Privacy notice

Last updated 8 October 2026

Who we are

The Founders Process is run by Qualforge Ltd, registered in Scotland, company no. SC888351, 22 Shortlees Crescent, Kilmarnock, KA1 4PR. ICO registration no. ZC163997. We are the controller of the personal data described here.

What we collect

Applications: your name, email, social handle if you give one, where you are right now, your answers to our questions, and your confirmation that you're 18 or over.
Waitlist: your email address.
Bookings: if you're accepted and book, your name, email, chosen time and anything you add to the booking.
Payments: handled by Stripe. We see that you paid and the amount. We never see or store your full card details.
Calls: notes we take during and after your call so we can write your summary and next steps. We don't record calls unless we ask and you agree first.
Emails: anything you send us.

We don't use advertising or tracking cookies on this site. The site's typeface is loaded from Google Fonts, so your browser connects to Google, which sees your IP address.

Why we use it, and our lawful basis

To review your application and reply to you. This is a step you've asked us to take before a contract.
To book, run and follow up your call, and take payment. This is to perform our contract with you.
To email you when the mentorship programme opens. This is based on your consent when you join the waitlist. You can withdraw it at any time.
To keep business and tax records. This is a legal obligation.
To protect the site from spam and abuse. This is in our legitimate interests.

Sensitive information

Your answers may include things about your health, your family or hard times you've been through. Only share what you're comfortable with. We use it only to review your application and prepare for and give you advice. Our lawful basis is your explicit consent, which you give with the tick box when you apply. You can withdraw it at any time by emailing us, and we'll delete it. We never share it or use it in our content.

Our content

We document our own journey publicly. We will never name you, show you, or share anything you've told us in our content without your clear permission first.

Who we share it with

Only the services that help us run this, each acting on our instructions:

Cloudflare, which hosts this site, stores applications and sends them to us by email.
Cal.com, which handles booking and the video call.
Stripe, which handles payment. Stripe also uses payment data for its own fraud prevention and legal duties, under its own privacy policy.
Google, which provides our email and calendars, and the site's typeface.

Some of these may process data outside the UK. Where they do, they use safeguards approved under UK data protection law. We never sell your data.

How long we keep it

Applications we don't accept: 12 months, then deleted.
Customer records and payment records: 6 years, for tax.
Call notes: 2 years after your last call, unless you ask us to delete them sooner.
Waitlist: until you ask to be removed or we close the waitlist.

Your rights

You can ask to see, correct or delete your data, ask us to limit how we use it, object to our use of it, or ask for a copy to take elsewhere. Email us and we'll reply within one month.

If you're unhappy with how we've handled your data, you can complain to the Information Commissioner's Office at ico.org.uk. We'd appreciate the chance to put it right first.

Changes

If we change this notice, we'll update the date at the top.