Venture Café’s Terms & Conditions
Last updated: April 30th, 2024
Our Ethos
The mission of CIC Venture Cafe Global Institute, Inc. and all its affiliated Venture Café’s is to connect innovators to make things happen. Through a localized approach, we accelerate and enhance the innovation process in cities around the world. With high-touch programming, spaces, storytelling, and broad innovation engagement, we provide the connective tissue to uncover and link various parts of an innovation ecosystem, amplifying the work of partners and convening the local community in cities where we operate.
As part of our mission to connect the innovation community, we seek to provide safe, supportive and constructive environments for conversations and meaningful connections.
Terms and Conditions
These terms and conditions (the “Terms and Conditions”) constitute the set of rules applicable to our Services that you (“you, “your(s)”) use. By „Services” we mean meetings or events promoted, sanctioned, or organized by CIC Venture Cafe Global Institute, Inc. both online and onsite („Events”) as well as your use of this website and your participation in our newsletters. By participating in the Event or utilizing any other feature described above, you accept these Terms and Conditions. If you do not intend to comply with any part of these Terms and Conditions, do not use our Services.
Who are we?
When you are attending an Event, by “we” or Venture Café” we mean the company that organizes that Event. You can see the full list of Venture Café’s Global Institute in Annex 2 at the bottom of this page. In any other case, by “we” or Venture Café” we mean CIC NL Operations B.V. when you are located within the EEA and CIC Innovation Services LLC if you are located anywhere else. To make this less complicated, we have one set of Terms and Conditions that apply to all of our companies and Services.
1. Observe the platinum rule. Treat others as they would like to be treated.
Contribute in a positive, valuable way. Respect the social norms of conversation and engagement, respecting others’ desires to interact, or not interact, based on the context of the situation. Be honest and straightforward in all dealings. Make yourself comfortable and be kind to others. Our open, friendly atmosphere is exemplified by our community.
2. Refrain from hard selling.
It’s okay to say what you do, but don’t sell. Initiate and cultivate meaningful connections rather than pitching your product or service. If it feels like selling, it probably is.
3. Respect the space and the people around you.
Venture Café provides meeting, collaboration and sometimes workspace to the public at our sites. All are welcome at Venture Café. Please respect this community events and space — clean up after yourself, dispose of all trash, and keep noise at a moderate level. Treat all individuals with respect while utilizing Venture Café sites and programs, including refraining from unwelcome interactions or harassment or defamation of their work. Please refrain from using any device to make an audio and/or visual recording, transmission, or broadcast of any Event without our written consent.
4. Be an active user in our community.
The Venture Café is an expanding and dynamic organization. We rely on our community to contribute to make the organization what it is. Please join us and share the love with a little creativity and collaboration! We constantly try new things to improve your interactive experience in this unique space. We encourage you to provide constructive feedback and share your ideas.
5. Protecting IP
You may hear from and share ideas and materials with fellow users and speakers at the Venture Café so please respect the work of others. Your participation shall not excuse you from following the laws regarding intellectual property including the copyrights, trademarks, or other intellectual property or proprietary rights in the work of your fellow users and speakers and of any third-party. Venture Café does not condone or support intellectual property infringement and our hosting of the Venture Café does not signify our intention to induce, cause or materially contribute to any infringement. Your use of and reliance upon any information, ideas or materials learned at the Venture Café is at your own risk and Venture Café makes no representations or warranties with respect to any of them. You acknowledge that any material provided by Venture Café at an Event shall belong to us, including without limitation any intellectual property pertaining to such materials.
6. Connect responsibly.
Behave professionally. All Events should be considered community gatherings, not bars (when alcohol is served). If you wouldn’t do it in your office, don’t do it here. Communications of an unwelcomed, harassing, or sexual nature are not appropriate. All communication should be appropriate for a professional audience including people of many different backgrounds.
7. Keep Venture Café spaces free of harassment.
We are dedicated to providing a harassment-free and welcoming experience for everyone, regardless of and not limited to gender identity or gender expression, sex or sexual orientation, disability, physical appearance, body size, race, color, national origin, age, military service, or religion. We do not tolerate harassment in any form. Please respect everyone’s background and comfort level. The following behavior and language are considered unacceptable whether at an Event or ancillary to such Event (including without limitation in respect of social media posts):
- Violence, threats of violence or violent language directed against another person.
