Terms & Conditions

These Terms & Conditions ("Terms") govern your use of the FOUNDER platform, website and services ("Service") operated by THE FOUNDER NETWORK PTY LTD, The Parks Unit 2 Block 2, 22 Century Boulevard, Johannesburg, 2191, South Africa ("FOUNDER", "we", "us"). By creating an account or subscribing you agree to these Terms.

1. The Service

FOUNDER is an AI business operator. It generates business ideas and plans from your budget and location, loads a product catalogue, and operates an AI salesman on WhatsApp that answers customers, recommends products, prepares quotations and invoices, takes orders and follows up. It also generates marketing copy, flyer images, brand assets and social media content. AI output is generated automatically and may contain errors; you are responsible for reviewing plans, prices, legal requirements and communications before relying on or sending them.

2. Accounts

You must be at least 18 years old and provide accurate information. You are responsible for all activity under your account and for keeping your password confidential. One account per founder; each account operates one business profile unless otherwise agreed.

3. Subscriptions, currencies and billing

New FOUNDER software purchases use USD through Paddle in supported countries, including South Africa and Namibia. Country of trade does not convert the checkout price. Existing Paystack subscriptions keep their provider, locked ZAR renewal amount and original terms until cancelled; viewing new offers does not migrate them. Merchant-customer sales remain separate. Trial terms, taxes and the final amount are shown before payment.

New USD Paddle subscriptions include a one-day free trial with 300 trial tokens, once per business. A payment method is required. Trial tokens expire at the end of that day, and the selected monthly price is then charged automatically unless cancelled beforehand. The full monthly token allowance is granted only after verified payment. Cancelling during the trial ends trial access without a monthly charge. Existing subscriptions and balances retain their original terms; existing Paystack subscriptions keep their original billing and renewal terms.

Optional local-currency prices are display estimates, not payment quotes. New purchases check out in USD through Paddle; existing Paystack subscriptions retain their locked ZAR renewal prices. Estimates use reference exchange rates, can become stale and may differ from your bank’s conversion or fees. When live display estimates are unavailable, we may show Frankfurter daily references with their rate date. Daily references are display only and are not used for checkout or renewals. Choosing a display currency does not change your subscription’s locked renewal amount, your balances, or your catalogue prices.

For new token plans, text AI charges depend on the selected model and input/output usage. Your usage receipts show the final FOUNDER token charge. Final charges are rounded up to 0.001 FOUNDER token. A temporary reservation is held before generation; unused tokens are released to their original, unexpired balances. Failed text generation or missing usage is not charged. Your usage receipts show final charges and released tokens. Images and voice retain fixed feature charges; legacy accounts retain their existing fixed text charges.

For new purchases, each paid subscription period includes the token allowance shown at checkout. Unused plan tokens expire at that period’s end, and the next allowance is granted after verified renewal. Plan tokens are used before preserved legacy balances and new top-ups. New top-ups expire 30 days after verified payment. Existing subscriptions, balances and previously purchased top-ups retain their original terms; browsing these new offers does not migrate your account.

USD software orders are conducted by our reseller Paddle.com as Merchant of Record. Existing ZAR software subscriptions remain processed by Paystack for THE FOUNDER NETWORK PTY LTD under their original terms.

Paddle's Buyer Terms apply to USD purchases in addition to these Terms. You can cancel your subscription at any time from Subscription → manage, or by contacting support@thefoundernetwork.co.za; cancellation takes effect at the end of the current billing period. Refunds are governed by our Refund Policy. Each referred founder’s first paid subscription earns you one referral credit, redeemable for 1 hour of free plan access. Referral credits have no cash value.

4. WhatsApp, Twilio and third-party channels

Messaging is delivered through Twilio's WhatsApp Business API and is subject to WhatsApp's Business and Commerce Policies. You must have permission to message the customers you contact, honour opt-out requests, and not send spam, unlawful, misleading or prohibited content. Social media accounts (Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, X) are created and owned by you; FOUNDER prepares assets and guidance but does not control those platforms.

5. Acceptable use

You may not use the Service to sell illegal goods or services, infringe intellectual property, harass anyone, generate deceptive content, reverse-engineer the platform, or overload our AI systems. We may suspend accounts that breach these Terms or applicable law.

6. Your content and data

You own your catalogue, customer data, orders and the AI-generated assets created for your business (plans, ads, logos, flyers, copy), subject to third-party model licences. You grant us a licence to process this content to operate the Service. Our handling of personal data is described in the Privacy Policy.

7. Disclaimers and liability

The Service is provided "as is". Business plans, financial projections and supplier suggestions are estimates for guidance only and are not financial, legal or tax advice. To the maximum extent permitted by law, FOUNDER's total liability for any claim is limited to the fees you paid in the 3 months before the claim. Nothing in these Terms limits rights you have under the South African Consumer Protection Act or other mandatory consumer laws.

8. Changes and termination

We may update the Service and these Terms; material changes will be announced in-app or by email at least 14 days before they take effect. You may close your account at any time from Settings. We may terminate accounts for breach with notice where reasonably possible.

9. Governing law and contact

These Terms are governed by the laws of the Republic of South Africa. Legal and compliance enquiries: legal@thefoundernetwork.co.za. Technical support (24-hour response): support@thefoundernetwork.co.za.