Terms of Service

Welcome to FireLaunch (“FireLaunch,” “we,” “us”). These Terms of Service (“Terms”) govern your access to and use of firelaunch.dev, the FireLaunch app, our API, our email newsletter, and any related services (collectively, the “Service”). By creating an account, submitting a listing, joining the affiliate program, or otherwise using the Service, you agree to these Terms.

FireLaunch is operated by Ninsei Labs (the “Operator”). If you do not agree to these Terms, do not use the Service.

1. The Service

FireLaunch is a launch board for indie makers. We let you list a product, earn engagement signals (“Spark”), and, if your launch crosses certain thresholds, gain permanent placement in “The Forge.” The Service includes paid tiers, optional add-ons such as Sponsor Rail placements, and an affiliate program.

2. Eligibility

You must be at least 16 years old to create an account. You must provide accurate information at sign-up and keep that information current. Each account belongs to a single person or entity; we may suspend duplicate or fraudulent accounts at our discretion.

3. Your account

You are responsible for all activity that occurs under your account, including activity by anyone you let access it. Keep your sign-in credentials private. If you believe your account has been accessed without authorization, contact us at hello@firelaunch.dev immediately.

4. Listings and content

You may submit listings, comments, screenshots, logos, and other content (“User Content”) to the Service. You retain all ownership and intellectual property rights in your User Content. By submitting User Content, you grant FireLaunch a worldwide, non-exclusive, royalty-free license to host, display, cache, index, and distribute that User Content as necessary to operate the Service. This license ends when you delete the content, except for content already incorporated into archived digests, search indexes, or third-party caches outside our control.

4.1 Prohibited content

You will not submit User Content that is illegal, fraudulent, misleading, infringing, defamatory, hateful, sexually explicit, designed to deceive payment-card processors or law enforcement, or otherwise harmful. You will not list products that:

• Are scams, phishing tools, pump-and-dump schemes, or designed to defraud users.
• Promise specific financial outcomes you cannot deliver.
• Require submission to or operation of unlicensed regulated activities (gambling, securities, controlled substances, financial advisory without applicable licenses, and similar).
• Contain malware, exploit kits, or unauthorized data harvesters.
• Use stolen branding, copyrighted materials you do not have rights to, or trademarks you do not own.
• Promote violence, sexual content involving minors, or content designed to harass or dox individuals.

We may remove any User Content at any time, with or without notice, when we believe it violates these rules.

4.2 Moderation

Every paid listing receives human review. We may approve, reject, or request edits to any submission. Rejection notes are sent by email and you may resubmit after addressing the feedback. Approval does not constitute an endorsement of your product.

5. Pricing, payments, and refunds

FireLaunch uses one-time pricing only. We do not offer subscriptions. Pricing for each tier and add-on is shown at /pricing; the price you see at checkout is the price you pay.

Payments are processed by Stripe. We do not store full payment card details; we only retain transaction metadata sufficient to issue refunds, generate receipts, and meet our tax and accounting obligations.

Refund policy. You may request a full refund of any one-time tier purchase within 14 days of the charge for any reason. After 14 days, refunds are at our sole discretion. Sponsor Rail and Newsletter Sponsor purchases are non-refundable once the placement window has begun. Founder seats are non-refundable because each seat is unique and the seat-count cap is enforced.

6. The Forge and Spark

Spark is the engagement score used to rank listings. The current formula and weights are published at /blog/the-math-behind-the-forge. We commit to never silently change the Spark formula. Any change carries a version bump and a changelog entry.

A listing that earns at least 250 Spark within 7 days of going live is inducted into The Forge and receives permanent placement. Founder tier listings are auto-inducted at purchase. Forge placement persists as long as the Service operates, subject to Section 14 (Termination).

7. Affiliate program

We pay 50% of the net sale amount as commission on every paid tier or add-on purchase attributed to your referral link. Attribution lasts the lifetime of the referred account. Cookies last 60 days from the initial click.

Commissions are held in a 14-day refund window. After 14 days, commissions clear and become payable. Cleared commissions are paid monthly on the 1st via Stripe Connect Express to your connected bank account, provided your cleared balance meets the $50 minimum. If a referred purchase is refunded, the related commission is reversed.

