Privacy Policy

This Privacy Policy explains what information Startup Otter collects, how we use it, who we share it with, how long we keep it, and the choices and rights you have. It applies to everything on the Startup Otter platform — our public website, the member dashboard, our emails, our APIs, and related offline activities such as support conversations.

1. Site ownership & definitions

"Individual", "You", "Your", and "Member" refer to you — the person accessing this website, creating an account, or otherwise using Startup Otter. "Startup Otter", the "Company", "Platform", "Ourselves", "We", "Our", and "Us" refer to Startup Otter, Inc. "Party", "Parties", or "Us" refers to both the Individual and Startup Otter, or either the Individual or Startup Otter. Startup Otter, Inc. owns and operates this site, startupotter.com, and is the controller and processor of the Personally Identifiable Information (PII) collected through the site, our mobile web experience, our transactional email, and our offline activities. This Policy discloses our information practices — what personal information is requested, how it is used, who processes it, and how it is shared. You can reach us any time at hello@startupotter.com.

2. Your consent & the legal bases we rely on

By using Startup Otter, creating an account, publishing a profile, subscribing to a paid plan, or otherwise interacting with the platform, you consent to this Privacy Policy. Where the GDPR or similar law applies, we process personal data on one or more of these bases: your consent under Art. 6(1)(a) GDPR, which you are free to give or refuse (for example, marketing email, optional analytics, and optional location features); performance of a contract under Art. 6(1)(b) (running your account, delivering the tier you paid for); our legitimate interests under Art. 6(1)(f) (platform security, abuse prevention, moderation, product improvement); and compliance with a legal obligation under Art. 6(1)(c). You may change or withdraw a consent decision at any time from Account Settings or by emailing hello@startupotter.com. Withdrawing consent does not affect the lawfulness of processing carried out before the withdrawal.

3. Information you provide directly

Account: first/last name, email, password (stored as a bcrypt hash — never plaintext), preferred first name, date of birth, phone country code and number, timezone, country, mailing address, notification and email-digest preferences. Personal Profile: handle, slug, display name, pronouns, headline, My Story (rich text), headshot, cover photo, location, industries, classifications, skills/interests, affiliations, intro video, social links. Business / Capital Profiles you create: name, handle, slug, logo, cover, headline, about, what-you're-solving, who-you're-a-fit-for (capital), founded year, location and addresses, contact details, company size, stage, industries, financials (revenue status, amount raised, ARR), social links, team roles, capital type, check size, investment focus. Events & Resources: title, slug, summary, description (rich text), cover, category, format, dates, location/venue, topics, industries, organizer, registration URL, downloadable files (up to 3 per item, 0.25 GB each), and Author/Contributor for resources. Communications & Interactions: questions you ask or answer, chatter posts you author, comments you write, reactions you place, bookmarks and seashell ratings, files you upload (including pitch decks to capital profiles), Otter Assist needs and "I Can Help" responses, inquiry messages, direct messages between members, content reports you submit, and internal notes admins/moderators add about reports. Billing: when you subscribe or buy a Founders membership, our payment processor collects your name, email, billing address, and card or bank details — Startup Otter never sees or stores your full card number. Support & offline: information you send us by email, live chat, contact form, or phone. You may browse our public pages anonymously without creating an account.

4. Information collected automatically

Sessions: a secure HTTP-only session cookie (named "so_session"), session expiry, IP address at sign-in, and browser user-agent. Activity: profile view counts (we record who viewed which profile and when, to power analytics dashboards), event "Interested" clicks, resource visits and shares, license-key issuance/redemption/disable/reissue audit logs, admin moderation actions, and the read/unread state of notifications and messages. Analytics: aggregate page and event data from our website analytics provider (see §11), plus a salted, non-reversible visitor identifier used to distinguish unique visitors in analytics dashboards. Telemetry: basic server logs (latency, error counts, request paths) used to keep the platform reliable and secure.

5. Information from third parties

Google Sign-In: when you sign in with Google we receive your name, email, and a Google session identifier from Google's identity service. We do NOT pull your Google profile picture, and we do not pull avatars from Microsoft or Apple either — your platform avatar comes from the headshot you upload on your Personal Profile. Geocoding: when you add a location to a profile, event, or resource, we send the address text to a geocoding service (Google Maps when an API key is configured, otherwise OpenStreetMap/Nominatim) to obtain latitude and longitude so the location can be searched by distance. Payments: our payment processor tells us the status of your subscription or purchase, the plan, the last four digits and brand of your card, and renewal dates. Email delivery: our email providers report deliveries, bounces, opens where enabled, and unsubscribes so we can keep our lists clean.

