform
Exponanta provides a professional networking platform that includes a member directory, industry vertical communities, event listings, pitch session scheduling, and 1:1 meeting tools. The platform is designed for professional use. You agree to use the Services only for lawful professional purposes consistent with these Terms.
Events and sessions
Exponanta hosts and facilitates live online events, pitch sessions, networking sessions, and other programming organized by industry vertical. Event schedules, formats, and availability are subject to change at Exponanta's discretion. Exponanta does not guarantee that any specific event, speaker, investor, or participant will be present at any session.
Pitch sessions
Founders and companies may submit pitches to be presented at Exponanta sessions. Submission of a pitch does not guarantee acceptance or scheduling. Exponanta reserves the right to decline, postpone, or remove pitch submissions at its sole discretion without liability. Pitching on the platform does not constitute any endorsement, recommendation, or investment advice from Exponanta with respect to the pitching company or its securities.
1:1 scheduling
The 1:1 scheduling tool facilitates meeting requests between Members. Exponanta is not a party to any meetings, agreements, or transactions that arise from connections made through the platform. We do not guarantee that meeting requests will be accepted or that any resulting relationship or transaction will be successful.
Service modifications
Exponanta reserves the right to modify, suspend, or discontinue any aspect of the Services at any time, with or without notice. We will make reasonable efforts to notify Members of material changes to the Services, but we are not liable for any modification, suspension, or discontinuation.
5. Member Content
What is Member Content
"Member Content" means any information, text, images, video, audio, presentations, pitch materials, comments, messages, profile information, or other content that you submit, post, upload, publish, transmit, or otherwise make available through the Services.
Your responsibility for Member Content
You are solely responsible for your Member Content. By submitting Member Content, you represent and warrant that:
- You own or have all necessary rights, licenses, consents, and permissions to submit the content and to grant the licenses described in these Terms;
- The content does not infringe, misappropriate, or violate the intellectual property rights, privacy rights, publicity rights, or any other rights of any third party;
- The content is accurate and not misleading;
- The content does not violate any applicable law or regulation; and
- The content does not contain any material that is defamatory, obscene, harassing, threatening, discriminatory, or otherwise objectionable.
License to Exponanta
By submitting Member Content through the Services, you grant Exponanta a worldwide, non-exclusive, royalty-free, sublicensable, and transferable license to use, reproduce, distribute, prepare derivative works of, display, and perform your Member Content in connection with the Services and Exponanta's business operations, including for the purposes described below.
This license includes the right to use your Member Content for:
- Operating, maintaining, and improving the Services;
- Displaying your profile and pitch materials to other Members in accordance with your privacy settings;
- Promoting Exponanta and its events through marketing channels including social media, email, and the Exponanta website;
- Creating summaries, highlights, and editorial content derived from event sessions;
- Archiving event recordings for Members who attended the session, subject to the recording permissions described in Section 6; and
- Training and improving Exponanta's internal systems and recommendation algorithms, using aggregated and anonymized data.
You retain ownership of your Member Content. This license does not give Exponanta the right to sell your Member Content to third parties as a standalone product.
Profile information
Your name, professional title, company, industry vertical, and any public profile information you provide will be visible to other registered Members of the community in accordance with your privacy settings. By setting your profile to visible, you consent to your profile information being displayed in the Exponanta member directory, event participant lists, and community features.
6. Recording, Publishing, and Event Content
Recording of sessions
Exponanta may record online events and sessions for the purposes of creating archives, producing highlights and summary content, improving the platform, and making recordings available to registered participants who attended the session. By participating in an Exponanta event — whether as a presenter, panelist, speaker, or attendee — you consent to being recorded and to the use of that recording in accordance with these Terms.
If you do not wish to be recorded, you may attend sessions with your camera and microphone disabled. Audio-only contributions to session discussions may still be recorded. If you have concerns about recording, please contact us before participating.
Publishing of pitch and session content
Exponanta may publish, distribute, and promote content from sessions, including pitch presentations, speaker contributions, panel discussions, and Q&A exchanges, through the following channels:
- The Exponanta website, blog, and community pages;
- Exponanta social media accounts, including LinkedIn, Twitter/X, and other platforms;
- Email newsletters and community digests sent to Exponanta Members;
- Partner and sponsor communications where Exponanta has agreed to provide event coverage; and
- Press releases and media outreach related to Exponanta events and community activity.