Self-referral on your first paid purchase is permitted. Beyond that, self-referral, vote manipulation, or other deceptive attribution schemes will result in clawback and possible termination of your affiliate participation.

8. The badge requirement (Kindling tier)

Kindling-tier listings must embed the FireLaunch badge on the product's linked website. We periodically verify badge presence. If a badge is missing for two consecutive checks, the listing is paused. If the badge returns, the listing is automatically restored. Permanently removing the badge while keeping a Kindling listing may result in delisting at our discretion.

9. Sponsor Rail and Newsletter Sponsor

Sponsor Rail placements appear in clearly labeled positions alongside organic listings. Sponsorship purchases are bound to the specific date window selected at checkout. We reserve the right to refuse or remove sponsor placements that conflict with Section 4.1 (Prohibited content).

10. Acceptable use

You will not:

• Use the Service to spam, harass, or harm other users.
• Attempt to manipulate Spark, the leaderboard, comments, or any ranking via coordinated voting, sock-puppet accounts, paid upvote services, or comment farms.
• Reverse engineer, decompile, or attempt to extract source code from the Service except where applicable law expressly permits.
• Scrape, mirror, or republish the Service or any substantial portion of it without our written consent.
• Use the Service to circumvent sanctions, export controls, or other applicable laws.

11. Our intellectual property

The FireLaunch name, logo, design system, copy, and the Spark formula presentation are owned by Ninsei Labs. You may not use these marks without written permission. The exception: maker badges we provide for embedding on your own website are licensed for that use only.

12. Privacy

Our Privacy Policy at /privacy-policy explains what data we collect, how we use it, and your rights. By using the Service you agree to the data practices described there.

13. Disclaimers

The Service is provided as is and as available. We do not warrant that the Service will be uninterrupted, error-free, or free of harmful components, or that the Service or any associated data will be accurate or reliable. To the maximum extent permitted by law, we disclaim all warranties, express or implied, including any warranties of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, non-infringement, and quiet enjoyment.

We are not responsible for the accuracy, legality, or quality of any product listed on FireLaunch by a third party. We do not endorse listed products; we host them.

14. Termination

You may close your account at any time by contacting us. We may suspend or close your account, remove listings, revoke The Forge placement, or terminate affiliate participation if you violate these Terms, attempt to manipulate the Service, or for any other reason we determine is necessary to protect the Service or its users.

If we terminate your account for cause, paid tier purchases are not refunded. If we terminate or wind down the Service entirely (a possibility we don't plan for but acknowledge), unused Sponsor Rail placements will be pro-rata refunded; one-time tier purchases will not be refunded; cleared affiliate balances above the $50 minimum will be paid out.

15. Limitation of liability

To the maximum extent permitted by law, FireLaunch and the Operator will not be liable for any indirect, incidental, special, consequential, or punitive damages, or for any loss of profits, revenue, data, goodwill, or other intangibles. Our aggregate liability for any claim arising out of or relating to the Service is limited to the greater of (a) the amounts paid by you to FireLaunch in the 12 months preceding the claim or (b) $100 USD.

16. Indemnification

You agree to indemnify and hold harmless FireLaunch, the Operator, and our affiliates from any claim arising out of (i) your User Content, (ii) your violation of these Terms, or (iii) your violation of any third-party right, including any intellectual property right.

17. Changes to these Terms

We may update these Terms from time to time. When we do, we will update the “Effective” date above and, for material changes, notify you by email or via a prominent notice on the Service. Continued use of the Service after a change constitutes acceptance of the updated Terms.

18. Governing law and disputes

These Terms are governed by the laws of the State of Delaware, without regard to its conflict-of-laws principles. Any dispute arising out of or related to these Terms or the Service will be resolved exclusively in the state or federal courts located in Delaware, and you consent to the personal jurisdiction of those courts. Nothing in this section limits any right that cannot be waived under applicable consumer-protection law.

19. Contact

Questions about these Terms? Email hello@firelaunch.dev.