Terms of Service

1. INTRODUCTION AND ACCEPTANCE OF TERMS

These Terms of Service (this "Agreement" or "Terms") constitute a legally binding agreement between Vantage Group, a Texas-based consulting and advisory firm ("Vantage Group," "Company," "we," "us," or "our"), and each individual or entity ("User") accessing or using the Company's website located at www.thevantagegroup.co (the "Website") and the AXIS Alignment Index platform and related services (collectively, the "Service").

BY ACCESSING OR USING THE SERVICE, YOU ACKNOWLEDGE THAT YOU HAVE READ, UNDERSTOOD, AND AGREE TO BE BOUND BY THESE TERMS IN THEIR ENTIRETY. IF YOU DO NOT AGREE TO THESE TERMS, YOU MUST IMMEDIATELY CEASE USE OF THE SERVICE.

These Terms apply to all Users, including Employers and Candidates as defined herein. Certain provisions apply exclusively to Employers or Candidates, as specified. Use of the Service constitutes your representation that you have authority to bind yourself or the organization you represent.

We reserve the right to modify these Terms at any time. Changes become effective upon posting to the Website. Continued use of the Service following notice of any modification constitutes acceptance of the revised Terms.

2. DEFINITIONS

"AXIS Alignment Index" or "Axis" means the Company's proprietary, trait-based alignment system, including its methodology, scoring model, structure, outputs, and all related materials, used to evaluate individuals and inform placement, hiring, reassignment, and organizational design decisions.

"Assessment Link" means a unique, time-limited URL issued to a Candidate for purposes of completing an Axis assessment.

"Candidate" means any individual who receives and accesses an Assessment Link for purposes of completing an Axis assessment.

"Employer" means any organization or individual that has registered for a Company account, purchased Assessment Links, and uses the Service to evaluate Candidates.

"Placement Report" means the output generated by Axis following completion of an assessment, delivered to the Employer's dashboard.

"User Content" means any data, information, materials, or content submitted or uploaded to the Website by any User.

"Stripe" means the third-party payment processor used by the Company to process payment transactions on the Website.

3. USER OBLIGATIONS AND ACCOUNT REGISTRATION

Eligibility. The Service is available to users who are at least eighteen (18) years of age and located within the United States. By using the Service, you represent and warrant that you meet these requirements. The Company does not knowingly collect information from individuals outside the United States or under eighteen (18) years of age.

Account Registration. Employers must create an account to access the Service. You agree to provide accurate, current, and complete information during registration and to keep such information updated. You are solely responsible for maintaining the confidentiality of your account credentials and for all activity that occurs under your account.

Account Security. You agree not to share login credentials, permit unauthorized access, or use another party's account. You must immediately notify the Company of any suspected unauthorized access at info@thevantagegroup.co. The Company is not liable for any loss arising from unauthorized account use.

Accuracy of Information. You represent that all information you provide in connection with the Service is truthful and accurate. The Company reserves the right to suspend or terminate accounts associated with false, misleading, or inaccurate information.

4. PURCHASE TERMS AND PAYMENT

Assessment Links. Employers purchase Assessment Links in predetermined quantities. Pricing is as listed on the Website at the time of purchase. The Company reserves the right to modify pricing at any time; such changes will not affect purchases already completed.

Payment Processing. All payments are processed securely through Stripe. By submitting a payment, you agree to Stripe's terms of service and privacy policy. The Company does not store payment card data.

Non-Refundable Purchases. ALL PURCHASES ARE FINAL AND NON-REFUNDABLE. Once an Assessment Link is purchased, no refunds will be issued, regardless of whether the link is used or the assessment is completed. Unused Assessment Links do not expire and may be used at any future date.

Chargebacks. You agree to contact the Company at info@thevantagegroup.co to resolve any billing disputes prior to initiating a chargeback or payment dispute through Stripe or your financial institution. Unauthorized chargebacks may result in immediate suspension or termination of your account.

Taxes. You are responsible for all applicable taxes associated with your purchases. Prices displayed on the Website do not include taxes unless expressly stated.

