Privacy Policy for Startup Ignition
Last Updated: March 31, 2025
Welcome to Startup Ignition. At Startup Ignition and its related companies ("we," "our," or "us"), we are committed to protecting your privacy. This Privacy Policy ("Policy") explains how we collect, use, share, and protect the personal information of users of our website, startupignition.com (the "Site"), and any related services, including our AI-powered career and entrepreneurial guidance platform. This Policy applies to all websites, applications, and services that link to this Policy.
1. Information We Collect
We collect information about you in various forms, including personal data. "Personal data" refers to any information that can be used to identify you, either alone or in combination with other information, as defined by applicable data protection laws such as the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA). We collect the following types of information:
Information You Provide to Us: When you interact with our Site or services, you may provide personal data such as your name, email address, postal address, phone number, and demographic information (e.g., age or gender). If you connect your LinkedIn account to our platform with your consent, we may also collect data from your LinkedIn profile, including your bio, work history, and education history, to provide personalized recommendations.
Information We Collect from Third Parties: With your explicit consent, we may obtain information about you from third-party services, such as LinkedIn, through APIs like the Member Data Portability API. This data may include your LinkedIn profile information, which we use to enhance our AI-driven recommendations for startup ideas and career paths.
Information Automatically Collected: When you visit our Site or use our services, we automatically collect certain information about your device and usage, including your IP address, browser type, operating system, referring website, pages viewed, time spent on pages, access times, and interaction with our Site. We may use cookies, web beacons, and similar technologies to collect this information. You can manage your cookie preferences through your browser settings.
2. How We Use Your Information
We use your personal information for the following purposes:
To Provide and Improve Our Services: We use your data to operate, maintain, and enhance our Site and services, including our AI-powered platform that suggests founder-market-fit startup ideas and career paths based on your LinkedIn profile data (e.g., bio, work history, education history).
To Personalize Your Experience: We analyze your data to deliver tailored recommendations, such as startup ideas or career opportunities that align with your professional background and interests.
To Communicate with You: We may use your information to respond to your inquiries, provide customer support, and send you confirmations, invoices, technical notices, updates, security alerts, and administrative messages.
To Inform You About Promotions and Events: With your consent, we may send you information about promotions, upcoming events, and news about products and services offered by us or our trusted partners.
To Ensure Security and Compliance: We use your data to monitor and prevent fraud, enforce our terms of service, and comply with legal obligations.
We will only process your personal data where we have a lawful basis to do so, such as with your consent, to fulfill a contract with you, or to comply with a legal obligation.
3. Sharing of Personal Information
We do not sell your personal information. We may share your personal data in the following circumstances:
With Your Consent: We will share your data with third parties if you have explicitly consented to such sharing. For example, if you authorize us to access your LinkedIn profile, we will only use that data for the purposes you’ve approved.
With Service Providers: We may share your data with trusted third-party service providers who perform services on our behalf, such as hosting, data analysis, payment processing, or customer support. These providers are contractually obligated to protect your data and use it only for the purposes we specify.
For Legal and Safety Purposes: We may disclose your data if required by law, to comply with legal processes, or to protect the rights, property, or safety of Startup Ignition, our users, or the public.
In Connection with Business Transfers: If Startup Ignition is involved in a merger, acquisition, or sale of assets, your personal data may be transferred as part of that transaction. We will notify you of any such change in ownership or control of your data.
4. Data Retention
We retain your personal data only for as long as necessary to fulfill the purposes outlined in this Policy, unless a longer retention period is required or permitted by law. For example, LinkedIn profile data collected with your consent will be retained only for the duration needed to provide our recommendations, after which it will be securely deleted unless you request otherwise.
5. Security of Your Personal Information
We take reasonable and appropriate measures to protect your personal information from loss, theft, misuse, unauthorized access, disclosure, alteration, and destruction. These measures include encryption, access controls, and secure storage practices. However, no method of transmission over the internet or electronic storage is 100% secure, and we cannot guarantee absolute security.
6. International Data Transfers
Startup Ignition is based in the United States, and your personal data may be stored and processed in the U.S. or other countries where we or our service providers operate. These countries may have data protection laws that differ from those in your country of residence. By using our Site and services, you consent to the transfer of your data to these countries. We ensure that any international data transfers comply with applicable laws, such as by implementing Standard Contractual Clauses (SCCs) where required under GDPR.
7. Your Rights and Choices
You have certain rights regarding your personal data, depending on your location and applicable laws:
Access: You can request access to the personal data we hold about you.
Correction: You can request that we correct or update inaccurate or incomplete data.
Deletion: You can request that we delete your personal data, subject to certain exceptions (e.g., where we are required to retain data for legal reasons).
Restriction: You can request that we restrict the processing of your data in certain circumstances.
Objection: You can object to the processing of your data for specific purposes, such as marketing.
Data Portability: You can request a copy of your data in a structured, commonly used, and machine-readable format.
Withdraw Consent: If we process your data based on your consent (e.g., for LinkedIn profile data), you can withdraw your consent at any time, and we will cease processing that data.
To exercise these rights, please contact us at academy@startupignition.com. We will respond to your request within the timeframes required by law (e.g., within 30 days under GDPR). If you are a California resident, you may also have additional rights under the CCPA, such as the right to opt out of the sale of your personal information (though we do not sell your data).
8. Third-Party Integrations (Including LinkedIn)
Our platform integrates with third-party services like LinkedIn to provide enhanced functionality. If you choose to connect your LinkedIn account to our platform, we will request your explicit consent to access your LinkedIn profile data via the Member Data Portability API. This data may include your bio, work history, and education history, which we use solely to generate personalized startup and career recommendations. We will not use your LinkedIn data for any other purpose, and you can revoke our access at any time through your LinkedIn account settings or by contacting us.
9. Cookies and Tracking Technologies
We use cookies and similar technologies to enhance your experience, analyze usage, and improve our services. You can manage your cookie preferences through your browser settings or by contacting us. For more information, please refer to our Cookie Policy (available upon request).
10. Children’s Privacy
Our Site and services are not intended for individuals under the age of 16. We do not knowingly collect personal data from children under 16. If we learn that we have collected such data, we will take steps to delete it promptly.
11. Changes to This Privacy Policy
We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in our practices or legal requirements. If we make material changes, we will notify you by updating the "Last Updated" date at the top of this Policy and, where required by law, by providing additional notice (e.g., via email). We encourage you to review this Policy periodically.
12. Contact Information
We welcome your questions, comments, or concerns about this Privacy Policy. You can reach us at:
Startup Ignition
3214 N University Ave #311
Provo, UT 84604
Email: academy@startupignition.com
If you are in the European Economic Area (EEA) and have concerns about our data practices, you also have the right to lodge a complaint with your local data protection authority