6. How we use your information

To operate the platform — render profiles, deliver Chatter, send messages, run search and the Cmd+K command palette, the @mentions inbox ("Noted"), notifications, real-time updates, geo-radius and region filters, ratings, comments, and the activity feed. To personalize your experience — your information helps us tailor discovery, feeds, and location-aware results to what is relevant to you. To improve the website and the product — we continually improve our offerings based on the information and feedback we receive, diagnose errors, measure performance, and decide what to build next. To improve customer service — your information helps us respond more effectively to your support requests. To process transactions — your information, whether public or private, will not be sold, exchanged, transferred, or given to any other company for any reason whatsoever, without your consent, other than for the express purpose of delivering the product, plan, or service you requested. To deliver tier-gated features — your tier (encoded in your license key) determines which features you can access (for example capital financials, pitch-deck submission, Otter Assist, and analytics). To power Otter Assist — with your action, we send the text of your need and relevant public profile signals to our AI provider to summarize the need and assess which members may be able to help. To support moderation, safety, and abuse prevention — to investigate reports, hide or remove content, enforce our Terms, and message authors when needed. To send transactional and periodic email — sign-up confirmations, verification, password resets, notifications, plan changes, and (optionally) digests. For marketing purposes — information you provide may be collected, used, analyzed, and/or processed by Startup Otter, or by selected third parties acting on our behalf, for marketing and other legitimate business purposes. Note: if at any time you would like to stop receiving marketing or digest email, every such email contains unsubscribe instructions at the bottom, you can change your preferences in Account Settings, or you can ask us using the contact details at the end of this Policy. Critical security and account emails (for example password reset and billing notices) cannot be turned off while your account is open.

7. Who can see what

Public surfaces: a published profile's display name, handle, slug, headline, location (city/state/country), cover photo, headshot or logo, about/solving/good-fit, industries/classifications, intro video, social links, founded year, company size, stage, capital type, check size and investment focus (capital), and any events or resources you have published are visible to everyone on the internet. Member-only surfaces: full profile detail (including financials when entitled), the Chatter feed, comments, reactions, questions and answers, the directory's geo-radius and certain advanced filters, messaging, and the activity feed are visible only to signed-in members. Other members: people you have friended see your full member profile and can message you; admins of a business/capital profile you own can edit the profile but cannot publish it, change its handle, or delete it. Otter Assist: when you activate Otter Assist on a need, matched members see your need, your name and profile, the timing you selected, and a plain-language reason they matched. Analytics: eligible Capital users can see identified visitor insights on supported dashboards; members who browse privately are never identified, and breakdowns stay hidden until an audience is large enough. Reports: when you flag content, the report and your reporter ID are visible to admins and moderators, never to the author. Admins: our administrators can access the admin console — users & tiers, content moderation, audit log, reference data, pricing, license keys, handle registry, email templates, and a per-user detail view with activity log, internal notes, and billing ledger. We limit access to personal data to the staff who need it to execute a request or keep the platform safe.

8. Storage, transfer & international processing

With your consent and as needed to run the service, we store your data on our servers and with the third-party providers who assist us in day-to-day operations, hosting, troubleshooting, customer service, payments, email, and processing. Data may remain in our storage systems, including backups and audit logs, until removed in line with §13. Your data may be shared with the partners and processors listed in §10 who assist in the operation of Startup Otter. Startup Otter is hosted in the United States. If you use the platform from outside the United States, you consent to your information being transferred to and processed in the United States, which may have different data-protection laws than your country. Where required, we rely on appropriate safeguards such as standard contractual clauses offered by our providers.

9. Do we disclose any information to outside parties?

We do not sell, trade, or otherwise transfer your personally identifiable information to outside parties. This does not include the trusted third parties in §10 who assist us in operating our website, conducting our business, or servicing you, so long as those parties agree to keep the information confidential. We may also release information when we believe release is appropriate to comply with the law, enforce our site policies, or protect the rights, property, or safety of Startup Otter, our members, or the public. Non-personally identifiable, aggregate visitor information may be provided to other parties for analytics, marketing, or other uses. Marketing analysis by third parties: we reserve the right to disclose information about members to third parties for marketing analysis; any information disclosed for that purpose will be in aggregate form that does not describe or identify an individual member. Disclosure to governmental authorities: under certain circumstances personal information may be subject to disclosure pursuant to judicial or other government subpoenas, warrants, or orders. Business transfers: if Startup Otter is involved in a merger, acquisition, financing, or sale of assets, your information may be transferred as part of that transaction, and we will notify you before your information becomes subject to a materially different privacy policy. For third-party service providers, please consult their own privacy policies for additional information.