Published content may include your name, company name, professional title, a summary or excerpt of your pitch or contribution, and still images or video clips from session recordings. Exponanta will make reasonable efforts to represent your contributions accurately and in context, but we do not guarantee that all published content will be reviewed or approved by you before publication.
Pitch presenter rights and expectations
If you present a pitch at an Exponanta session, you acknowledge and agree that:
- Your pitch may be recorded and made available to session attendees and, at Exponanta's discretion, to other registered Members;
- Highlights or summaries of your pitch may be published on Exponanta's website and social channels;
- Investors, operators, and other participants may take notes on your pitch and share those notes with colleagues in the normal course of their professional activities;
- Exponanta does not guarantee confidentiality of pitch content presented in a group session setting; and
- You should not disclose trade secrets or highly sensitive proprietary information in a pitch session unless you are comfortable with that information being heard by all session participants.
Requesting removal of published content
If you believe that published content containing your name, image, or contributions is inaccurate, misleading, or was published without proper consent, you may request review and removal by contacting us at content@exponanta.com. We will review requests in good faith and respond within 10 business days. We are not obligated to remove content that was lawfully published under these Terms, but we will consider removal requests on a case-by-case basis.
7. Intellectual Property
Exponanta's intellectual property
The Services, including all software, design, text, graphics, logos, trademarks, service marks, and other content created or owned by Exponanta ("Exponanta Content"), are protected by copyright, trademark, and other intellectual property laws. You may not copy, reproduce, distribute, modify, create derivative works of, publicly display, publicly perform, republish, transmit, or otherwise exploit Exponanta Content without our prior written consent, except as expressly permitted by these Terms.
Exponanta community data
The Exponanta member directory, connection graph, event participation data, and aggregated community data constitute Exponanta proprietary data in which Exponanta holds all intellectual property rights. You may not copy, scrape, redistribute, or use this data for any commercial purpose without Exponanta's prior written consent.
Feedback
If you submit feedback, suggestions, or ideas to Exponanta regarding the Services ("Feedback"), you grant Exponanta a worldwide, perpetual, irrevocable, royalty-free license to use, reproduce, disclose, and otherwise exploit the Feedback for any purpose, without compensation to you. Exponanta has no obligation to implement or act on any Feedback.
Copyright complaints (DMCA notice)
If you believe that any content on the Services infringes your copyright, please send a written notice to legal@exponanta.com that includes: (a) identification of the copyrighted work claimed to be infringed; (b) identification of the material on our Services claimed to be infringing and information sufficient to permit us to locate it; (c) your contact information; (d) a statement that you have a good-faith belief that the use is not authorized by the copyright owner, its agent, or the law; (e) a statement that the information in the notice is accurate and, under penalty of perjury, that you are authorized to act on behalf of the copyright owner; and (f) your physical or electronic signature. We will respond to valid notices in accordance with the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA). The counter-notice procedure is described in Section 17.
Trademark complaints
If you believe that any content on the Services infringes a trademark or service mark in which you hold valid registered rights, please send a written notice to legal@exponanta.com identifying the mark, the registration number and jurisdiction, the allegedly infringing material and its location on the Services, and a good-faith certification signed under penalty of perjury that the use is not authorized. We will investigate valid trademark notices and take appropriate action at our discretion.
