Terms of use

This site is operated by Startupappsinc, trading as Startupapps (“we”, “us”). By using the site or commissioning a build, you agree to these terms.

Where you are commissioning a build on behalf of a company, you confirm you are authorised to enter into an agreement on its behalf, and “you” means that company.

Each opportunity listed on this site is a bespoke software build, delivered once, to one buyer. Listings describe a scope researched for that category. They are an invitation to discuss a build, not an offer capable of acceptance, and nothing on this site forms a contract on its own.

Prices shown are for the scope described on that listing. Where a listing shows “Custom”, the price follows a scoping conversation.

An engagement runs in this order, and only becomes binding at the last step:

• You send an inquiry through the site. This costs nothing and commits neither of us to anything.
• We talk through what you need and agree the scope in writing, including anything deliberately excluded.
• We issue a deposit invoice and a final invoice against that agreed scope.
• Work begins when the deposit is settled. At that point the listing is retired from sale and the agreement is binding on both of us.

Until the deposit is settled we may decline an engagement or continue to offer the listing to others. We will tell you if that happens.

When a build is finalised, that listing is permanently retired: we will not build and sell the same listed product to anyone else. The listing stays visible on this site marked Claimed, which is how the exclusivity can be checked rather than merely promised.

Exclusivity applies to the specific product built for you. It does not extend to the underlying category, to generic components, frameworks, libraries and patterns that are common to software of that kind, or to our general skills and experience. We may build products in adjacent or different categories for others.

Payment is taken offline, by bank transfer or another method agreed in writing. Fees are quoted in US dollars and are split across two invoices: a deposit, payable before work starts, and the balance, payable at handover. A build enters post-service support only once the support invoice for that term is settled.

You can see every invoice issued to you, and its status, in your dashboard from the day the project is created. Bank charges and any taxes or duties payable in your own jurisdiction are yours.

We build the scope agreed in writing. Anything outside it is a change: we will tell you what it affects in time and cost, and it proceeds only once you agree in writing.

Delivery timelines assume you supply what the build needs — content, branding, access to third-party accounts, and decisions — within a reasonable time of us asking. Where a delay is caused by waiting on you, the timeline moves accordingly.

At handover we deploy the build, transfer the code repository, and provide documentation and training. Handover is typically two to four weeks after scope is agreed for a web build; multi-app mobile platforms take longer, which is why those are quoted after a call.

You review the build against the agreed scope and sign it off from your dashboard. Sign-off is your acceptance that the build matches what was agreed. If something does not match, tell us on the project thread instead of signing off, and we will put it right.

On settlement of the final invoice, all intellectual property rights in the delivered build transfer to you. You may use, modify, resell or license it as you see fit. Until the final invoice is settled, those rights remain ours. Third-party open-source components stay under their own licences, which we will identify.

Every build includes the option of a three-month post-service support term, renewable, charged separately. Support covers defects in what we delivered against the agreed scope. It does not cover new features, changes you or a third party make to the code, third-party service outages, or hosting and infrastructure costs, which are yours from handover.

Either of us may end an engagement in writing before handover. What happens to money already paid is set out in our refund policy, which forms part of these terms. Where an engagement ends before completion, we may return the listing to sale.

• You are responsible for the legality of what you ask us to build and for how you operate it after handover, including any licences, registrations or regulatory approvals your market requires.
• You must not use this site to submit unlawful, misleading or infringing material, or to attempt to gain access to accounts or data that are not yours.
• Content you send us — including anything in an inquiry or a project message — must be yours to send.

We will perform the work with reasonable skill and care, and warrant that the delivered build materially conforms to the agreed scope. Software is not warranted to be free of all defects, and we do not warrant that it will meet commercial objectives — what a product earns depends on how it is marketed, priced and operated, none of which are in our control.

Nothing in these terms limits liability for death or personal injury caused by negligence, for fraud, or for anything else that cannot lawfully be limited. Subject to that, neither of us is liable for indirect or consequential loss, or for loss of profit, revenue, data or anticipated savings; and our total liability arising out of an engagement is limited to the fees you have paid us for that engagement.

Each of us will keep the other's non-public information confidential and use it only for the engagement. This does not apply to information that is already public, that is received legitimately from someone else, or that must be disclosed by law.

Unless you ask us not to, we may refer to the fact that we built a product in a given category, without naming you or disclosing anything confidential.

We may update these terms for future engagements. The version in force for your engagement is the one published when your deposit was settled, together with anything agreed in writing during scoping. Where the two differ, what was agreed in writing during scoping takes precedence.

These terms are governed by the law of [governing jurisdiction — to be confirmed before launch], and the courts of that jurisdiction have exclusive jurisdiction over any dispute. Before starting proceedings, both of us agree to raise the issue in writing and try in good faith to resolve it.