Terms of Service

Last updated: April 2026

Acceptance of Terms

By accessing or using Whetstone Network ("the Service"), you agree to be bound by these Terms of Service. If you do not agree to these terms, please do not use our service. You must be at least 18 years old or have reached the age of majority in your jurisdiction to use Whetstone Network.

Service Description

Whetstone Network is a service that connects builders with human experts for short, one-on-one video sessions to sharpen plans before committing real time, money, and energy. The Service includes:

• A session request flow at whetstone.network
• Matching with experts based on the domain and context you submit
• Scheduling tools for one-on-one sessions
• The sessions themselves, conducted with independent experts
• Communications related to your account, scheduling, and sessions

Accounts

When requesting a session and using the Service:

• You must provide accurate and complete information when requesting a session
• We may approve, decline, or defer session requests at our discretion, including based on expert availability and fit
• Approval of a session does not entitle you to ongoing access; we may pause, modify, or end your access at any time
• You are responsible for maintaining the security of any access credentials we provide
• You may not share your access with others; each user must request access individually
• You are responsible for all activities that occur under your access

Sessions and Experts

Sessions on Whetstone Network are conducted by independent experts:

• Independent providers: Experts are independent providers, not employees of Whetstone Network or 2nd Foundry. We screen experts at our discretion but do not warrant any expert's qualifications, expertise, or fitness for a particular purpose.
• Confidentiality: We expect both you and the expert to keep the substance of your conversations confidential, and our expert agreements impose confidentiality obligations on experts.
• No recording without consent: Sessions may not be recorded without the prior consent of all participants.
• One-and-done, no pitching: Whetstone Network is a one-and-done engagement. Experts agree, as a condition of being on the network, that they will not pitch you on, solicit, or otherwise promote ongoing consulting, advisory, coaching, fractional, retainer, or other paid services from themselves, their company, or anyone affiliated with them, during or after your session. The session is the product. If you and the expert later choose, on your own initiative and outside the Service, to engage in further work together, that is between the two of you and is not facilitated, endorsed, or supported by Whetstone Network.

Note: Whetstone Network is a service to assist with planning and decision-making. Nothing said during a session, posted on the Service, or otherwise communicated through the Service constitutes legal, financial, medical, tax, investment, or other professional advice. Users are solely responsible for any decisions they make and any actions they take based on a session.

Acceptable Use

You agree to use Whetstone Network only for lawful purposes. You may not:

• Attempt to gain unauthorized access to any part of the Service or other users' data
• Submit information that is false, misleading, or impersonates another person
• Interfere with other users' access to or use of the Service
• Harass, threaten, defame, or harm any person, including any expert
• Record sessions without the prior consent of all participants
• Attempt to reverse engineer, decompile, or disassemble the Service
• Use the Service to develop a competing service or to scrape or extract content for training machine learning models
• Use automated systems (bots, scrapers) to access the Service without permission

Data Ownership

Regarding the data you submit to Whetstone Network:

• Your Data: You retain ownership of the context you share when requesting a session and the materials you bring to a session. Your ideas, plans, and work product are yours.
• License to Us: By using the Service, you grant us a non-exclusive, worldwide, royalty-free license to store, process, display, and share your data with matched experts as necessary to provide the Service.
• What we will not do with your content: We will not use the substance of what you share (your idea, plan, business, or materials) to build a competing product, to market other products to you or to other users, or to train machine learning models on the substance of your content. We will not share the substance of your content with anyone outside the matched expert and our personnel and contractors who need it to operate the Service. Experts are bound by confidentiality obligations to us.
• Matching insights: Separately from the substance of your content, we may collect, retain, and analyze structured matching-outcome data, including the category of problem submitted, the expert who was matched, the domain and session length selected, and how the match performed (for example, whether the session occurred and any feedback provided). We may use this matching-outcome data to operate, improve, and eventually train machine learning models that power our matching, in a way that does not expose the substance of what you shared.
• Data Portability: You may request an export of your data at any time by contacting us.
• Confidentiality of context: We will not publish the context you submit publicly without your consent.

Intellectual Property

Intellectual property rights are divided as follows:

• Whetstone Network Property: The Service, including its design, features, code, and branding (the "Whetstone Network" name, logo, and trademarks), is owned by Whetstone Network or 2nd Foundry and is protected by intellectual property laws
• User Content: You retain all rights to the content and data you create within the Service
• Feedback: If you send us feedback, ideas, or suggestions, you grant us a non-exclusive, worldwide, royalty-free, perpetual license to use that feedback for any purpose, without obligation to you

Payments

Pricing for sessions is published on the Service and may change from time to time. By booking a paid session, you authorize us (and our third-party payment processor) to charge the payment method you provide for the amount shown at checkout, plus any applicable taxes. Payments are processed by a third-party payment processor subject to its own terms. Refund and cancellation terms are published on the Service and form part of these Terms.

Service Availability

The Service is provided on an "as is" and "as available" basis. We do not guarantee uninterrupted or error-free operation. We reserve the right to modify, suspend, or discontinue the Service (or any part of it) at any time, with or without notice. We will make reasonable efforts to notify you of significant changes that affect your use of the Service.

Limitation of Liability

To the fullest extent permitted by law:

• Disclaimer: We disclaim all warranties, express or implied, including warranties of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, and non-infringement
• Limitation: Whetstone Network shall not be liable for any indirect, incidental, special, consequential, or punitive damages, including loss of data, profits, or business opportunities, arising out of or related to your use of the Service
• Indemnification: You agree to indemnify and hold harmless Whetstone Network and 2nd Foundry from any claims arising from your use of the Service or violation of these Terms

Note: Whetstone Network is a service to help you sharpen your plans. It does not replace professional judgment or due diligence. Users are responsible for their own decisions and actions, and for ensuring their conduct complies with applicable laws and regulations.

Account Termination

Account termination may occur as follows:

• By You: You may request deletion of your access at any time by contacting support
• By Us: We may suspend or terminate your access if you violate these Terms, engage in fraudulent activity, or pose a risk to other users or the Service
• Data Handling: Upon account deletion, your personal data will be removed, but records necessary for compliance, dispute resolution, or abuse prevention may be retained per our data retention policy

Changes to Terms

We reserve the right to update these Terms of Service at any time. We will notify you of material changes by posting the updated terms on this page and updating the "Last updated" date. For significant changes, we may also notify you via email. Your continued use of the Service after changes are posted constitutes acceptance of the modified Terms.

Governing Law

These Terms of Service shall be governed by and construed in accordance with applicable laws, without regard to conflict of law principles. Any disputes arising from these Terms or your use of the Service shall be resolved through good-faith negotiation, and if necessary, binding arbitration.

Contact Us

If you have any questions about these Terms of Service, reach out to us at hello@whetstone.network.