8. Prohibited Conduct
You agree not to use the Services to:
- Violate any applicable law, regulation, or third-party right, including intellectual property rights, privacy rights, and securities laws;
- Submit false, misleading, or fraudulent information, including false pitch materials, fabricated traction metrics, or misrepresented company status;
- Impersonate any person or entity, or falsely claim affiliation with any person or organization;
- Use artificial intelligence or automated tools to generate content that impersonates another Member or deceives others about its source or authenticity;
- Solicit personal information from other Members for non-professional purposes;
- Send unsolicited commercial messages, spam, or repeated unwanted communications to other Members;
- Harass, abuse, threaten, defame, or discriminate against any Member or third party on the basis of race, ethnicity, religion, gender, sexual orientation, disability, age, national origin, or any other protected characteristic;
- Engage in market manipulation, pump-and-dump schemes, or any other conduct that would violate securities laws in connection with investment discussions on the platform;
- Scrape, crawl, or otherwise extract data from the Services using automated tools without Exponanta's prior written consent, including scraping outputs generated by any AI features to seed or train external models;
- Send automated queries of any sort to the Services without Exponanta's prior written consent;
- Interfere with or disrupt the integrity or performance of the Services or the servers and networks connected to the Services;
- Attempt to gain unauthorized access to any portion of the Services or any system or network connected to the Services, or attempt to extract or reconstruct model weights, training data, or source code from any AI-powered feature of the Services;
- Use the Services to promote any illegal activity, including money laundering, fraud, or the sale of controlled substances; or
- Use the Services to develop competing products or services, or to benchmark Exponanta's Services for commercial purposes, without our consent.
Exponanta reserves the right to investigate suspected violations of these prohibitions and to take any action we deem appropriate, including removal of content, suspension of accounts, and referral to law enforcement authorities.
9. Professional Conduct and Community Standards
Exponanta is a professional community. All Members are expected to interact with each other with honesty, respect, and professional courtesy. We expect Members to:
- Represent their professional background, company status, and investment activities accurately;
- Engage constructively in pitch Q&A and community discussions, providing feedback that is honest, relevant, and respectful;
- Honor meeting commitments made through the 1:1 scheduling tool and provide reasonable notice if unable to attend;
- Respect the confidentiality of information shared by other Members in the context of private 1:1 meetings, clearly marked as confidential; and
- Refrain from using session attendance or Member contact information for purposes unrelated to the professional activities facilitated by the platform.
Exponanta may remove Members who consistently fail to meet these community standards, even if their conduct does not rise to the level of a prohibited activity under Section 8.
10. Investment-Related Disclaimers
Exponanta is a networking and community platform, not a broker-dealer, investment adviser, crowdfunding portal, or securities exchange. Nothing on the Services constitutes investment advice, a recommendation to buy or sell any security, or an offer or solicitation of an offer to buy or sell any security.
Pitch sessions and investor networking events facilitated through Exponanta do not constitute general solicitation or general advertising under applicable securities laws solely by virtue of being hosted on the platform, provided that participants comply with all applicable securities laws in their own activities.
Members who are investors, founders, or companies discussing investment opportunities on the platform are solely responsible for ensuring that their activities comply with all applicable federal and state securities laws, including the Securities Act of 1933, the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, and applicable state blue sky laws. Exponanta does not conduct due diligence on companies that pitch on the platform and makes no representations regarding their financial condition, business prospects, or the accuracy of their disclosures.
Past performance of companies discussed on the platform is not indicative of future results. Investing in early-stage companies involves significant risk, including the risk of total loss of invested capital.
11. Payments and Subscriptions
Free and paid features
Certain features of the Services are available free of charge. Other features, including premium membership tiers, sponsored event placements, and certain community tools, are available for a fee. Fees and payment terms for paid features are described on the relevant pricing pages of the Services.
Payment processing
Payments are processed by third-party payment processors. By providing payment information, you authorize Exponanta and its payment processors to charge the applicable fees to your designated payment method. All fees are stated in U.S. dollars unless otherwise specified.
Refund policy
Fees paid for event registrations are generally non-refundable unless the event is cancelled by Exponanta. Fees paid for subscription services may be refunded on a pro-rata basis if the subscription is cancelled within 30 days of the initial purchase. Exponanta reserves the right to offer refunds at its discretion in cases of technical failure or other exceptional circumstances.
Taxes
You are responsible for any taxes, duties, or other governmental charges applicable to your use of the Services. Exponanta will collect applicable sales taxes where required by law.
12. Third-Party Services and Links
The Services may contain links to third-party websites, applications, and services, including video conferencing platforms, calendar tools, and social networks. Exponanta does not control and is not responsible for the content, privacy practices, or terms of service of any third-party services. Your use of third-party services is subject to their respective terms and policies.
Exponanta may integrate with third-party platforms to deliver event functionality. Your use of those integrations is subject to the third party's terms of service in addition to these Terms.
