Terms of Use

1. Acceptance of Terms

These Terms of Use ("Terms") govern your access to and use of the website located at sturdybeacon.com, the Sturdy Beacon leadership course delivered through the LearnWorlds platform, and any related services offered by Sturdy Beacon LLC (collectively, the "Service"). By accessing the website, creating an account, or purchasing a course, you agree to be bound by these Terms and by the Privacy Policy. If you do not agree, do not use the Service.

2. Who We Are

The Service is provided by Sturdy Beacon LLC, a limited liability company organized under the laws of the State of New Jersey, with its registered address at 371 US Highway 202N, Suite N, Branchburg, NJ 08876, United States ("Sturdy Beacon," "the Company," "we," "our," or "us"). References to "you" or "your" mean the individual or organization accessing the Service.

3. Description of Service

Sturdy Beacon provides a self-paced online leadership development course consisting of twelve modules delivered in SCORM 1.2 format through the LearnWorlds learning management platform. The course is designed for adult professionals in a workplace context. Course materials include interactive scenarios, downloadable tools, a personal mission statement builder, and progress tracking through a visual map and badge system. The Company reserves the right to modify, enhance, or update course content over time, provided that no update materially reduces the value delivered to purchasers during their current access term.

4. Eligibility

You must be at least 18 years of age to purchase or use the Service. By purchasing or using the Service, you represent and warrant that you are at least 18 years old, that you have the legal capacity to enter into these Terms, and that all information you provide during account creation is accurate and current.

5. Account and Password

To purchase and access the course, you must create an account through the LearnWorlds platform. You are responsible for maintaining the confidentiality of your account credentials and for all activity that occurs under your account. You agree to notify the Company at hello@sturdybeacon.com promptly upon becoming aware of any unauthorized access. Account credentials are personal to you and may not be shared, transferred, or resold.

6. Purchase Terms, Access Term, and Renewal

6.1 Pricing and payment

Course pricing is displayed on the checkout page at the time of purchase and is denominated in United States dollars unless otherwise stated. Payment is processed by Stripe, Inc. and is due in full at the time of purchase. The Company reserves the right to change standard pricing at any time, subject to the Founding Cohort rate-lock provision in Section 6.4. Any change to standard pricing will apply only to new purchases made after the effective date of the change, and to renewals of non-Founding Cohort accounts subject to the notice requirement in Section 6.3. Applicable taxes may be added at checkout in accordance with the tax rules of your billing jurisdiction.

6.2 Access term (self-serve)

Upon successful payment, you will receive a confirmation email and immediate access to your purchased course through your LearnWorlds account. Individual self-serve purchases include one (1) year of full access from the purchase date. Access ends automatically at the end of the term unless you have renewed for the next annual term.

6.3 Renewal (self-serve)

To continue access beyond your initial year, you may renew for an additional twelve-month term. The Company will notify you at least thirty (30) days before the end of your current term with the applicable renewal amount, the date the renewal will be charged, and a link to cancel the renewal at any time before the charge date. You may cancel the renewal at any time before the charge date by writing to hello@sturdybeacon.com or by using the cancellation option in your LearnWorlds account. If you do not renew, your access ends at the term-end date. Your account and course progress data are retained in accordance with the Privacy Policy so that you may resume where you left off if you re-subscribe.

6.4 Founding Cohort rate lock (self-serve and enterprise)

Purchasers who joined during the Founding Cohort program are entitled to a permanent rate lock. The annual price you paid on your initial Founding Cohort purchase remains your renewal price, for as long as you renew each annual term without a lapse in paid access of more than sixty (60) days. The Company will not increase the locked rate for any reason. If you allow your paid access to lapse for more than sixty (60) days and later re-subscribe, the rate lock is lost and you will pay the then-current standard annual rate for the applicable tier.

The Founding Cohort rate lock applies to both the individual self-serve Founding Cohort tier and to the Founding Cohort enterprise pilot pricing set out in the applicable Order Form. Additional benefits associated with Founding Cohort membership, if any, are described on the Founding Cohort sales page and are not incorporated into these Terms unless expressly referenced in the Order Form or a written amendment signed by the Company.

6.5 Enterprise access term and renewal

Enterprise licenses and cohort purchases are governed by the term, renewal, and cancellation provisions set out in the applicable Order Form and Master Services Agreement between the Company and the enterprise customer. Where those documents are silent, the default term is one (1) year of full access from the effective date of the Order Form, renewable annually by mutual written agreement, with sixty (60) days advance notice of any price change to non-Founding-Cohort enterprise renewals.

7. Refund Policy

This refund policy applies to individual self-serve purchases. Enterprise licenses, cohort agreements, and volume orders are governed by the payment and cancellation terms of the applicable Master Services Agreement or Order Form. Refund requests received more than 60 days after the initial purchase date will be considered on a case-by-case basis at the Company's discretion, but the Company is not obligated to grant them.

The 60-day refund window applies to your initial purchase only. Renewal payments are not refundable except where required by applicable consumer-protection law. You may cancel any upcoming renewal at any time before the charge date under Section 6.3, in which case no renewal charge will be made.

8. License Grant

Subject to your compliance with these Terms and your timely payment of applicable fees, the Company grants you a limited, non-exclusive, non-transferable, non-sublicensable license to access and use the course content for your personal, non-commercial, professional-development purposes, for the duration of your active annual access term as described in Section 6. This license is personal to the individual named on the account and ends automatically at the end of the term unless renewed under Section 6.3.

