Terms and Conditions
Last updated October 14, 2020.
Startup Stack LLC (Startup Stack) agrees to furnish services to the Subscriber, subject to the following Terms of Service. Use of Startup Stack’s service constitutes acceptance and agreement to Startup Stack’s Terms of Service.
Startup Stack reserves the right to modify the Terms of Service without notice.
Use of Services — You may use our services, provided that you are of legal age to form a binding contract and are not barred from receiving such services under the laws of the United States or other jurisdictions. In order to access our services, you are required to provide current and factual identification, contact, and other information as part of the registration process. You are responsible for the confidentiality of your account information and for all activities that occur under your account. You are solely responsible for all content within your account. You agree to immediately notify Startup Stack of any unauthorized use of your account or any other breach of security. Startup Stack will not be liable for any loss or damage as a result of your failure to provide us with accurate information or to keep your account secure.
Acceptable Conduct — You are responsible for the actions of all users of your account and any data that is created, stored, displayed by, or transmitted by your account while using Startup Stack. You will not engage in any activity that interferes with or disrupts Startup Stack’s services, networks connected to Startup Stack, or those of our upstream hosting providers.
Prohibited Usage — You agree that any of the below activities are considered prohibited usage and will result in immediate account suspension or cancellation without a refund and the possibility that Startup Stack will impose fees; and/or pursue civil remedies without providing advance notice.
Misuse of System Resources: Intentional misuse of system resources, including but not limited to employing programs that consume excessive network capacity, CPU cycles, or disk IO.
Spam and Unsolicited Bulk Email (UBE): Startup Stack has a zero tolerance policy on spam, Junk E-mail or UBE. Spam, Junk-mail and UBE are defined as: the sending of the same, or substantially similar, unsolicited electronic mail messages, whether commercial or not, to more than one recipient. A message is considered unsolicited if it is posted in violation of a newsgroup charter or if it is sent to a recipient who has not requested the message. UBE also includes e-mail with forged headers, compromised mail server relays, and false contact information. This prohibition extends to the sending of unsolicited mass mailings from another service, which in any way implicates the use of Startup Stack whether or not the message actually originated from our network.
Mailing Lists: Startup Stack’s mass mailing rules also apply to mailing lists, listservs, or mailing services you may contract with. The policy is stated as follows: An acceptable mailing list will be focused at a targeted audience that has voluntarily signed up for your e-mail information or that has made their e-mail address available for distribution of information from you. The list must also allow for automatic removal of recipients with non-distribution in the future.
Access to Other Computers or Networks without Authorization: Attempting unauthorized and/or illegal access of computers, networks and/or accounts not belonging to party seeking access. Any act which interferes with the services of another user or network. Any act relating to the circumvention of security measures.
Startup Stack and the services it provides may only be used for lawful purposes. Transmission, distribution, or storage of any information, data or material in violation of United States or state regulation or law, or by the common law, is prohibited. This includes, but is not limited to, material protected by copyright, trademark, trade secret, or other intellectual property rights. Startup Stack’s services may not be used to facilitate infringement of these laws in any way.
Other Activities viewed as Illegal or Harmful: Engaging in illegal activities or engaging in activities harmful to the operations of Startup Stack or Startup Stack’s customers.
Providing False Data on any Contract or Application: including fraudulent use of credit card numbers.
Payment — You agree that Startup Stack shall be permitted to charge your credit card or other approved form of payment on a monthly, annual, or other agreed upon basis in advance of providing services. Payment is due upon invoicing. Service may be interrupted on accounts that reach 10 days past due. Accounts that are not collectable by Startup Stack may be turned over to an outside collection agency for collection. Subscriber is aware that Startup Stack may prospectively change the specified rates and charges from time to time.
Startup Stack is not responsible for any additional bank fees, interest charges, finance charges, over draft charges, or other fees resulting from charges billed by Startup Stack. Currency exchange settlements will be based on agreements between you and the provider of your credit card. Pro-rated credits are issued for unused services when customer retains any active service. Pro-rated refunds are issued if customer does not retain any active service and they are specifically requested via the cancellation form.
Uptime Guarantee — Startup Stack provides a 99.9% uptime guarantee on all leased hardware, and on network connectivity. In any given month, if your server is down for more than 0.1%, you may request a pro-rated credit for the down-time.
Additional downtime may be required for system configuration, maintenance, and upgrades as a regular part of our service management. Startup Stack will attempt to minimize this downtime to the extent possible.
Support Boundaries — Startup Stack provides technical support to our subscribers via our Support Ticket system. The following are our guidelines when providing support: Startup Stack provides support related to your servers and subscribed services physically functioning. Startup Stack does not offer technical support for application specific issues such as usage or software defects, except where an additional support contract is in place. Please refer to the support provided by the application vendor or community. Startup Stack does not provide technical support to your customers. Please feel free to check our Knowledge Base, or post to our Community Forums.
Ethical Behavior — Startup Stack does not condone the use of our services for behavior that we consider unethical. Examples include, but are not limited to: fraudulent business practices; deliberate posting of misinformation; harassment, or the posting of hate speech. The determination of behavior being considered to be unethical will be at the sole discretion of Startup Stack.
