3. Refund & Cancellation Policy

3.1 Intro calls

Intro calls are free. No refund applies.

3.2 Retainers — cancellation

Retainer engagements may be cancelled by either party with 30 days' written notice. The notice period is a working period; we continue delivering in-scope work through the final day.

3.3 Retainers — refunds

Retainer fees are paid monthly in advance and are non-refundable once the month has started, because the retainer reserves our capacity for you. If material scope has not yet been delivered when you cancel, any unused hours can be carried forward and applied against future work within 12 months of cancellation, at our discretion.

3.4 Project engagements — cancellation before kickoff

You may cancel a project engagement in writing before kickoff. We will refund any amount paid, less (a) expenses already incurred on your behalf, and (b) a 10% administration fee to cover intake and scoping time.

3.5 Project engagements — cancellation after kickoff

Once work has begun, fees already paid cover work performed to date and are non-refundable. You pay for any additional work completed up to the cancellation date, pro-rated against the agreed milestones. Any remaining prepaid balance, after work-to-date is accounted for, is refunded within 14 business days or, at your option, credited against future work within 12 months.

3.6 Placement-based or success-fee work

Where fees are tied to a hire, placement, or other milestone set out in the SOW, the SOW governs refund mechanics (including any guarantee or replacement period for placements). This policy yields to the SOW in those cases.

3.7 How to request a refund or cancel

Send written notice to founder@designthinkadvisory.com with:

• The name of the engagement or invoice number.

• The effective cancellation date (or today, if immediate).

• A short reason, if you are comfortable sharing it — it helps us improve.

We will acknowledge receipt within two (2) business days and confirm next steps within five (5) business days.

3.8 Exceptions

If we fail to deliver a service as agreed and cannot resolve the issue within a reasonable period after you raise it in writing, you may cancel and receive a pro-rated refund for work not performed, on top of the standard terms above.

3.9 Disputes

If we cannot agree on a refund outcome, both parties agree to attempt a good-faith resolution before pursuing any other remedy.

If any provision of this page is found unenforceable, the remaining provisions stay in effect. A signed engagement letter or SOW governs over this page where there is a conflict.

4. Privacy Policy

4.1 Who this covers

This policy covers anyone who visits designthinkadvisory.com; submits a form or books a call through the site; exchanges email with us; signs an engagement letter or Statement of Work ("SOW") with us; or whose personal information is shared with us by a client so we can deliver services on that client's behalf.

4.2 What we collect

We collect the following categories of information.

• Information you give us directly. Name, business name, role, email address, phone number, country, the message you write to us, and anything else you include on a form, in an email, or during a call.

• Information we collect automatically. Your IP address, device and browser type, pages visited, referring URL, and approximate location. This is collected by Squarespace (our site platform) and standard analytics cookies.

• Information clients share with us to deliver services. When we work on an engagement, a client may share information about their employees, candidates, contractors, or advisors — including names, contact details, compensation, performance notes, and similar records — so we can do the work set out in the SOW.

We do not collect sensitive categories of data (e.g., health, biometric, children's data) through the site. If a client engagement requires processing sensitive data, we agree to specific handling terms in the SOW.

4.3 Why we collect it

We use your information to respond to your enquiry; deliver services under a signed engagement letter or SOW; send operational communications (scheduling, invoices, project updates); improve and secure the site; comply with legal, tax, and accounting obligations; and — only if you opt in — send occasional updates about our work.

We do not sell personal information. We do not use your information for targeted advertising.

4.4 Who we share it with

We share information only with our own team working on your engagement; service providers who help us run the business (for example, our site platform, email, payments, accounting, and scheduling tools), under confidentiality obligations; professional advisors (lawyers, accountants) where reasonably needed; and authorities where we are legally required to.

When we engage a service provider, we require them to handle the information at least as carefully as we do.

4.5 How long we keep it

We keep personal information only as long as needed for the purpose it was collected, plus any period required by law (for example, tax and accounting records).

As a rule of thumb: enquiry emails and form submissions are kept for up to 24 months; engagement records (contracts, deliverables, invoices) are kept for 7 years for tax and audit purposes; anything collected under a specific SOW follows the retention schedule agreed in that SOW.

You may ask us to delete your information earlier — see 4.7.

4.6 Security

We take reasonable technical and organisational measures to protect personal information — including access controls, encrypted transport (HTTPS), limited access on a need-to-know basis, and vendor due diligence. No online service can guarantee absolute security, but we work to minimise risk and will notify affected individuals if a breach occurs that is likely to harm them.

4.7 Your rights

Depending on where you live, you may have some or all of the following rights over your personal information: access a copy of what we hold; correct information that is wrong; delete information we no longer need; object to or restrict certain processing; withdraw a consent you previously gave; and receive your information in a portable format.

To exercise any of these rights, email hello@designthinkadvisory.com. We will respond within 30 days. We may need to verify your identity first. Exercising a right will not cause us to treat you unfavourably.

4.8 Cookies and tracking

The site uses cookies set by Squarespace for core functionality (session, security, preferences) and for basic analytics (how visitors find and use the site). We do not set advertising or cross-site tracking cookies. You can control cookies through your browser settings; disabling essential cookies may break parts of the site.

4.9 International data transfers

We are based in Delaware, USA, and serve clients in emerging markets. Your information may be processed in the USA or another country where our service providers operate. Where required by law, we put appropriate safeguards in place (for example, standard contractual clauses) before transferring personal information out of your region.

4.10 Children

Our services are for businesses and their representatives. We do not knowingly collect personal information from anyone under 18 through the site. If you believe a child has given us information, email us and we will delete it.

4.11 Changes to this policy

We may update this policy as our practices or the law change. When we do, we will update the "Last updated" date above. If the change is material, we will flag it through the site or by email to active clients before it takes effect.

4.12 Contact

Questions or requests about privacy? founder@designthinkadvisory.com

4.13 Payment Security

DesignThink LLC does not store, process, or transmit payment card details directly. All card payments are processed by our payment processor (Wise) using industry-standard TLS/SSL encryption. We are not responsible for the security of payment data handled by our payment processor, whose own privacy and security policies apply.