13. Disclaimers of Warranties
THE SERVICES ARE PROVIDED "AS IS" AND "AS AVAILABLE" WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED. TO THE FULLEST EXTENT PERMITTED BY APPLICABLE LAW, EXPONANTA DISCLAIMS ALL WARRANTIES, INCLUDING IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, TITLE, AND NON-INFRINGEMENT.
Exponanta does not warrant that: (a) the Services will be uninterrupted, secure, or error-free; (b) any defects in the Services will be corrected; (c) the Services or the server that makes them available are free of viruses or other harmful components; (d) the results of using the Services will meet your requirements; or (e) any Member Content is accurate, complete, or reliable.
14. Limitation of Liability
TO THE FULLEST EXTENT PERMITTED BY APPLICABLE LAW, IN NO EVENT WILL EXPONANTA, ITS DIRECTORS, OFFICERS, EMPLOYEES, AGENTS, PARTNERS, SUPPLIERS, OR LICENSORS BE LIABLE FOR ANY INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, CONSEQUENTIAL, OR PUNITIVE DAMAGES, INCLUDING LOST PROFITS, LOSS OF DATA, LOSS OF GOODWILL, BUSINESS INTERRUPTION, OR COST OF SUBSTITUTE SERVICES, ARISING OUT OF OR IN CONNECTION WITH THESE TERMS OR YOUR USE OF OR INABILITY TO USE THE SERVICES, EVEN IF EXPONANTA HAS BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES.
IN NO EVENT WILL EXPONANTA'S TOTAL AGGREGATE LIABILITY TO YOU FOR ALL CLAIMS ARISING OUT OF OR IN CONNECTION WITH THESE TERMS OR THE SERVICES EXCEED THE GREATER OF (A) THE AMOUNT YOU PAID TO EXPONANTA IN THE 12 MONTHS PRECEDING THE CLAIM OR (B) ONE HUNDRED U.S. DOLLARS ($100).
Some jurisdictions do not allow the exclusion or limitation of certain types of damages. In such jurisdictions, Exponanta's liability is limited to the fullest extent permitted by law.
15. Indemnification
You agree to indemnify, defend, and hold harmless Exponanta, its directors, officers, employees, agents, and successors from and against any claims, liabilities, damages, losses, costs, and expenses (including reasonable attorneys' fees) arising out of or relating to: (a) your use of the Services; (b) your Member Content; (c) your violation of these Terms; (d) your violation of any applicable law or the rights of any third party; or (e) any investment or business decision made in connection with information obtained through the Services.
16. Termination
Termination by you
You may close your account at any time by contacting us at support@exponanta.com or through the account settings in the Services. Closing your account does not entitle you to a refund of any fees paid, except as provided in our refund policy.
Termination by Exponanta
Exponanta may suspend or terminate your account and access to the Services at any time, with or without notice, for any reason, including violation of these Terms, conduct that we determine is harmful to the community, or for business reasons. We will make reasonable efforts to notify you of termination unless prohibited by law or where providing notice would compromise security.
Effect of termination
Upon termination, your right to use the Services ceases immediately. Sections of these Terms that by their nature should survive termination — including Sections 5 (Member Content license), 7 (Intellectual Property), 10 (Investment Disclaimers), 13 (Disclaimers), 14 (Limitation of Liability), 15 (Indemnification), and 19 (Governing Law) — will survive.
17. DMCA Counter-Notice Procedure
If you believe that content you posted was removed or disabled as a result of a mistake or misidentification, you may submit a counter-notice to Exponanta's designated DMCA agent. To be effective under 17 U.S.C. § 512(g), your counter-notice must be a written communication that includes substantially the following:
- Your physical or electronic signature;
- Identification of the material that has been removed or disabled and the location at which it appeared on the Services before it was removed or disabled;
- A statement under penalty of perjury that you have a good-faith belief that the material was removed or disabled as a result of mistake or misidentification of the material to be removed or disabled;
- Your name, address, and telephone number; and
- A statement that you consent to the jurisdiction of the United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts, and that you will accept service of process from the person who submitted the original takedown notice or their agent.
Counter-notices must be submitted in writing to Exponanta's designated DMCA agent:
Upon receipt of a valid counter-notice, Exponanta will promptly provide a copy to the party who submitted the original takedown notice and will restore the removed or disabled material within 10 to 14 business days, unless Exponanta first receives notice that the original complainant has filed an action seeking a court order to restrain the alleged infringement.
