The agreement we have with you
What you can expect from Founders EQ — and what we ask in return.
By creating an account or using Founders EQ, you agree to these terms. We've kept them as plain as we can while still being legally meaningful. If something is unclear, email support@founderseq.com.
What Founders EQ is
Founders EQ is a conversational research tool that generates AI responses grounded exclusively in primary source documents from the American founding era (roughly 1750 to 1830). When you ask a question, we translate it into the conceptual vocabulary of that era, retrieve relevant excerpts from the corpus, and use AI to synthesize a response in the voice of one or more founders — with citations.
Founders EQ is operated by Evan Queitsch, a sole proprietor based in Pennsylvania, United States. References to "we," "us," or "Founders EQ" mean Evan Queitsch operating the service. References to "you" or "the user" mean the individual using the service.
Eligibility
- You must be at least 13 years old to use Founders EQ.
- If you are between 13 and the age of majority in your jurisdiction, your parent or legal guardian should review these terms with you.
- By using the service, you confirm that you meet the age requirement and have the legal capacity to agree to these terms.
Your account
To use Founders EQ, you sign in with Google or via a magic link sent to your email. You're responsible for:
- Keeping your sign-in method secure (your Google account or your email inbox).
- Activity that happens under your account, whether or not you authorized it.
- Notifying us at support@founderseq.com if you suspect unauthorized access.
Each person should maintain only one account. Sharing accounts or using the service through multiple accounts to evade rate limits is prohibited.
Acceptable use
When using Founders EQ, you agree not to:
- Use the service for any unlawful purpose or in violation of these terms.
- Attempt to bypass rate limits, security features, or access controls.
- Scrape, copy, or systematically download the service or its underlying corpus for redistribution.
- Reverse engineer, decompile, or attempt to extract the AI prompts, system instructions, or proprietary infrastructure.
- Use the service to generate content that defames, harasses, or harms others.
- Use the service to generate content presented as authentic statements by living public figures.
- Resell, sublicense, or commercialize access to the service without our written agreement.
- Attempt to deny service to other users (denial-of-service, automated abuse, etc.).
- Use automated means (bots, scripts, scrapers) to access the service except via APIs we explicitly publish.
We may suspend or terminate accounts that violate these rules, with or without notice depending on severity.
Subscriptions and payment
Free tier
Founders EQ offers a free tier with limited daily usage. We use rate limiting to share resources fairly across all free users; specific limits may change as the service evolves.
Pro tier
Pro is a paid monthly subscription that unlocks higher usage limits and additional features (such as audio responses voiced by AI). Pricing is shown clearly before you subscribe. You authorize us, via Stripe, to charge your payment method on a recurring basis until you cancel.
Cancellation
- You can cancel your Pro subscription at any time. After cancellation, you keep Pro access through the end of the current billing period; you are not billed further.
- To cancel, use the account settings in the app or email support@founderseq.com.
Refunds
- Subscription fees are generally non-refundable, with the following exception: if you cancel within seven days of your initial subscription and have not made significant use of Pro features, email support@founderseq.com for a full refund.
- Where required by law (e.g. EU consumer protection rules), statutory refund rights apply regardless of this policy.
Price changes
We may change subscription prices over time. Any change will be communicated by email at least 30 days before it takes effect. If you don't accept the new price, you can cancel before it applies.
Taxes
Prices do not include taxes unless stated. You are responsible for taxes imposed by your jurisdiction (sales tax, VAT, GST, etc.) where applicable.
Important disclaimers about the AI
Founders EQ is a research and educational tool, not authoritative advice.
The responses are generated by an AI model drawing on a curated corpus of historical documents. While we constrain the model to cite its sources and stay within the corpus, AI-generated responses can contain errors, misinterpretations, or selective framing. The "founders" in the service are AI personas synthesizing from text those founders wrote — they are not authoritative reconstructions of what those individuals would actually say.
Specifically, you acknowledge that:
- Responses may be inaccurate. Verify important claims against the cited primary sources before relying on them.
- This is not legal advice. Founders EQ does not provide legal counsel. Consult a licensed attorney for legal matters.
- This is not financial or medical advice. The service is unrelated to financial planning, investment, or healthcare.
- This is not academic citation. While the service cites primary sources, it should not be treated as a substitute for direct scholarly research. Cite the underlying primary documents, not the AI synthesis, in academic work.