10. Data processors we use

Your information may travel through a third party for processing, hosting, delivery, and administration. The third-party services used by Startup Otter that may have access to your data include: Emergent (application hosting, cloud object storage for images, video and documents, and our AI gateway); MongoDB (the database that stores your account, profile, and content records); Google — Google Sign-In (authentication), Google Analytics (website analytics), Google Maps Platform (address geocoding), and Google Cloud Storage (file storage); OpenStreetMap / Nominatim (fallback address geocoding); Stripe (payment processing, subscriptions, and Founders memberships); MailerSend (transactional email such as verification, password reset, notifications, and plan changes); MailerLite (marketing and newsletter email, single opt-in); Postmark (legacy transactional email, retained for continuity); Anthropic (the Claude model that powers Otter Assist need summaries and match relevance); OpenAI (used only where an OpenAI model is selected through our AI gateway); Charla (the live chat and support widget on our website); YouTube / Google (playback of intro videos you choose to link); and Startup Otter, Inc. and its authorized contractors. Please refer to each third party for their specific privacy policy. Note that a given third party does not have your information unless you engage in a way covered by that provider — for example, Stripe will not have your payment details unless you purchase a plan, and Anthropic will not receive a need description unless you activate Otter Assist. We are not responsible for data breaches that occur at a third-party service provider; should a breach occur at one of our partners and your information be compromised, we will notify you by email.

11. Cookies, analytics & local storage

Yes, we use cookies. Cookies are small files that a site or its service provider transfers to your device through your web browser (if you allow) that enable the site's systems to recognize your browser and capture and remember certain information. We use one essential cookie ("so_session") to keep you signed in; it is HTTP-only, Secure, and SameSite=None so it works across the dashboard and the public site. We use cookies and similar technologies to remember and save your preferences for future visits, keep you signed in securely, and compile aggregate data about site traffic and site interaction so we can offer better site experiences and tools in the future. We may use localStorage to remember interface preferences such as view toggles, dismissed banners, and draft chat docks. We use Google Analytics (GA4) on our website, which sets its own cookies and identifiers and reports to us aggregate information such as pages viewed, referring site, session duration, device and browser type, and an approximate location derived from your IP address. We use it to understand traffic and improve the product, not to advertise to you, and Google processes that data as our service provider under its own terms and privacy policy. We may contract with other third-party service providers to help us better understand our visitors; these providers are not permitted to use the information collected on our behalf except to help us conduct and improve our business. Startup Otter does not run advertising networks, does not serve third-party ads, and does not use advertising cookies such as Google's DART cookie. You can set your browser to refuse cookies or alert you when cookies are sent; if you disable cookies entirely, sign-in and some features will not work. You may also opt out of Google Analytics using Google's browser add-on.

12. Email & notifications

We send transactional emails (verification, password reset, account and billing events, content notifications, plan changes) and, if enabled, periodic digests and occasional company news, product updates, or related service information. You can adjust notification toggles per category and digest frequency in Account Settings, and unsubscribe instructions appear at the bottom of every non-critical email. Critical security and account emails cannot be turned off.

13. Data retention

Account, profile, and content data are retained while your account is active. When you delete your account, your Personal Profile, sessions, and license key are removed; your Business and Capital profiles, events, and resources are soft-deleted (hidden from the public, slugs released) and remain in the database for an audit and recovery window before permanent deletion. Moderation reports and admin notes are retained for accountability. Audit logs (license-key history, admin actions, moderation history, consent records) and billing records are retained as long as needed for legal, tax, and accountability purposes. Backups roll off on their own schedule. You can ask us to delete data earlier using §15.

14. How do we protect your information?

Startup Otter implements a variety of security measures to maintain the safety of your personal information when you register, place an order, or enter, submit, or access your personal information. All traffic is served over TLS/SSL, and any payment information you supply is transmitted directly to our PCI-compliant payment gateway and encrypted into their systems, accessible only to those authorized with special access rights and required to keep the information confidential. Passwords are bcrypt-hashed and never stored or logged in plaintext. Uploaded files are served from signed, unguessable storage paths. We rate-limit account-recovery flows, lock out accounts after repeated failed sign-in attempts, and offer multi-factor authentication. We limit access to data to the appropriate parties who need it to execute a request. After a transaction, your private payment information is not stored on our servers except as needed by our payment processor to support a recurring subscription. Links from our site to external websites do not operate under this Privacy Policy — those third-party websites may independently solicit and collect information from you, including personal and financial data, and we recommend you consult the privacy statement of any third-party website you visit. Startup Otter will exercise all reasonable efforts to safeguard the confidentiality of member information; however, transmissions protected by industry-standard security technology and implemented by human beings cannot be made absolutely secure. Consequently, Startup Otter shall not be liable for unauthorized disclosure of personal information occurring through no fault of Startup Otter, including but not limited to errors in transmission and unauthorized acts of third parties. If you believe your account has been compromised, change your password and email hello@startupotter.com immediately.

