Privacy Policy

Last updated: 2 May 2026 · Version 1.0

StartupCorners is operated by Linked Corners Inc, a Delaware C-corporation registered in the United States ("Linked Corners," "we," "us," or "our"). This policy describes how we collect, use, share, and protect personal information when you use the StartupCorners website and platform (the "Service").

We've tried to write this in plain language. If something is unclear, email us at hello@startupcorners.com.

1. Information we collect

Information you provide

Name, email address, password (hashed, never stored in plain text)
Profile content: photo, bio, role, company, expertise, social links
Startup, organization, or investor entity information you publish
Content you upload: pitch decks, KPI data, files, posts, messages, comments
Payment information (processed by Stripe — we never see your full card number)
Anything you write to us through in-app chat or email

Information collected automatically

IP address, browser, operating system, device identifiers
Pages visited, features used, profile views, link clicks
Session timestamps and duration
Error logs and performance metrics

Cookies and similar technologies

We use cookies for authentication, session management, preferences (e.g. Founding Member source attribution via the sc_source cookie), and aggregate analytics. Most browsers let you control cookies; disabling essential cookies may prevent the Service from functioning.

For aggregate analytics we use Google Analytics 4 to measure non-personalised usage metrics (page views, session counts, country-level geography). You can opt out via the Google Analytics Opt-out Browser Add-on.

2. How we use your information

To provide the Service: create and manage your account, render your profile, deliver core features (investor pipeline, KPI tracker, updates, community).
Communications: service notifications, security alerts, transactional emails (e.g. signup confirmation, welcome email). Marketing emails only with your consent.
AI features: when you use AI features (drafting outreach, investor matching, summarising updates), prompts and outputs are processed by Anthropic. See section 8 for details.
Analytics and improvement: understand usage, fix bugs, improve the product.
Security: detect, prevent, investigate fraud, abuse, or unauthorised access.
Legal compliance: meet our obligations under applicable law.

3. Sub-processors

We use the following third parties to operate the Service. Each is bound by data-protection terms equivalent to ours.

Stripe — payment processing — United States
Resend — transactional email — United States
Anthropic — AI features — United States
Railway — hosting and database — United States and EU regions
Cloudflare R2 — file storage — multi-region
Stream — in-app chat — United States
Google OAuth — sign-in (when you choose Google) — United States
Google Analytics — aggregate website analytics — United States

Sub-processors may change as we evolve. We'll update this list when changes occur.

4. Data residency and international transfers

Application data is stored on Railway (US and EU regions). Files are stored on Cloudflare R2 (multi-region). AI processing happens at Anthropic in the United States. Email is sent through Resend in the United States.

If you're in the European Economic Area (EEA) or the United Kingdom, your data is transferred to and processed in the United States and other regions. We rely on the European Commission's Standard Contractual Clauses (SCCs) for these transfers. A Data Processing Addendum (DPA) is available on request.

As a US company offering services to users in the EEA and UK, we're subject to the GDPR under Article 3(2). We follow GDPR principles for our EU/UK users.

Lawful bases we rely on:

Contract performance — to provide the platform you signed up for
Legitimate interest — for analytics, security, and fraud prevention
Consent — for marketing emails (you can withdraw at any time)

Your rights: access, rectification, erasure, portability, restriction, and objection. Contact hello@startupcorners.com to exercise any of these. We respond within 30 days.

Our data-protection contact is the founder. We have not appointed a dedicated DPO; this isn't legally required at our current size. If you're unsatisfied with our response, you have the right to lodge a complaint with your local supervisory authority.

6. CCPA (for California residents)

As a US-incorporated company, Linked Corners Inc is directly subject to the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) for California users.

We do not sell personal information.
Right to know: request what personal information we have about you
Right to delete: request deletion (some retention may be required for legal or financial obligations)
Right to correct: request correction of inaccurate personal information
Right to non-discrimination: we won't penalise you for exercising your rights

Response time: 45 days. Email hello@startupcorners.com to exercise any of these.

We do not sell personal information. We share information in three situations:

With sub-processors (listed in section 3) — only to operate the Service.
With other users — content you mark as public (your profile, posts, public comments) is visible to others. Granular per-share-link visibility controls let you limit who sees what.
For legal reasons — to comply with valid legal process, protect our rights, prevent fraud, or in connection with a merger, acquisition, or asset sale (we'll notify you 30 days in advance if this affects how your data is processed).

8. AI and LLM data usage

When you use AI features (drafting outreach, finding matching investors, summarising updates), your prompts and the resulting content are processed by Anthropic.

Three things to know:

Anthropic does not train models on your data (per their data usage policy for our API tier).
We retain transient logs for debugging only, for up to 30 days.
We do not use your AI prompts or outputs to train any models ourselves.

If you have concerns about specific content being processed by AI, do not use AI features for that content.

9. Data security

Encryption in transit using TLS
Encryption at rest at the database and storage layers
Bcrypt-hashed passwords; optional two-factor authentication (TOTP)
Role-based access controls limiting employee access to personal data
Automated backups and disaster-recovery procedures

We're not currently SOC 2 or ISO 27001 audited. We follow standard security practices and will pursue formal certifications as we scale.

No method of transmission over the internet is perfectly secure. If we become aware of a security incident affecting your data, we'll notify you in line with applicable law.

10. Data retention and deletion

Active accounts: retained for as long as your account is active.
Account deletion: request deletion by emailing hello@startupcorners.com from the address on your account. We confirm within 48 hours, then soft-delete your data for 30 days (in case the deletion was accidental), then permanently remove it from our active systems. Self-serve account deletion is on the roadmap.
Backups: backups containing your data are purged within 90 days.
Transaction records: billing, payment, and tax records are retained as long as legally required (typically 7 years in the US).
Legal holds: we may retain limited information longer if legally required (fraud investigations, litigation).

Public profiles: if your profile was public, search engines may have cached versions. Deleting your account removes the profile from our systems, but we cannot remove cached copies from third parties.

Self-serve data export is on the roadmap. For now, email hello@startupcorners.com and we'll send you a JSON dump within 48 hours.

11. Your choices

Account settings: update or correct your profile anytime.
Privacy controls: set per-section and per-link visibility for your profile and updates.
Marketing emails: unsubscribe via the link in any marketing email.
Cookies: manage through your browser settings.
Account deletion: request anytime. See section 10.

12. Children's privacy

StartupCorners is not intended for users under 16. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 16. If you are a parent or guardian and believe your child has provided us with personal information, contact hello@startupcorners.com and we'll delete it.

13. Changes to this policy

We may update this policy from time to time. When we make material changes, we'll update the "Last updated" date and notify you via email or in-app notice at least 30 days before the changes take effect. Where required by law, we'll obtain your consent before applying material changes.

14. Contact

Privacy questions, complaints, or rights requests: hello@startupcorners.com.

Postal:

Linked Corners Inc
Delaware, United States