- Historical voices reflect their era. The corpus contains views, language, and assumptions from the 18th and early 19th centuries that may include morally objectionable content (including views supporting slavery and other injustices). Founders EQ presents these voices for historical understanding, not endorsement.
Content ownership
What we own
Founders EQ — including the software, design, AI prompts, retrieval methods, branding, and the curated organization of the corpus — is owned by Evan Queitsch and protected by copyright, trademark, and other applicable law. The underlying primary source documents are public domain; our curation, organization, and retrieval system are not.
What you own
You own your conversation history. We don't claim ownership of your questions or the responses they generate within your account. We use your conversations only to provide and improve the service as described in our Privacy Policy.
License you grant us
By using the service, you grant us a limited, non-exclusive, worldwide, royalty-free license to host, process, and display your questions and the resulting responses for the purpose of operating the service. This license ends when you delete your account.
Service availability
We aim to keep the service available, but we don't guarantee uninterrupted operation. Maintenance, third-party outages (Supabase, Anthropic, ElevenLabs, Stripe, Netlify, Google), or unforeseen technical issues may cause downtime. Free-tier service is provided as-is; we do not offer service-level guarantees.
For Pro subscribers, if the service experiences extended outage (more than 24 consecutive hours of unavailability), email support@founderseq.com and we'll work with you on a fair adjustment to your subscription.
Termination
By you
You can stop using the service at any time. To delete your account and associated data, email support@founderseq.com. Account deletion is permanent.
By us
We may suspend or terminate your account if you materially violate these terms, abuse the service, or if we are required to do so by law. For non-egregious violations we will give notice and an opportunity to cure where reasonable. For severe violations (e.g. fraud, automated abuse, attempts to compromise the service), termination may be immediate.
If your Pro account is terminated for cause (your fault), no refund of unused subscription time is provided. If we terminate without cause, we will refund prorated unused subscription time.
Changes to the service
Founders EQ is an evolving product. We may add, modify, or remove features over time. For paid features, if a change materially reduces what you've subscribed to, you may cancel and receive a prorated refund of your unused subscription time.
Disclaimer of warranties
The service is provided "as is" and "as available."
To the fullest extent permitted by law, we disclaim all warranties — express, implied, or statutory — including warranties of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, and non-infringement. We do not warrant that the service will be error-free, uninterrupted, or that defects will be corrected.
Limitation of liability
To the fullest extent permitted by law:
- We are not liable for indirect, incidental, special, consequential, or punitive damages, including lost profits, lost data, or business interruption, even if we have been advised of the possibility.
- Our total liability for any claim arising out of or related to the service is limited to the greater of (a) the amount you paid us in the 12 months before the claim arose, or (b) one hundred US dollars (USD $100).
Some jurisdictions don't allow the exclusion or limitation of certain damages. In those jurisdictions, the above limitations apply only to the maximum extent permitted.
Indemnification
You agree to indemnify and hold harmless Evan Queitsch (operating Founders EQ), and our agents and affiliates, from claims arising out of (a) your violation of these terms, (b) your misuse of the service, or (c) content you submit that infringes a third party's rights. This obligation survives termination of your account.
Governing law and disputes
These terms are governed by the laws of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, without regard to conflict-of-laws principles.
Informal resolution first
If you have a complaint, email support@founderseq.com with a clear description. We commit to working with you in good faith for at least 30 days before either party initiates formal proceedings.
Formal resolution
If informal resolution fails, disputes will be resolved exclusively in the state or federal courts located in Pennsylvania, and you consent to personal jurisdiction in those courts. Each party is responsible for its own costs and fees, except as awarded by the court.
No class actions
Any dispute is brought in your individual capacity. You may not bring or participate in a class action against us.
Changes to these terms
We may update these terms as the service evolves. Material changes will be communicated by email or prominent in-app notice at least 14 days before they take effect. Your continued use of the service after the effective date constitutes acceptance. If you don't accept the changes, your remedy is to stop using the service and, if you are a paid subscriber, cancel your subscription before the change takes effect.
Miscellaneous
- Entire agreement: These terms, together with the Privacy Policy, constitute the entire agreement between you and Founders EQ.
- Severability: If any provision is held unenforceable, the rest remain in effect.
- No waiver: Our failure to enforce a provision is not a waiver of that provision.
- Assignment: You may not assign these terms without our written consent. We may assign them in connection with a sale or transfer of the service.
- Notices to us: Any legal notice must be sent to support@founderseq.com with the subject line "Legal Notice."
Contact
Questions about these terms: support@founderseq.com.