Founder Office Hours
Programme Rules
1. About Founder Office Hours
Founder Office Hours is an initiative operated by GO Ventures, the investment arm of GO p.l.c. (“GO Ventures”) as part of its corporate social responsibility initiatives.
The programme is intended to give early-stage founders and people developing a business idea the opportunity to have a short, focused conversation on a no obligation basis with a member of the GO Ventures team about a specific business question, challenge or decision.
Participation in Founder Office Hours is free of charge.
2. Eligibility and geographic focus
Founder Office Hours is intended for individuals aged 18 or over who are founders, co-founders, prospective founders or are otherwise actively developing an early-stage business idea.
Founder Office Hours are primarily intended to support founders and prospective founders based in Malta or building businesses with a connection to the Maltese startup ecosystem.
GO Ventures may also consider applications from founders based elsewhere in Europe where it considers that a session would be relevant and useful.
GO Ventures may, in its absolute discretion, determine whether an application is suitable and may prioritise applications using such criteria as it considers appropriate, including (without limitation) geographic relevance, stage of development and whether GO Ventures considers it can provide useful feedback or impact. No applicant is entitled to a session, feedback, reasons for a decision or equal treatment with any other applicant.
GO Ventures team members are not obliged to offer a session to every applicant or to give any reasons for its decision.
3. Applications and bookings
Submitting an application does not guarantee a Founder Office Hours session. GO Ventures will review applications and may invite selected applicants to book an available session. Sessions are subject to availability.
Participants who are unable to attend should cancel or reschedule their session as early as possible using the instructions provided with their booking. GO Ventures may decline future applications from participants who repeatedly book sessions and fail to attend without reasonable notice.
GO Ventures may cancel, reschedule or decline a session where reasonably necessary and all attendees will be duly notified accordingly.
4. The session
Founder Office Hours sessions normally last approximately 25 minutes and are held online unless otherwise communicated. Participants are encouraged to identify one main question, challenge or decision they would like to discuss.
Participants may choose to provide a pitch deck, website or other relevant information before the session. There is no requirement to prepare or deliver a formal presentation.
5. Nature of feedback
Founder Office Hours is intended to provide an informal exchange of views and perspectives. Any comments, observations, feedback, suggestions or other information provided by GO Ventures or its representatives during or in connection with a session are general in nature and are provided for discussion purposes only. They do not constitute legal, tax, accounting, financial, investment or other professional advice, nor should they be treated as an instruction or recommendation to take, or refrain from taking, any particular course of action.
Nothing communicated in connection with Founder Office Hours constitutes, or is intended to constitute, an offer, invitation, solicitation, financial promotion, investment recommendation, commitment to invest or commitment to provide any product or service. No GO Ventures representative participating in a session has authority to bind GO Ventures, GO p.l.c. or any GO group company unless expressly authorised in writing.
GO makes no warranty as to the availability, accuracy, completeness, suitability or usefulness of session content, feedback, introductions or resources. Participants remain responsible for assessing any feedback received and for all decisions relating to their business, idea, product, strategy, financing or other activities.
GO Ventures does not guarantee any particular outcome as a result of participation in Founder Office Hours or any action taken following a session.
6. Investment by GO Ventures
Founder Office Hours is separate and distinct from GO Ventures' formal investment process.
Applying for, being selected for or participating in Founder Office Hours does not constitute an indication of investment interest by GO Ventures and does not guarantee investment, due diligence, introductions, further meetings or any other form of support.
Participation does not constitute an application for investment by GO Ventures. Neither does it create any partnership, agency, employment, advisory engagement or joint venture.
Should GO Ventures and a participant subsequently wish to explore a potential investment, this will take place separately and in accordance with GO Ventures' normal investment process.
7. Confidentiality and information shared
Participants should only share information that they are comfortable discussing with GO Ventures for the purposes of the session. Participants should not disclose information that is subject to confidentiality obligations owed to another person or organisation.
Unless GO Ventures expressly agrees otherwise in a written agreement signed by an authorised representative, all information, materials and ideas shared by a participant in connection with Founder Office Hours are provided on a non-confidential basis. GO Ventures assumes no obligation to review, retain, return, use or refrain from using such information, materials or ideas.
GO Ventures may evaluate, work with or invest in businesses that operate in similar sectors or address similar markets, problems or opportunities. Participation in Founder Office Hours does not restrict GO Ventures from doing so. GO Ventures is not required to disclose its investment criteria, decision-making processes, internal assessments or the reasons for any decision.
Nothing in these Programme Rules gives GO Ventures ownership of a participant's intellectual property merely because it is discussed or shared during a session.
8. Participant responsibilities and indemnity
Participants are responsible for ensuring that:
- the information they provide in their application is accurate to the best of their knowledge;
- they have the right to share any information or materials provided to GO Ventures;
- their participation does not breach any obligation owed to another person or organisation; and
- they make their own independent decisions regarding their business or idea.
Participants should obtain appropriate professional advice where required before making decisions with legal, financial, tax, accounting or other professional implications.
The participant shall indemnify and keep indemnified GO Ventures, GO p.l.c. and their respective officers, employees and representatives against losses, liabilities, costs and expenses arising from a breach of this clause 8, including third-party claims relating to information or materials supplied by the participant, except to the extent caused by GO Ventures’ fraud, wilful misconduct or breach of applicable law.
GO Ventures reserves the right to reject materials and to terminate a session or suspend participation of a participant if it reasonably considers that the participant is not abiding by its responsibilities under this clause and/or if it may suffer security, compliance, legal, commercial or reputational damage or have a conflict of interest should the session or participation continue.
9. Conduct
Founder Office Hours is intended to provide a constructive and respectful environment. GO Ventures reserves the right to end or decline a session where a participant behaves in an inappropriate, abusive or otherwise unacceptable manner.
10. Personal data
GO Ventures will process personal data submitted in connection with Founder Office Hours as Controller in accordance with the Founder Office Hours Privacy Notice available at Privacy Policy, as updated from time to time.
Applicants should review the Privacy Notice before submitting an application.
GO Ventures will not record a session that takes place over an online meeting platform (e.g. Teams, Zoom etc.) unless participants request it in writing or consent to it in a recordable and verifiable manner during the online session. Participants are prohibited from recording, screenshotting or distributing session content without the prior written consent of GO Ventures.
11. Liability
To the maximum extent permitted by applicable law, GO Ventures, GO p.l.c., GO group companies and their respective officers, employees, representatives and affiliates shall not be liable for any indirect, consequential, special, punitive or economic loss, loss of profit, revenue, opportunity, goodwill or anticipated savings, or for any loss arising out of or in connection with Founder Office Hours, including any information, feedback, cancellation, rescheduling, unavailability or technical interruption. To the extent liability cannot lawfully be excluded, GO Ventures’ aggregate liability shall not exceed €100.
Nothing in these Programme Rules excludes or limits any liability which cannot lawfully be excluded or limited.
The participant shall indemnify GO at all times from any successful claims made by third parties against GO in a competent judicial forum for any unlawful conduct, infringement, confidentiality breaches or inaccurate representations made by the participant.
12. Changes to or withdrawal of Founder Office Hours
The Programme Rules and Founder Office Hours Privacy Notice contain the full agreement for Founder Office Hours, and no external statements create commitments unless in writing and signed by an authorised GO representative. GO Ventures may amend, suspend or discontinue Founder Office Hours, or amend these Programme Rules, at its discretion.
The version of these Programme Rules made available when the participant submits an application will apply to that application and any resulting session, unless GO Ventures notifies the participant of a change required by law, security, operational necessity or a change to the programme. Any such change will take effect on the date specified in the notice.
13. Governing law
These Programme Rules are governed by the laws of Malta.
Any dispute arising in connection with Founder Office Hours or these Programme Rules shall be subject to the jurisdiction of the courts of Malta.
14. Contact
Questions regarding Founder Office Hours or these Programme Rules may be directed to GO Ventures at goventures@go.com.mt. Formal notices to GO Ventures must be sent to GO Ventures, GO, Tarxien Road, Zejtun, ZTN 3000, Malta marked for the Attention of GO Ventures or Legal as the case may be.