Privacy Policy

Effective date: August 22, 2026

Product Startup (“Product Startup,” “we,” “us,” or “our”) respects your privacy. This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, disclose, retain, and protect personal information when you visit productstartup.com, contact us, subscribe to communications, listen to or interact with podcast content, or otherwise use our website and related services (collectively, the “Services”).

This Policy is intended to provide clear information to visitors in Canada, the United States, and other locations. Privacy rights vary by jurisdiction, and we apply the rights required by applicable law.

1. Who We Are

Product Startup is a hardware startup education, podcast, advisory, and consulting business based in Ontario, Canada.

Mailing address:
Product Startup
103 Carmichael Cres.
King City, Ontario L7B 0N2
Canada

Privacy contact: privacy@productstartup.com

2. Information We Collect

Information you provide

We may collect information that you choose to provide, including:

• Your name, email address, telephone number, company, role, and other contact details.
• Information contained in contact forms, emails, questionnaires, applications, consultation requests, surveys, comments, reviews, and other communications.
• Newsletter and promotional-email preferences, including records of when, where, and how consent was obtained or withdrawn.
• Information you provide when registering for an event, downloading a resource, joining a waitlist, or participating in a promotion.
• Transaction, billing, shipping, and order information if purchasing or booking features are introduced. Payment-card information would ordinarily be processed by a payment provider rather than stored directly by Product Startup.
• Any other information you voluntarily provide.

Please do not submit passwords, government identifiers, financial-account details, health information, trade secrets, confidential product specifications, patent-sensitive disclosures, or other sensitive information through a general website form. Submitting information through the website does not create an NDA, confidentiality obligation, professional engagement, fiduciary relationship, or client relationship.

Information collected automatically

When you use the Services, we and our service providers may automatically collect technical and usage information such as:

• Internet Protocol (IP) address, approximate location, browser, device, operating system, language, and referring page.
• Pages viewed, links clicked, session duration, navigation paths, downloads, media interactions, and error or performance information.
• Cookie identifiers, advertising identifiers, and similar online identifiers.
• Security logs and information used to prevent fraud, abuse, spam, attacks, and unauthorized access.

Information from other sources

We may receive information from podcast platforms, analytics and advertising providers, social networks, event or marketing partners, affiliates, public business sources, referral partners, and service providers. We may combine this information with information we already hold when permitted by law.

3. How We Use Information

We may use personal information to:

• Operate, maintain, secure, troubleshoot, personalize, and improve the Services.
• Respond to inquiries, evaluate potential engagements, provide requested information, and communicate about services.
• Provide newsletters, promotions, event information, podcast updates, and other marketing where we have valid consent or another lawful basis.
• Measure audience activity, understand interests, conduct research, create reports, and improve content, advertising, offers, and business strategy.
• Administer transactions, orders, bookings, contests, surveys, waitlists, and promotions when those features are offered.
• Detect, investigate, and prevent fraud, security incidents, illegal conduct, spam, and violations of our terms.
• Protect our rights, users, systems, business, and the public; comply with law; and establish, exercise, or defend legal claims.
• Evaluate or complete a financing, reorganization, merger, acquisition, sale, or other business transaction.
• Carry out other purposes disclosed when information is collected, with consent where required.

4. Consent and Legal Bases

Depending on the circumstances and applicable law, we process personal information with consent, to perform a contract or take requested pre-contractual steps, to comply with legal obligations, and for legitimate business interests that are not overridden by applicable privacy rights. Where information is not necessary for the requested service—such as an optional newsletter subscription or partner marketing—we will seek a separate choice when required.

You may withdraw consent, subject to legal or contractual restrictions and reasonable notice. Withdrawal does not affect processing already lawfully completed and may prevent us from providing certain optional features.

5. Marketing Communications

We send commercial electronic messages in accordance with applicable requirements, including Canada’s Anti-Spam Legislation where it applies. Newsletter and promotional consent is separate from submitting a general inquiry unless applicable law permits otherwise. Marketing messages will identify the sender and provide a working unsubscribe method.

You may unsubscribe using the link in an email or by contacting us. We may retain limited suppression-list information so that we can respect the request. Even after marketing opt-out, we may send non-promotional communications about an active inquiry, transaction, security matter, legal notice, or existing relationship.

6. Cookies, Analytics, Advertising, and External Media

We and our providers may use cookies, pixels, tags, local storage, and related technologies for essential functions, security, analytics, advertising, attribution, personalization, and external media. Podcast pages may contain players, links, or embedded content from services such as Spotify and Captivate. Those providers may collect information when their content loads or when you interact with it.

Where required, non-essential technologies will be used only after an appropriate choice. You can use available cookie controls and browser settings. Additional information appears in our Cookie Policy.

7. How We Disclose Information

We may disclose information to:

• Service providers: hosting, security, email delivery, customer relationship management, analytics, advertising, media hosting, transcription, payment, fulfillment, professional, and technical providers acting for us.
• Advertising, affiliate, and measurement partners: to measure activity, attribute referrals, deliver or evaluate campaigns, and support disclosed commercial relationships, subject to applicable consent and opt-out rights.
• Business and referral partners: when you request an introduction, separately consent to partner contact, or the disclosure is otherwise permitted by law.
• Professional advisers: lawyers, accountants, insurers, auditors, consultants, and financial advisers under appropriate duties.
• Authorities and other parties: when reasonably necessary to comply with law, lawful process, enforce agreements, protect rights or safety, investigate misconduct, or defend claims.
• Transaction participants: prospective and completed purchasers, investors, lenders, affiliates, and their advisers in connection with a financing, reorganization, merger, acquisition, sale of assets, or similar transaction, subject to applicable safeguards.
• Other recipients: at your direction or with consent.