- Sexist, racist, homophobic, transphobic, ableist, classist, or otherwise discriminatory jokes and language.
- Posting or displaying sexually explicit or violent material.
- Personal insults, particularly those related to gender, sexual orientation, race, religion, or disability.
- Inappropriate physical contact. You should have someone’s consent before touching them.
- Unwelcome sexual attention. This includes, sexualized comments or jokes, inappropriate touching, groping, and unwelcome sexual advances.
- Deliberate intimidation, stalking, or following (online or in person).
- Sustained disruption of community events or our sites, including talks and presentations.
- Making other guests, users and speakers feel uncomfortable, threatened, or otherwise unwelcome in the space.
- Advocating for, or encouraging, any of the above behavior.
8. Photography
You authorize us to make use of any photographs, likenesses, films, broadcasts, cablecasts, audiotapes, taken of the event and of user(s) and speaker(s) while at Venture Café in any way we see fit for the promotion, coverage or benefit of the event, without compensation, so long as our use neither jeopardizes nor endorses a specific product or service, and hereby expressly and irrevocably waive and release any rights in connection with such use, including any claim to invasion of privacy, right of publicity or to misappropriation.
9. Health and Safety
Please comply with the applicable health and safety rules of the Event premises.
10. Consumer rights
Depending on the country you live in, there may be additional laws and rights that apply to these terms. To learn more, please seek advice from your local consumer rights regulatory authority. You agree that such additional rights and laws will apply to these terms only to the extent they cannot be excluded by law.
11. Our Rights and Protections
We are here to keep this a comfortable and safe place for all. To support Venture Café’s mission to enable productive conversations and to act as a community hub, we reserve the right to disinvite and remove any individual that Venture Café management feels, in their sole judgment, acts in a manner contrary to these Terms and Conditions. We reserve our rights in law to take further action against such behavior.
You shall defend, indemnify and hold us (including all successors, assigns, affiliates and group companies of Venture Café (including without limitation, Venture Café) harmless from any claim brought by a fellow user, speaker or third party in respect of possible infringement of such party’s intellectual property.
You shall waive all liability against us (including all successors, assigns, affiliates and group companies of Venture Café (including without limitation, Venture Café) for any loss incurred by you whilst you are at or in connection with an Event including without limitation any loss suffered as a result of personal injury or death (save for as a result of our fraud or negligence or when it cannot be waived or limited in law). In any event, the maximum liability of us (including all successors, assigns and group companies of Venture Café (including without limitation, Venture Café) to you shall always be capped at $50 per claim.
Unless otherwise specified with regards to a specific Event, our Services are made available for you free of charge and you therefore acknowledge and agree we provide our Services to you “as is” and “as available”. To the maximum extent available in law, we make no express or implied warranty as to the quality of our Services, including (without limitation) no warranty of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose of any kind.
12. Speaker IP
When you are a speaker / presenter / session organizer at one of our Events and post or display content or other materials through any of our channels (for example, our website), you grant us a royalty-free non-exclusive license to use, copy, distribute, display and in any other way disseminate any works contained therein to the extent necessary to publish the content or materials, make them available at and after the Event and to promote the Event and any other activities of our group. The license is granted for an indefinite period of time, without territorial restrictions, with the right to grant sublicenses. We can assign the license between our entities listed in the Annex II from time to time.
When you are a speaker / presenter / session organizer, you represent and warrant to us that you hold sufficient legal title to any and all content and materials you publish as a speaker to use such in accordance with these Terms and Conditions. You shall indemnify us for any loss or damage we (or any other group entity listed in Annex II from time to time) may suffer as a result of breach of this warranty.
13. Your Protections
It is our sincere goal that you feel safe in and enjoy the spaces, programs, and conversations hosted by Venture Café. If you find yourself in or witness a situation in which you are feeling uncomfortable or threatened, please do not hesitate to reach out to our team. We are here to support our community and will do everything within our power to do so. We ask that if you have any concerns, please let us know – we want to be here to support every member of our community, and also rely heavily on community feedback in order to constantly improve the way we operate and facilitate our mission and values.
Depending on your location, consumer law may apply to your relationship with us. These Terms and Conditions do not limit any of your consumer rights that cannot be limited by law.
Please refer to Annex 1 as to how to report a violation.
14. Donations and payments
You may, at your sole discretion, donate to us through the channel we have established for such purpose with use of Stripe. You agree that we can determine the purpose of such donation at our sole discretion, within the scope of the purpose of our organization. All details regarding the donation are described at the URL: VentureCafe[Location].org/programs/venturer/.