Account Cancellation or Suspension — Startup Stack reserves the right to suspend network access to any customer if, in the judgment of the Startup Stack administrators, the customer’s server is the source or target of a violation of any of the other terms of service or for any other reason which Startup Stack chooses. Startup Stack will use reasonable care in notifying the Customer and in resolving the problem in a method resulting in the least amount of service interference. Startup Stack reserves the right to terminate service without notice for continued and repeated violations of the terms of service. If the reason for termination of service is not prohibited by our upstream hosting provider, the customer may have the option to continue leasing the server hardware directly from the hosting provider, however, Startup Stack will no longer maintain the affected systems. If inappropriate activity is detected, all accounts of the Customer in question will be deactivated until an investigation is complete. Prior notification to the Customer is not assured. In extreme cases, law enforcement will be contacted regarding the activity. The customer will not be credited for the time the customer’s machines were suspended. If at any time it becomes necessary for Startup Stack to cancel a customer’s service without cause, Startup Stack will provide 30 days advance notice.
You may cancel a subscription at any time by using the “Cancel Subscription” link located in the “Manage Subscriptions” section of our website. Subscriptions are canceled immediately after confirmation. Cancellation of service does not relieve Subscriber of responsibility for the payment of all accrued charges.
Upon cancellation of a subscription, the customer may opt to continue leasing the server hardware directly from our upstream hosting provider and assume all responsibility for the server going forward. The option to continue leasing the server hardware requires a minimum subscription length of three months. If the customer wishes to utilize this option before that time, an early cancellation fee equal to the remainder of the three month subscription period is required.
Managed Services — Startup Stack will make reasonable efforts to maintain security of servers managed by us on your behalf using industry standard best practices. In cases where shell access or configuration management is made available to you, Startup Stack will not be held liable for security issues introduced by your actions. You bear sole responsibility for maintaining the security of service environments maintained under your account(s). You are solely responsible for ensuring compliance with any and all applicable privacy guidelines and regulations for all jurisdictions in which you may operate with respect to appropriate practices for the collection, storage, and dissemination of personal information using your Startup Stack Services. In no event shall Startup Stack be held liable for your failure to adopt and/or practice appropriate measures for safeguarding personal information stored within or transmitted through your Startup Stack Service.
Limitation of Liability — Subscriber acknowledges that the service provided is of such a nature that service can be interrupted for many reasons other than the negligence of Startup Stack and that damages resulting from any interruption of service are difficult to ascertain. Therefore, subscriber agrees that Startup Stack shall not be liable for any damages arising from such causes beyond the direct and exclusive control of Startup Stack. Subscriber further acknowledges that Startup Stack’s liability for its own negligence may not in any event exceed an amount equivalent to charges payable by subscriber for services during the period damages occurred. In no event shall Startup Stack be liable for any special or consequential damages, loss or injury. Startup Stack is not responsible for any damages your business may suffer. Startup Stack does not make implied or written warranties for any of our services. Startup Stack denies any warranty or merchantability for a specific purpose. This includes loss of data resulting from delays, non-deliveries, wrong delivery, and any and all service interruptions caused by Startup Stack.
Disclosure to Law Enforcement — The Terms of Service specifically prohibits the use of our service for illegal activities. Therefore, Subscriber agrees that Startup Stack may disclose any and all subscriber information including assigned IP numbers, account history, account use, etc. to any court who sends us a valid Court Order, without further consent or notification to the Subscriber. In addition, Startup Stack shall have the right to terminate all service set forth in this Agreement.
Warranty Disclaimer — You agree that your use of Startup Stack’s services shall be at your sole risk. All services provided by Startup Stack are available as is, without warranty.
Indemnity — Startup Stack wishes to emphasize that in agreeing to the Startup Stack Terms of Service, customer indemnifies Startup Stack for any violation of the Terms of Service that results in loss to Startup Stack or the bringing of any claim against Startup Stack by any third-party. This means that if Startup Stack is sued because of a customer’s or a customer of a customer’s activity, the customer will pay any damages awarded against Startup Stack, plus all costs and reasonable attorney’s fees.
Notice — You agree that Startup Stack may provide you with notices, including those regarding changes to the Terms of Service, by email, regular mail, or postings on Startup Stack’s services.
Entire Agreement — The Terms of Service (including any policies, guidelines or amendments that may be presented to you from time to time) constitute the entire agreement between you and Startup Stack and govern your use of Startup Stack services, superseding any prior agreements between you and Startup Stack for the use of Startup Stack services.
Choice of Law and Forum — The Terms of Service and the relationship between you and Startup Stack shall be governed by the laws of the State of California without regard to its conflict of law provisions. You and Startup Stack agree to submit to the personal and exclusive jurisdiction of the courts located within the county of San Diego, California.
Waiver and Severability of Terms The failure of Startup Stack to exercise or enforce any right or provision of the Terms of Service shall not constitute a waiver of such right or provision. If any provision of the Terms of Service is found by a court of competent jurisdiction to be invalid, the parties nevertheless agree that the court should endeavor to give effect to the party’s intentions as reflected in the provision, and the other provisions of the Terms of Service remain in full force and effect.
Statute of Limitations — You agree that regardless of any statute or law to the contrary, any claim or cause of action arising out of or related to use of Startup Stack services or the Terms of Service must be filed within one (1) year after such claim or cause of action arose or be forever barred.
For information on how we collect and use customer information, please refer to our Privacy Policy.
Changes since the previous version:
- On October 14, 2020, the Account Cancellation or Suspension section was amended to include the minimum subscription duration of three months before customers may take over a direct lease of their server hardware. This change was made to defray server setup costs in the event of a short subscription. Customers may still cancel any subscription at any time for any reason and receive a pro-rated credit or refund of their subscription fees, with no early termination fee. This change only applies if the customer wishes to keep their server after cancellation.