This counter-notice procedure applies only to claims of mistaken removal under the DMCA and does not limit any other rights or remedies available to you.
18. Electronic Delivery of Notices
By creating an account or otherwise using the Services, you expressly consent to receive from Exponanta all communications, agreements, legally required disclosures, notices, and other information that we are required or permitted to provide to you in electronic form, including by email to the address associated with your account or by posting notices on the Services.
You agree that electronic delivery of any such communication satisfies any legal requirement that such communication be provided in writing. To withdraw your consent to electronic delivery, you must stop using the Services and close your account. Withdrawal of consent does not affect the legal validity or enforceability of any electronic communication provided to you before the date of withdrawal.
You are responsible for keeping your registered email address current and accurate. Exponanta is not liable for any failure by you to receive a communication if your email address on file is incorrect, outdated, blocked by your email provider, or otherwise unable to receive messages.
19. Dispute Resolution
Informal resolution
Before filing any formal legal claim, you agree to attempt to resolve any dispute with Exponanta informally by contacting us at legal@exponanta.com and providing a written description of the dispute. We will attempt to resolve the dispute within 30 days of receipt of your notice.
Binding arbitration
If informal resolution is unsuccessful, any dispute, claim, or controversy arising out of or relating to these Terms or the Services — including the interpretation, validity, breach, or termination of these Terms — will be resolved by binding individual arbitration administered by the American Arbitration Association (AAA) under its Consumer Arbitration Rules, as modified by these Terms. The arbitration will be conducted in Massachusetts, or by telephone or videoconference if either party requests. The arbitrator's decision will be final and binding, and judgment on the award may be entered in any court of competent jurisdiction.
Class action waiver
You and Exponanta each waive any right to participate in a class action lawsuit or class-wide arbitration. All disputes must be brought in an individual capacity. This waiver is an essential element of the agreement between you and Exponanta. If a court or arbitrator determines that this waiver is unenforceable, the arbitration provision in its entirety will be void.
Exceptions
Notwithstanding the foregoing, either party may seek injunctive or other equitable relief in a court of competent jurisdiction to prevent the actual or threatened infringement of intellectual property rights or to protect confidential information. Nothing in this section prevents you from filing a complaint with a government agency or regulatory authority.
20. Governing Law
These Terms are governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, without regard to its conflict of law principles. To the extent that any claim or dispute is not subject to arbitration under Section 19, you and Exponanta consent to the exclusive jurisdiction of the state and federal courts located in Middlesex County, Massachusetts for the resolution of such disputes.
21. General Provisions
Entire agreement
These Terms, together with the Privacy Policy and any additional terms applicable to specific features or promotions, constitute the entire agreement between you and Exponanta regarding the Services and supersede all prior agreements, understandings, and representations.
Severability
If any provision of these Terms is held to be invalid, illegal, or unenforceable, that provision will be modified to the minimum extent necessary to make it enforceable, or severed if modification is not possible, and the remaining provisions will continue in full force and effect.
Waiver
Exponanta's failure to enforce any right or provision of these Terms will not be considered a waiver of that right or provision. Any waiver must be in writing and signed by an authorized representative of Exponanta to be effective.
Assignment
You may not assign or transfer your rights or obligations under these Terms without Exponanta's prior written consent. Exponanta may assign these Terms or any of its rights and obligations without restriction, including in connection with a merger, acquisition, or sale of assets.
Force majeure
Exponanta will not be liable for any delay or failure to perform its obligations under these Terms to the extent caused by events beyond its reasonable control, including natural disasters, pandemics, cyberattacks, government actions, or failures of third-party infrastructure providers.
Updates to these Terms
Exponanta may update these Terms from time to time. When we make material changes, we will notify you by posting the updated Terms with a revised effective date and, where appropriate, by sending an email notification to your registered address. Your continued use of the Services after the effective date constitutes acceptance of the updated Terms. If you do not agree with updated Terms, you must stop using the Services and close your account.
22. Contact
Questions about these Terms should be directed to:
Account support: support@exponanta.com
Content & recording concerns: content@exponanta.com
Security issues: security@exponanta.com