Privacy Policy

Founders Connect ("we," "our," or "us") is a startup recruiting agency committed to protecting your privacy. This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, disclose, and safeguard your personal information when you use our website, services, or interact with us in any capacity.

This policy applies to candidates, client contacts, and visitors to our website. Where we rely on your consent for a specific activity, we say so and ask for it separately.

1. Information We Collect

Personal Information

We may collect the following personal information when you interact with our services:

• Full name, email address, phone number, and mailing address
• Resume or CV, including work history, education, skills, and certifications
• LinkedIn profile URL and other professional social media profiles
• Current and desired job titles, salary expectations, and location preferences
• Interview notes, call recordings and transcripts where you have been informed and recording is permitted
• Company name and role (for employer clients)
• Any other information you voluntarily provide through forms, emails, or conversations

We do not request sensitive personal information such as race, ethnicity, religion, health data, or government identification numbers, and we ask that you do not provide it. Where salary history or expectations are restricted by applicable law, we collect only what that law permits.

Usage Data

We automatically collect certain information when you visit our website, including:

• IP address, browser type, and operating system
• Pages visited, time spent on pages, and referring URLs
• Device identifiers and general location data

Cookies and Tracking Technologies

We use cookies and similar tracking technologies to enhance your browsing experience, analyze website traffic, and understand user behavior. See Section 14 for more details on our cookie practices.

2. How We Use Your Information

We use the information we collect for the following purposes:

Recruiting Services

• Matching candidates with relevant job opportunities at our client companies
• Evaluating candidate qualifications and suitability for specific roles
• Facilitating introductions and interviews between candidates and employers
• Managing the recruitment process from initial contact through placement

Talent Network and Future Opportunities

If you join our talent network or ask us to keep your details on file, we retain your profile so we can contact you about future roles. This is separate from any specific application and is based on your consent. You can withdraw that consent at any time by emailing us, and we will remove your profile from the talent network.

Communication

• Responding to inquiries and requests submitted through our contact form or email
• Sending job opportunity notifications that match your profile and preferences
• Providing updates on the status of your application or job search
• Sharing industry insights, career advice, and relevant content (with your consent)

Service Improvement

• Analyzing website usage patterns to improve our platform and user experience
• Developing new features, services, and recruiting methodologies
• Conducting internal research and analytics to better serve our clients and candidates

3. Legal Bases for Processing

Where data protection law requires us to identify a legal basis for processing your personal information, we rely on the following:

• Legitimate interests. Operating our recruiting business, matching candidates to roles, and communicating with candidates and clients about live opportunities. We balance these interests against your rights and freedoms.
• Consent. Marketing communications, optional content, and any processing you have specifically agreed to. You may withdraw consent at any time.
• Contract. Performing our obligations to client companies and to candidates who have engaged our services.
• Legal obligation. Retaining records where law or regulation requires it.

4. Automated Processing and Artificial Intelligence

We use software tools, including artificial intelligence, to assist with sourcing, screening, document preparation, scheduling, and note-taking. Three commitments govern this use:

• No automated decisions. No candidate is advanced, rejected, or otherwise decided upon by an automated system. Every decision involving a candidate is made by a person.
• No model training. We do not use candidate or client personal information to train, fine-tune, or otherwise improve any artificial intelligence model, and we do not permit our service providers to do so with information we supply.
• Human review. Any output generated with the assistance of these tools, including candidate summaries and written materials, is reviewed by a person before it is shared with a client or candidate.

You may ask us how these tools were used in connection with your information by contacting us using the details in Section 15.

5. Information Sharing

We do not sell your personal information, and we do not share it for cross-context behavioral advertising.

With Client Companies

When you apply for a position or express interest in job opportunities, we share relevant portions of your profile (such as your resume, skills, and experience) with our client companies for the purpose of job matching and evaluation. We only share your information with employers who have active, relevant openings that align with your qualifications and preferences, and only where you have agreed to that specific submission.

Service Providers

We share information with trusted third-party service providers who assist us in operating our business. These fall into the following categories:

• Applicant tracking and candidate relationship management, including Shinsa, our own applicant tracking system, where candidate records are stored
• Email, calendar, and document storage
• Cloud hosting and infrastructure
• Sourcing, enrichment, and professional network tools
• Scheduling, video conferencing, and meeting transcription
• Payment processing and accounting

These providers are contractually obligated to keep your information confidential, to process it only on our instructions, and to apply appropriate security measures. A current list of sub-processors is available on request.

Legal Requirements

We may disclose your information if required to do so by law, or if we believe in good faith that such action is necessary to comply with legal obligations, protect our rights or safety, or investigate potential violations.

Business Transfers

If we are involved in a merger, acquisition, or sale of assets, your information may be transferred as part of that transaction. We will notify you before your information becomes subject to a different privacy policy.

6. International Transfers

We are based in the United States and process information there. If you are located in the European Economic Area, the United Kingdom, Switzerland, or another jurisdiction with cross-border transfer requirements, your information may be transferred to and processed in the United States.

Where we make such transfers, we rely on appropriate safeguards, including the European Commission's Standard Contractual Clauses and the UK International Data Transfer Addendum, together with supplementary measures where required. You may request a copy of the relevant safeguards by contacting us.

7. Data Retention

We retain personal information only as long as necessary for the purposes described in this policy.

• Candidate records. Retained for 24 months from your last substantive interaction with us. If you engage with us again during that period, the retention period restarts.
• Placed candidates and client records. Retained for 7 years following the end of the engagement, to meet contractual, tax, and legal obligations.
• Website usage data. Retained for 14 months.
• Marketing contact data. Retained until you unsubscribe or ask us to delete it.