You may, at your sole discretion, make other payments, including but not limited to, subscription fees to us through the channel we have established for such purposes with use of Stripe.
Please, note that all payments are irrevocable and non-refundable to the maximum extent available by law. We in no way represent or warrant that any donation may be qualified as tax deductible under any jurisdiction.
15. General
These Terms and Conditions constitute the entire agreement between you and us in respect of your attendance at the Event. If you are located in the EEA, these Terms and Conditions shall be governed by and construed in accordance with laws of the Netherlands and subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of Dutch courts. If you are located outside of the EEA, these Terms and Conditions shall be governed by the laws of the State of Massachusetts (USA) and subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of courts of the state court located in Cambridge, MA, Middlesex County. We do not limit any consumer laws that may apply to you, but cannot be limited in law.
Annex 1 – Reporting a violation of the Terms and Conditions
We have listed ways to report a violation, reach out to our staff, and other local resources below:
Reporting a violation of the Terms and Conditions at an Event
We recommend that you first contact your Event organizer. If you don’t feel comfortable doing so, please see a member of our staff at the Event or contact us directly via the email addresses below.
Suggested Email Template for Incident / Harassment Reporting:
SUBJECT: Safe Space alert at [EVENT NAME]
I am writing because of an incident / harassment at a Venture Café event, (NAME, DATE OF EVENT).
You can reach me at (CONTACT INFO). Thank you.
Should any community member make you uncomfortable or fail to comply with these Terms and Conditions, please alert Venture Café staff immediately using the contact information set forth below.
Venture Café Contact Information:
Please report by sending us an email at the addresses according to the venue of the Event as specified in the Annex 2.
Additional Local Resources:
- Urgent police matters, medical care or by fire call: 112/911
By sexual intimidation you can safely and easily report it in Stop App: https://www.yipyip.nl/portfolio/stop-app/
Annex 2 – List of Venture Café’s Community members and legal entities that run them
Below is the list of Venture Café’s and legal entities responsible for running them. We may update the list from time to time. You can contact us, doesn’t matter the entity, simply by writing an e-mail to contact@venturecafeglobal.org.
| Venture Café | Run by |
| Venture Café Cambridge | CIC Innovation Services LLC 1 Broadway 14th Floor, Cambridge, MA 02142, USA |
| Venture Café St. Louis | CIC Innovation Services LLC 1 Broadway 14th Floor, Cambridge, MA 02142, USA |
| Venture Café Rotterdam | CIC NL Operations B.V., Stationsplein 45, Unit 4.002, 3013AK Rotterdam, Netherlands |
| Venture Café Miami | CIC Innovation Services LLC 1 Broadway 14th Floor, Cambridge, MA 02142, USA |
| Venture Café Tokyo | Venture Café Tokyo (VCT), 15F Toranomon Hills Business Tower, 1-17-1 Toranomon, Minatoku, Tokyo 105-6415, Japan |
| Venture Café Philadelphia | University City Science Center 3675 Market Street Floor 3, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA |
| Venture Café Warsaw | Venture Café Warsaw Foundation Chmielna 73, 00-801, Warsaw, Poland |
| Venture Café Providence | CIC Innovation Services LLC 1 Broadway 14th Floor, Cambridge, MA 02142, USA |
| Venture Café Phoenix | The Center for Entrepreneurial Innovation 850 N 5th St, Phoenix, AZ 85004, USA |
| Venture Café Monterrey | Tec de Monterrey, Centro de Estudios para el Desarrollo Sostenible, Av. Junco de la Vega piso 12, Tecnológico, 64810 Monterrey, N.L., México |
| Venture Café Fukuoka | CIC Japan Innovation Services G.K., 1 Chome-17-1 Toranomon, Minato City, Tokyo 105-6415, Japan |
| Venture Café Berlin | CIC Berlin, Lohmühlenstraße 65, 12435 Berlin, Germany |
| Venture Café London | Venture Café UK, 128 City Road, London, United Kingdom, EC1V 2NX, UK |
| Venture Café Manchester | Venture Café UK, 128 City Road, London, United Kingdom, EC1V 2NX, UK |
| Venture Café Edinburgh | Venture Café UK, 128 City Road, London, United Kingdom, EC1V 2NX, UK |