8. Business Transfers and Commercial Data

Product Startup’s databases, audience records, consent records, business records, analytics, goodwill, and related information assets may form part of a financing, merger, acquisition, reorganization, or sale of all or part of the business. Personal information may be reviewed during due diligence and transferred at closing where permitted by law. We expect transaction recipients to protect the information, use it for purposes consistent with those disclosed before the transaction, and honour applicable withdrawals and privacy rights. Notice will be provided when required.

We may create and use aggregated, statistical, or deidentified information for research, benchmarking, audience insights, product development, reporting, licensing, commercial analysis, and other lawful business purposes. We will not attempt to reidentify information that is required by law to remain deidentified.

9. Sale, Sharing, and Targeted Advertising

We do not currently sell personal information for money. We may permit analytics, affiliate, or advertising partners to collect or receive online identifiers and activity through technologies used on the Services. Certain U.S. privacy laws may define some of these activities as a “sale,” “sharing,” or processing for targeted advertising even when no money changes hands.

Where applicable law requires it, we will provide notice and a method to opt out of covered sale, sharing, or targeted advertising. We will not sell an identifiable contact-form message or product idea to an unrelated party for that party’s independent marketing without a separate affirmative choice or another lawful basis. We may disclose contact and business-interest information to selected partners for their own marketing only where you have separately opted in or where otherwise permitted by law.

10. Retention

We retain information for as long as reasonably necessary for the purposes described in this Policy, including to manage relationships, maintain consent and suppression records, comply with tax and legal requirements, resolve disputes, enforce agreements, preserve security records, and support legitimate business operations.

Typical retention depends on the information and context. General inquiries may be retained while active and for a reasonable follow-up period; client, transaction, tax, and contractual records may be retained for longer legal or business periods; marketing records may be retained until consent is withdrawn plus a suppression record; and security logs are generally retained for shorter operational periods unless needed for an investigation. We may retain aggregated or deidentified information without the same limits where lawful.

11. International Processing

Product Startup is based in Canada, and our providers and recipients may process information in Canada, the United States, and other countries. Information may therefore be subject to the laws and lawful access rules of those jurisdictions. Where required, we use contractual, organizational, or other safeguards for international transfers.

12. Security

We use reasonable administrative, technical, and organizational safeguards appropriate to the nature of the information. No transmission, website, or storage system is completely secure, and we cannot guarantee absolute security. You are responsible for using appropriate care when deciding what to submit.

13. Your Privacy Rights

Subject to location, applicable law, and exceptions, you may have rights to:

• Know whether and how we process your personal information.
• Access or obtain a copy of personal information.
• Correct inaccurate or incomplete information.
• Delete information.
• Withdraw consent or object to certain processing, including direct marketing.
• Restrict processing or receive portable data where applicable.
• Opt out of covered sale, sharing, targeted advertising, or certain profiling.
• Appeal a privacy-request decision where applicable.
• Receive equal service and not be unlawfully discriminated against for exercising a right.

To exercise a right, contact privacy@productstartup.com and describe your request. We may verify identity and authority before responding. An authorized agent may submit a request where permitted, subject to verification. We will respond within the period required by applicable law.

Canadian residents

You may request access to and correction of personal information under applicable Canadian privacy law and may challenge our compliance. You may also contact the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada or an applicable provincial regulator.

United States residents

Residents of certain U.S. states may have additional rights concerning access, correction, deletion, portability, sale, sharing, targeted advertising, profiling, appeals, and sensitive information. These rights apply only when the relevant law covers Product Startup and the particular processing. Our Policy also describes categories of information collected, purposes, recipient categories, and request methods for California online privacy transparency purposes.

EEA, United Kingdom, and similar jurisdictions

Where applicable, you may have rights to information, access, correction, erasure, restriction, portability, objection, and withdrawal of consent, and the right to complain to a supervisory authority.

14. Global Privacy Control and Do Not Track

Some browsers support Global Privacy Control (GPC) or other preference signals. Where legally required and technically supported, we will treat a recognized signal as a request to opt out of covered sale, sharing, or targeted advertising for that browser or device. Because there is not a uniform industry response to older “Do Not Track” signals, the Services may not respond to those signals unless required by law.

15. Children

The Services are intended for business and general audiences and are not directed to children under 16. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 16. Contact us if you believe a child has submitted information so that we can review and take appropriate action.

16. Third-Party Services

The Services may link to or embed third-party websites, podcast players, social networks, booking tools, stores, and other services. Their privacy practices are governed by their own policies. Product Startup is not responsible for third-party privacy or security practices.

17. Changes to This Policy

We may update this Policy as practices, technology, vendors, or laws change. The revised version will show a new effective date. We will provide additional notice or obtain consent when required for a material change.

18. Contact Us

Questions, requests, or complaints may be sent to:

Product Startup
103 Carmichael Cres.
King City, Ontario L7B 0N2
Canada
privacy@productstartup.com