Terms of Service

1. Agreement and Eligibility

These Terms of Service govern your use of The Business Development Alliance ("BDA," "we," "our," or "us") website, accounts, memberships, events, and related services. By using them, you agree to these Terms. You must be at least 18, legally able to enter into an agreement, and authorized to act for any business you represent. If you do not agree, do not use the services.

2. Accounts and Services

Provide accurate information, keep your account credentials confidential, and notify BDA promptly of suspected unauthorized access. You are responsible for activity under your account except to the extent caused by BDA's own failure to meet applicable obligations. Do not share access or falsely represent another person's identity or authority.

BDA's services may include business-development information and tools, professional profiles and directories, community and learning opportunities, events, benefits, support, and introductions. Availability and eligibility vary by offering, membership, and stage of development. A feature described as planned or in pilot is not a promise of immediate access.

3. Membership Prices and Activation

Current standard monthly membership prices are:

• Discover ME: $0/month.
• Pro: $25/month.
• Pro Plus — Core BDA Experience: $75/month.
• Executive: $150/month.
• Executive Plus: $250/month.

Discover ME is a no-cost membership, not a trial. It supports a professional and business profile, access to approved BDA-hosted events, applicable communications and opportunities, eligible verified Member Benefits or discounts under the terms of each specific offer, and possible consideration for a useful connection. It does not include a member's own daily curated PowerMatch feed, paid tools or intelligence, a paid activation package, or the paid-member service cycle unless expressly stated in separate written terms. Neither connections nor benefits are guaranteed.

A $99 paid-membership activation charge applies to paid memberships unless BDA waives it or written promotional or individual terms provide otherwise. It covers paid-member review, analysis, setup, and initial activation work, not simply completion of a form. This charge does not apply to Discover ME. Applicable taxes or separately purchased offerings, if any, will be identified before purchase. Any individually documented promotion or separate agreement applies only on its stated terms.

4. Sponsor-Funded Pro Membership

Qualified participants may have their Pro monthly dues funded by a participating sponsor for up to 12 months, subject to eligibility and sponsor availability. This is support for eligible paid Pro dues, distinct from Discover ME, and does not automatically waive the paid-membership activation charge or cover other purchases. BDA will explain the applicable duration and any member-paid amounts before enrollment. Sponsorship does not give the sponsor access to private member data.

5. Billing, Renewal, and Cancellation

By authorizing a paid membership, you authorize the applicable recurring monthly charges through the disclosed third-party payment provider until cancellation or another documented change. Billing starts as disclosed at enrollment and recurs on the applicable billing date. Keep your payment information current. If payment fails, BDA may notify you, seek payment, or suspend paid access after any legally required notice.

You may request cancellation through any available account billing controls or by contacting BDA using the information below. To avoid the next renewal charge, submit your request before the next billing date and allow reasonable processing time; BDA will confirm the effective date. Cancellation stops future renewals but does not erase charges already incurred. Access normally continues through the paid period unless your purchase terms or applicable law provide otherwise. Refunds, if any, are governed by applicable law and any specific written purchase terms. BDA may change future prices with notice as required by law; a change will not retroactively alter charges already paid.

6. Information and AI-Assisted Outputs

BDA may provide educational material, business observations, suggested next steps, and AI-assisted information. These outputs may be incomplete, inaccurate, or unsuitable for your circumstances; review them independently before acting. They are not legal, tax, accounting, investment, medical, or other regulated professional advice. You remain responsible for decisions, approvals, spending, and relationships. BDA is not your employer, agent, broker, adviser, or fiduciary merely because you use its services.

7. Introductions and Business Results

Introductions depend on relevance, availability, and the consent of the people involved; you may decline a connection. BDA does not guarantee that an introduction, meeting, lead, referral, sale, contract, financing, partnership, revenue, savings, or other business outcome will occur. Evaluate contacts and opportunities independently, obtain any professional advice you need, and conduct your own due diligence. BDA is not a party to transactions between members or third parties unless it expressly agrees otherwise in writing.