15. What are your data protection rights?

Startup Otter would like to make sure you are fully aware of all of your data protection rights. Every member is entitled to the following. The right to access — you have the right to request copies of your personal data; we may charge a small fee where a request is excessive or repetitive. The right to rectification — you have the right to request that we correct any information you believe is inaccurate, and to request that we complete information you believe is incomplete. The right to erasure — you have the right to request that we erase your personal data, under certain conditions. The right to restrict processing — you have the right to request that we restrict the processing of your personal data, under certain conditions. The right to object to processing — you have the right to object to our processing of your personal data, under certain conditions. The right to data portability — you have the right to request that we transfer the data we have collected to another organization, or directly to you, under certain conditions. The right to withdraw consent — you may withdraw a consent you previously gave at any time. If you make a request, we have one month to respond to you. Much of this is self-service: you can edit or delete your Personal Profile, Business profiles, Capital profiles, events, and resources from your dashboard; change your handle (subject to availability) and your URL slug; adjust notification, digest, and Otter Assist preferences; and delete your account at any time from Account Settings. To exercise any right that is not self-service, email hello@startupotter.com from the address on your account.

16. California privacy rights (CalOPPA & CCPA/CPRA)

Because Startup Otter values your privacy, we have taken the necessary precautions to comply with the California Online Privacy Protection Act. We will not distribute your personal information to outside parties without your consent, and all members of our site may make changes to their information at any time from their dashboard or by contacting us by email. We honor Do Not Track signals to the extent our analytics providers support them. If you are a California resident you may also have the right to know what personal information we collect and how it is used and shared, to request deletion or correction, to request a portable copy, and not to be discriminated against for exercising these rights. Startup Otter does not sell or share personal information for cross-context behavioral advertising, and we do not run advertising networks on the platform. To make a California request, email hello@startupotter.com with the subject "California privacy request"; you may use an authorized agent, and we will verify your request against the email on your account.

17. Children's privacy (COPPA)

Startup Otter is a professional platform for founders, operators, businesses, and investors. Consistent with the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act, our Terms of Service require members to be at least 13 years old, and we do not knowingly collect personal information from anyone under 13 years of age. We do not direct the platform to children, we do not knowingly serve them, and we do not condition participation on a child disclosing more information than is reasonably necessary. If you believe a child under 13 has created an account or provided us personal information, email hello@startupotter.com and we will delete the account and its data promptly. A parent or legal guardian may also contact us at that address to review, correct, or request deletion of a child's information, or to withdraw consent for its further use.

18. Use of the site by minors

Members between 13 and 18 years of age may use Startup Otter only with the knowledge and consent of a parent or legal guardian, and that parent or guardian is responsible for the member's use of the platform — including any paid plan, any event they register for, any message they send, and any content they publish. Startup Otter may require written parental or guardian consent before a member under 18 participates in an activity, event, or program organized by Startup Otter, and may decline to include a minor in photography or video without a signed release. We encourage parents and guardians to review this Policy with a younger member and to contact us at hello@startupotter.com with any question about the information we hold.

19. Comments and feedback

You acknowledge and agree that any questions, comments, suggestions, ideas, feedback, or other information you provide to us about the platform ("Comments") are not confidential, and you grant us a worldwide, perpetual, irrevocable, royalty-free license to reproduce, display, perform, distribute, publish, modify, edit, or otherwise use such Comments as we deem appropriate, for any commercial or non-commercial purpose, in our sole discretion. This does not apply to the content you publish on your profiles, in Chatter, in resources, or in events, which is governed by the license in our Terms of Service and remains yours.

20. Third-party links & affiliate links

Occasionally, at our discretion, we may include or offer third-party products, services, resources, or events on the platform, and members regularly publish links of their own. These third-party sites have separate and independent privacy policies. We therefore have no responsibility or liability for the content and activities of these linked sites; nonetheless we seek to protect the integrity of our site and welcome feedback about them. Third-party links may include affiliate links, from which Startup Otter may earn a commission at no additional cost to you — see our Affiliate Policy for details on labeling and editorial independence.

21. Terms of Service

Please also review our Terms of Service, which establish the use, disclaimers, and limitations of liability governing your use of startupotter.com, along with our Returns Policy, Affiliate Policy, and Accessibility Statement.

22. Changes to this Privacy Policy

We will occasionally update this Privacy Policy. When changes are made, the "Last updated" date below will be revised, and material changes will be announced in-app or by email. We recommend you check this page from time to time to inform yourself of any changes to this Policy or our other policies. You retain the right to access your data, correct or remove it, or withdraw your consent for processing at any time by writing to hello@startupotter.com; the withdrawal of consent does not affect the lawfulness of processing based on consent before its withdrawal.

23. Your consent & how to contact us

By using our site, publishing a profile, purchasing a plan, or otherwise using Startup Otter, you consent to this Privacy Policy. Questions, requests, or complaints about this Policy, or about how your data is handled: hello@startupotter.com. Billing and refund questions: billing@startupotter.com. You may also use the contact form at startupotter.com/contact.