9. Restrictions

You agree that you will not, and will not permit any third party to:

• Copy, reproduce, redistribute, publish, or publicly display any course materials, in whole or in part, other than for your personal use;
• Sell, rent, lease, sublicense, or otherwise transfer your account or access to any third party;
• Share your account credentials with any other individual;
• Reverse engineer, decompile, or attempt to derive the source or structure of the Service;
• Use the Service to train or improve any artificial-intelligence model, machine-learning system, or automated content-generation tool;
• Remove, obscure, or alter any proprietary notices, copyright markings, or attribution included in the course materials;
• Use the Service in violation of any applicable law, regulation, or third-party right;
• Use the Service to develop or offer a competing product or course.

10. Intellectual Property

All course content, including the twelve-module curriculum, the lighthouse framework, the Personal Mission Statement Builder, the Interactive Workshop, the Sturdy Beacon Map and badge system, all written text, images, videos, downloadable tools, branching scenarios, visual designs, and all associated names, logos, and trademarks (including "Sturdy Beacon" and the lighthouse mark), are the exclusive property of Sturdy Beacon LLC or its licensors and are protected by copyright, trademark, and other intellectual-property laws of the United States and other countries.

Nothing in these Terms transfers any ownership interest to you. Any feedback, ideas, or suggestions you provide to the Company may be used by the Company without obligation, provided that the Company will not identify you personally in any such use without your consent.

11. Acceptable Use

You agree to use the Service only for lawful purposes and in a manner consistent with the professional-development context in which it is offered. You will not use the Service to transmit any content that is unlawful, defamatory, harassing, hateful, or that infringes the rights of any third party. You will not attempt to disrupt or interfere with the operation of the Service, other users' access, or the infrastructure of the LearnWorlds platform.

12. Termination

The Company may suspend or terminate your access to the Service, with or without notice, if you materially breach these Terms, engage in fraud or abuse, or violate applicable law. In such cases, no refund will be issued for the unused portion of any purchase, except where required by law. Upon termination, your license to use the course materials ends immediately, but the following provisions survive: Sections 8 (license grant restrictions), 9 (Restrictions), 10 (Intellectual Property), 13 (Disclaimers), 14 (Limitation of Liability), 15 (Indemnification), 16 (Governing Law), and any provision that by its nature is intended to survive.

You may terminate your account at any time by writing to hello@sturdybeacon.com. Termination does not entitle you to a refund except as provided in Section 7.

13. Disclaimers

The service is provided on an "as is" and "as available" basis. To the maximum extent permitted by applicable law, the Company disclaims all warranties, whether express, implied, statutory, or otherwise, including any implied warranties of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, non-infringement, and any warranties arising out of course of dealing or usage of trade.

The course provides leadership development education. It does not provide legal, financial, medical, or professional advice tailored to your circumstances, and the Company does not guarantee any specific business, career, or personal outcome from completion of the course. Individual results depend on many factors outside the Company's control, including the reader's own effort, workplace context, and application of the material.

14. Limitation of Liability

To the maximum extent permitted by applicable law, in no event shall the Company, its officers, members, employees, agents, or licensors be liable for any indirect, incidental, special, consequential, exemplary, or punitive damages, or any loss of profits, revenue, data, business opportunity, or goodwill, arising out of or in connection with your use of the Service, whether based on contract, tort (including negligence), strict liability, or any other legal theory, and whether or not the Company has been advised of the possibility of such damages.

In no event shall the Company's total aggregate liability arising out of or in connection with these Terms or your use of the Service exceed the amount actually paid by you to the Company for the specific course giving rise to the claim in the twelve (12) months preceding the event on which the claim is based.

Some jurisdictions do not allow the exclusion or limitation of certain damages. In those jurisdictions, the exclusions and limitations above apply only to the maximum extent permitted by applicable law. Nothing in these Terms limits liability for fraud, gross negligence, willful misconduct, or any liability that cannot be limited by applicable law (such as certain statutory consumer rights).

15. Indemnification

You agree to indemnify, defend, and hold harmless the Company, its officers, members, employees, agents, and licensors from and against any claims, liabilities, damages, losses, costs, and expenses (including reasonable attorneys' fees) arising out of or related to: (a) your breach of these Terms; (b) your violation of any applicable law or third-party right; or (c) your misuse of the Service. The Company reserves the right to assume the exclusive defense and control of any matter otherwise subject to indemnification, and you agree to cooperate in the defense of any such claim.

16. Governing Law and Venue

These Terms and any dispute arising out of or related to them are governed by the laws of the State of New Jersey, without regard to its conflict-of-laws principles. The federal and state courts located in Somerset County, New Jersey have exclusive jurisdiction over any dispute that is not resolved through informal discussion between the parties. You consent to the personal jurisdiction of those courts and waive any objection based on inconvenient forum.

Before filing a claim against the Company, you agree to first contact hello@sturdybeacon.com to attempt to resolve the dispute informally. If the parties are unable to resolve the dispute within thirty (30) days of the initial contact, either party may commence formal proceedings.

Nothing in this Section limits any statutory consumer right that applies in your jurisdiction of residence. If you reside in the European Economic Area or the United Kingdom, the mandatory consumer-protection laws of your country of residence continue to apply.

17. Changes to These Terms

The Company may update these Terms from time to time. When the Company makes material changes, it will update the "Effective" date at the top of this page and, where the change materially affects registered customers, provide direct notice by email. Continued use of the Service after an updated version becomes effective constitutes acceptance of the updated Terms. If you do not agree to an update, your remedy is to stop using the Service and, if applicable, request a refund under Section 7.

18. Contact

Sturdy Beacon LLC published these Terms in good faith as an accurate description of the commercial arrangement between the Company and its customers as of the Effective date above. These Terms are not legal advice. Before relying on them in an enforcement or contractual context, seek review by a licensed attorney admitted in the relevant jurisdiction.