At the end of a retention period we delete the information or irreversibly anonymize it. You may ask us to delete your information earlier, as described in Section 9.

8. Data Security

We implement appropriate technical and organizational measures to protect your personal information against unauthorized access, alteration, disclosure, or destruction. These measures include encryption of data in transit and at rest, secure cloud infrastructure, role-based access controls, multi-factor authentication on systems holding personal information, least-privilege access limited to personnel who need it, and periodic review of our security practices and those of our service providers.

While we strive to protect your information, no method of transmission over the internet or electronic storage is completely secure. We cannot guarantee absolute security but are committed to maintaining industry-standard protections.

Breach Notification

If we become aware of a personal data breach affecting your information, we will notify the relevant supervisory authority without undue delay and within 72 hours of becoming aware of it where required by law. Where the breach is likely to result in a high risk to your rights and freedoms, we will notify you directly without undue delay. Where the breach affects information we process on behalf of a client company, we will notify that client without undue delay so they can meet their own obligations.

9. Your Rights

You have the following rights regarding your personal information:

• Access: You may request a copy of the personal information we hold about you at any time.
• Correction: You may request that we correct any inaccurate or incomplete personal information.
• Deletion: You may request that we delete your personal information, subject to any legal obligations that require us to retain certain data.
• Restriction and objection: You may ask us to restrict processing, or object to processing carried out on the basis of legitimate interests.
• Opt-out: You may opt out of receiving marketing communications at any time by using the unsubscribe link in our emails or contacting us directly.
• Data Portability: Where applicable, you may request a copy of your data in a structured, commonly used, and machine-readable format.
• Withdraw consent: Where we rely on consent, you may withdraw it at any time without affecting processing carried out before withdrawal.
• Complain: You may lodge a complaint with your local data protection authority.

To exercise any of these rights, contact us using the information in Section 15. We will acknowledge your request promptly and respond within 30 days. Where a request is complex, we may extend this by a further 60 days and will tell you if we do. We do not charge a fee for these requests or discriminate against you for making one. We may ask you to verify your identity before we act.

10. California Privacy Rights

If you are a California resident, the California Consumer Privacy Act as amended by the California Privacy Rights Act gives you specific rights.

Categories of personal information we collect. In the twelve months before the date of this policy we have collected the following categories: identifiers (name, email, phone, address, IP address); professional or employment information (resume, work history, job titles, salary expectations); education information; internet activity (website usage); and inferences drawn from this information for job matching. We collect these from you directly, from professional networking sites and public sources, and from our client companies.

We do not sell or share your personal information. We have not sold personal information or shared it for cross-context behavioral advertising in the preceding twelve months, and we do not do so now. We do not have actual knowledge of selling or sharing the personal information of anyone under 16.

Sensitive personal information. We do not collect sensitive personal information as defined by the CPRA for the purpose of inferring characteristics, and we do not use or disclose it beyond the purposes permitted by law.

Your California rights. In addition to the rights in Section 9, you have the right to know what personal information we collect, use, and disclose; the right to delete; the right to correct; the right to opt out of sale or sharing (we do neither); the right to limit the use of sensitive personal information; and the right not to be discriminated against for exercising any of these rights. We will not deny you services, charge you a different price, or provide a different level of service because you exercised a privacy right.

Authorized agents. You may use an authorized agent to submit a request on your behalf. We will ask the agent for written proof of authorization and may ask you to verify your identity directly.

To exercise any California right, email us at jonny@foundersconnect.co with "California Privacy Request" in the subject line.

11. Other United States Privacy Rights

Residents of other states with comprehensive privacy laws, including Virginia, Colorado, Connecticut, Utah, Texas, Oregon, Montana, and others as those laws take effect, have similar rights to access, correct, delete, and obtain a portable copy of their personal information, and to opt out of targeted advertising, sale, and profiling that produces legal or similarly significant effects. We do not engage in targeted advertising, sale, or that form of profiling.

If we decline your request, you may appeal by replying to our response with the word "Appeal." We will respond to an appeal within 45 days and tell you how to contact your state attorney general if you disagree with the outcome.

12. Children's Privacy

Our services are intended for people aged 18 and over. We do not knowingly collect personal information from anyone under 18. If you believe we have collected information from a minor, contact us and we will delete it.

13. Background Checks

We do not conduct background checks, credit checks, or consumer reports on candidates. Where a client company requires one, it is arranged directly between you and that company or its screening provider, under their own notice and authorization process.

14. Cookies

Our website uses cookies to provide a better user experience. Cookies are small text files stored on your device that help us recognize you on return visits and understand how you use our website.

We use the following types of cookies:

• Essential Cookies: Required for the website to function properly, such as session management and security features.
• Analytics Cookies: Help us understand how visitors interact with our website, allowing us to improve our content and functionality.
• Functional Cookies: Remember your preferences and settings to provide a personalized experience.

You can control cookie settings through your browser preferences. Disabling certain cookies may affect the functionality of our website.

15. Contact Information

If you have any questions about this Privacy Policy, wish to exercise your data rights, or have concerns about how your information is handled, please contact us at:

Founders Connect
Email: jonny@foundersconnect.co

You may also reach us through our contact page.

16. Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. We will post the revised version on this page and update the "Last updated" date above. Where changes are material, we will take reasonable steps to notify you directly. Continued use of our services after the revised policy takes effect indicates acceptance of the changes.