8. Profiles, Endorsements, and Your Content

You are responsible for information you submit or make visible in a profile, directory, post, or endorsement. It must be accurate to the best of your knowledge, lawful, and shared with the necessary rights and permissions. Endorsements reflect the speaker's own experience, not a BDA warranty. Visibility depends on the feature and your available settings; do not publish confidential information in public or member-visible areas.

You retain ownership of your content. You grant BDA a non-exclusive, worldwide, royalty-free license to host, display, reproduce, and use it as reasonably needed to provide and promote the services in accordance with your visibility choices and our Privacy Policy. You may ask BDA to remove content, subject to legitimate recordkeeping and legal requirements.

9. Events and Third Parties

Event schedules, locations, capacity, admission, and cancellation details may vary; event-specific terms will apply when provided. Participation is at your discretion and subject to applicable venue rules. Outside businesses, sponsors, payment providers, connected accounts, linked websites, and service providers may have separate terms and privacy notices. BDA does not control or warrant their independent services or dealings with you.

10. Communications

BDA may send account, billing, safety, event, and service notices related to your use of the services. Promotional email and text messages are subject to applicable consent rules. You can opt out of marketing emails through the message link or by contacting us, and reply STOP to optional promotional texts. Opting out of marketing does not necessarily stop essential account or transaction messages where permitted by law.

11. Acceptable Use

Do not use BDA services to harass, threaten, discriminate against, impersonate, deceive, or defraud anyone; infringe rights; send unauthorized solicitation; scrape or misuse directories or personal information; upload malicious code; bypass access or security controls; interfere with service operation; or violate applicable law. Respect others' consent and confidentiality. BDA may remove content that violates these Terms.

12. BDA Intellectual Property and Privacy

BDA and its licensors own the BDA names, branding, software, site and service content, educational materials, and other proprietary materials they provide. Your access is a limited, revocable right to use the services for their intended purposes; it does not transfer ownership or permit copying, resale, reverse engineering, or creation of derivative services except as allowed by law or written permission. Our collection and use of personal information are explained in the Privacy Policy.

13. Suspension, Termination, and Service Changes

BDA may suspend, restrict, or terminate access when reasonably needed to address nonpayment, unlawful activity, material violations of these Terms, safety, or service security, subject to applicable law. We may modify or discontinue features and update membership offerings prospectively. Where required, we will give notice or other remedies. Ending access does not waive accrued payment obligations or provisions that by their nature survive, including ownership, disclaimers, liability limits, and dispute terms.

14. Disclaimers

We aim to provide useful services, but cannot promise uninterrupted availability or that any content or output will be error-free. To the maximum extent permitted by law, the services are provided "as is" and "as available" without implied warranties of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, or non-infringement. Nothing here excludes a right or warranty that cannot legally be excluded.

15. Limitation of Liability

To the extent permitted by law, BDA and its officers, employees, and contractors are not liable for indirect, incidental, special, consequential, exemplary, or punitive damages, or lost profits, opportunities, goodwill, or data arising from the services or interactions with members or outside parties. To that same extent, BDA's total liability for claims arising from these Terms or the services will not exceed the greater of $100 or the amount you paid BDA for the services during the 12 months before the event giving rise to the claim. These limits do not apply where prohibited by law.

16. Texas Law and Disputes

Texas law governs these Terms without regard to conflict-of-law principles. Unless applicable law requires otherwise, disputes will be brought in a court of competent jurisdiction in Texas. Nothing in this section limits rights that applicable law does not permit you to waive.

17. Changes, Controlling Agreements, and Severability

We may revise these Terms and will post a new effective date, with additional notice when required by law. Continued use after revised Terms take effect indicates acceptance; if you do not accept, stop using the services and cancel any recurring membership. A specific written agreement or purchase terms accepted by you control over these general Terms only where they expressly conflict. If a provision is unenforceable, the remainder remains in effect. A failure to enforce a provision is not a waiver of the right to enforce it later.

18. Contact BDA

For questions about these Terms or your membership, contact: