Terms of Use

1. Agreement to Terms

By accessing or using the Central Coast Incubator website at centralcoastincubator.org (and its subdomains, including app., apply., insights., and admin.), or any services we provide — including our AI-powered Chat Assistant — you agree to be bound by these Terms of Use (“Terms”).

If you do not agree to these Terms, please do not use our website or services.

These Terms apply to all visitors, applicants, enrolled students, alumni, partners, mentors, and any other users of our platform.

2. About Us

The Central Coast Incubator is a GenAI micro-business incubator serving community college students across California’s Central Coast. We operate as a nonprofit educational organization. Our programs, resources, and tools are designed solely to support student learning and business development.

  • Website: centralcoastincubator.org
  • Contact: info@centralcoastincubator.org
  • Support: support@centralcoastincubator.org

3. Eligibility

Our services are intended for:

  • Community college students enrolled in or applying to our program
  • Academic and corporate partners operating in an official capacity
  • Mentors, volunteers, and staff acting in their designated roles
  • General visitors seeking information about the Incubator

You must be at least 18 years old to use this website.

4. User Accounts (Student Portal)

Certain areas of our website — including the Student Dashboard, IDS Progress Tracker, Quarterly Data Form, and Weekly Check-in — require you to create an account.

You agree to:

  • Provide accurate, complete, and current information when registering
  • Keep your password confidential and not share access with others
  • Notify us immediately at support@centralcoastincubator.org if you suspect unauthorized use of your account
  • Accept responsibility for all activity that occurs under your account

We reserve the right to:

  • Suspend or terminate accounts that violate these Terms
  • Remove or restrict access to content that violates program policies

5. AI-Powered Chat Assistant

Our website includes an AI-powered Chat Assistant (“Chat Assistant” or “AI Chat”) designed to help answer general questions about the Central Coast Incubator, our programs, the IDS curriculum, application process, and available resources.

5.1 How It Works

The Chat Assistant is powered by Claude, an AI service provided by Anthropic, and draws on content from our organizational knowledge base hosted in Notion. It is intended to provide helpful, informational responses about the Incubator only.

5.2 What the Chat Assistant Can Do

  • Answer general questions about our programs, mission, and curriculum
  • Help you understand the application process
  • Explain the Ideation Discipline System™ (IDS)
  • Point you to relevant pages and resources on our website
  • Provide general information about our partners and mentors

5.3 What the Chat Assistant Cannot Do

  • Provide legal, financial, tax, or professional business advice
  • Access or share any private student account data or personally identifiable information
  • Make decisions about your application or enrollment status
  • Guarantee the accuracy of time-sensitive information (e.g., program dates, deadlines)
  • Replace guidance from program staff, mentors, or advisors

5.4 Limitations & Accuracy

The Chat Assistant is provided as a convenience tool. While we make reasonable efforts to ensure its responses are accurate and helpful, we do not guarantee the completeness, accuracy, or reliability of any AI-generated response. Information may be outdated or incomplete. For official or time-sensitive matters, always contact us directly at info@centralcoastincubator.org.

5.5 Data & Privacy in AI Chat

  • Do not share sensitive personal information through the Chat Assistant, including Social Security numbers, financial account numbers, passwords, or confidential business data.
  • Chat conversations may be processed by Anthropic’s Claude API to generate responses. Please review Anthropic’s Privacy Policy for details on how conversational data is handled.
  • We do not use AI chat conversations to train AI models or share individual chat logs with third parties, except as required by law.
  • Conversation data may be reviewed by our staff in aggregate for quality improvement purposes.

5.6 Acceptable Use of the Chat Assistant

You agree not to use the Chat Assistant to:

  • Attempt to extract confidential organizational or student data
  • Submit harmful, abusive, or offensive inputs
  • Probe, test, or exploit AI system vulnerabilities
  • Circumvent the intended purpose of the assistant
  • Engage in any activity that violates applicable law

We reserve the right to restrict or revoke access to the Chat Assistant for violations of these Terms.

6. Acceptable Use Policy

You agree to use our website and services only for lawful purposes and in a manner consistent with the educational mission of the Central Coast Incubator.

You agree NOT to:

  • Upload or transmit malicious code, viruses, or harmful content
  • Attempt to gain unauthorized access to any part of our system
  • Scrape, copy, or harvest content or data without written permission
  • Impersonate another person, student, or organization
  • Interfere with or disrupt website operations or servers
  • Use our platform for spam, solicitation, or unauthorized commercial activity
  • Violate any applicable federal, state, or local law

7. Intellectual Property

7.1 Our Content

All content on this website — including text, graphics, logos, the Ideation Discipline System™ curriculum, program materials, and the IDS framework — is owned by or licensed to the Central Coast Incubator and is protected by applicable intellectual property laws.

You may not reproduce, distribute, modify, or commercially exploit our content without prior written permission.

7.2 Student-Owned Content

Students enrolled in our program retain 100% ownership of their business ideas, intellectual property, brand assets, and any work product created during the program. The Incubator takes no equity stake and claims no ownership over student businesses.

For specific terms around data contributions (e.g., Orchestration Logs, Quarterly Data), please refer to your enrollment agreement and our Data Policy.

7.3 Feedback

If you submit suggestions, feedback, or ideas about our program or platform, you grant us a non-exclusive, royalty-free right to use that feedback to improve our services. We will not identify you publicly without your consent.

8. Privacy

Your use of our website is also governed by our Privacy Policy and Data Policy, which are incorporated into these Terms by reference. Please review those documents to understand how we collect, use, and protect your information.

9. Third-Party Services and Links

Our website may link to third-party websites or integrate with third-party tools, including but not limited to:

  • Anthropic / Claude — AI Chat functionality
  • Notion — Organizational knowledge base
  • Google — Analytics (via MonsterInsights)
  • Discord — Community access
  • Stripe / PayPal — Referenced as student payment tools

We do not control third-party services and are not responsible for their content, privacy practices, or terms. Your use of any third-party service is at your own risk and subject to that service’s terms.

10. Disclaimers

Our website and services are provided on an “as is” and “as available” basis without warranties of any kind, express or implied.

We specifically disclaim:

  • Warranties of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, or non-infringement
  • Any guarantee that the website will be uninterrupted, error-free, or secure
  • Any guarantee that the AI Chat Assistant will produce accurate, complete, or current information
  • Responsibility for outcomes of any business decisions made using information from this website or the Chat Assistant

The Central Coast Incubator is an educational program, not a business accelerator, investment vehicle, or guarantor of business success. Program completion does not guarantee any particular business outcome.

11. Limitation of Liability

To the fullest extent permitted by California law, the Central Coast Incubator, its staff, board members, volunteers, and partners shall not be liable for any indirect, incidental, special, consequential, or punitive damages arising from:

  • Your use of or inability to use the website or Chat Assistant
  • Reliance on information provided by the AI Chat Assistant
  • Unauthorized access to or alteration of your data
  • Any business decision made in connection with program participation

Our total liability for any claim arising out of these Terms shall not exceed $100 USD, or the total amount you paid to us in the twelve months preceding the claim, whichever is greater.

12. Indemnification

You agree to indemnify and hold harmless the Central Coast Incubator and its officers, staff, volunteers, and partners from any claims, damages, losses, or expenses (including reasonable attorneys’ fees) arising from:

  • Your violation of these Terms
  • Your use of the website or Chat Assistant in an unlawful manner
  • Your infringement of any third-party rights
  • Content you submit through our forms or platform

13. Termination

We reserve the right to suspend or terminate your access to our website, student portal, or Chat Assistant at our sole discretion, with or without notice, for violations of these Terms or for any other reason consistent with our educational mission.

Upon termination, provisions of these Terms that by their nature should survive (including intellectual property, disclaimers, limitations of liability, and governing law) will remain in effect.

14. Governing Law & Dispute Resolution

These Terms are governed by the laws of the State of California, without regard to conflict of law principles.

Before initiating any formal dispute, you agree to first contact us in good faith at info@centralcoastincubator.org to attempt resolution. If a dispute cannot be resolved informally, the parties agree to pursue mediation before initiating any legal action.

Any legal action shall be brought in the courts of San Luis Obispo County, California.

15. Changes to These Terms

We may update these Terms from time to time. When we do, we will revise the “Last Updated” date at the top of this page. For material changes, we will make reasonable efforts to notify registered users (e.g., via email or dashboard notice).

Your continued use of our website or services after any changes constitutes your acceptance of the updated Terms.

16. Accessibility

We are committed to making our website accessible to all users, including those with disabilities. We work to meet WCAG 2.1 Level AA standards. If you experience accessibility barriers, please contact us at support@centralcoastincubator.org so we can assist you.

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