5. AXIS ASSESSMENT LINK AND CANDIDATE PROCESS

Assessment Process. Upon purchase, the Company delivers a branded email to each designated Candidate containing a unique Assessment Link. Each Assessment Link is valid for seven (7) days from issuance. One Assessment Link is consumed per completed assessment.

Candidate Completion. Candidates complete sixty (60) behavior-based questions at their own pace within the validity period. The AXIS system scores responses across forty-eight (48) individual contributor roles across six (6) departments.

Placement Reports. Upon completion of an assessment, a Placement Report with coaching notes is delivered directly to the Employer's dashboard. Reports are provided for informational purposes only and do not constitute a hiring recommendation, guarantee of performance, or employment advice.

Employer Responsibility for Candidates. Employers are solely responsible for: (a) obtaining all required consents from Candidates prior to initiating assessments; (b) providing Candidates with all legally required disclosures regarding data collection and use; and (c) complying with all applicable laws governing the evaluation of prospective or current employees.

Hiring Decisions. All hiring, termination, compensation, and role assignment decisions are made solely by the Employer at the Employer's discretion and risk. The Service is one of many inputs and must not be used as the sole basis for any employment decision. The Company does not make, and expressly disclaims, any hiring recommendations or guarantees of candidate performance.

EEOC and Employment Law Compliance. Employers are solely responsible for ensuring their use of the Service complies with all applicable employment laws, including Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) guidelines and all federal, state, and local anti-discrimination laws. The Company makes no representation that the Service satisfies any legal requirements for employment screening or compliance. You agree to indemnify and hold the Company harmless from any claims arising from alleged discrimination or non-compliance with applicable employment law.

6. USER-GENERATED CONTENT

Submission of Content. Users may upload or submit certain content to the Website in connection with their use of the Service. You retain ownership of any User Content you submit. By submitting User Content, you grant the Company a non-exclusive, royalty-free, worldwide license to use, store, process, and display such content solely as necessary to provide the Service.

Content Standards. You represent and warrant that your User Content: (a) does not violate any applicable law or third-party rights; (b) does not contain malicious code, viruses, or harmful components; (c) is accurate and not misleading; and (d) complies with all applicable data protection and privacy laws, including laws governing the submission of personal data of third parties.

Candidate Data. Employers acknowledge that submitting Candidate information constitutes User Content and that they bear full responsibility for the lawful collection and submission of such data. You shall not submit sensitive personal information unless legally authorized to do so and necessary for your intended use.

Company Rights. The Company reserves the right to remove any User Content that violates these Terms or that the Company determines, in its sole discretion, is inappropriate, harmful, or in violation of applicable law, without prior notice.

7. INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY

Company Ownership. The AXIS Alignment Index, including its methodology, structure, scoring model, outputs, reports, trade secrets, and all related materials, constitutes proprietary intellectual property exclusively owned by Vantage Group. All rights, title, and interest in the Service, Website, software, content, trademarks, and branding remain the exclusive property of the Company.

Limited License. Subject to your compliance with these Terms, the Company grants you a limited, non-exclusive, non-transferable, revocable license to access and use the Service solely for your internal business purposes. This license does not include any right to sublicense, resell, reproduce, distribute, or create derivative works based on any portion of the Service or its outputs.

Restrictions. You shall not: (a) copy, reproduce, or distribute the Service or its outputs beyond your internal use; (b) reverse engineer, decompile, or attempt to extract the underlying logic, methodology, or scoring model of Axis; (c) use Axis outputs for any competitive or commercially exploitative purpose; or (d) remove, obscure, or alter any proprietary notices contained in the Service.

No Transfer. Nothing in these Terms transfers any ownership rights in any intellectual property to any User. All rights not expressly granted herein are reserved by the Company.

Feedback. If you provide suggestions, feedback, or ideas to the Company, you grant the Company the right to use such feedback without restriction or compensation.

8. PRIVACY AND DATA PROTECTION

Privacy Policy. Your use of the Service is subject to the Company's Privacy Policy, incorporated herein by reference and available at www.thevantagegroup.co. By using the Service, you consent to the collection, use, and disclosure of information as described in the Privacy Policy.

Data Processing. The Company processes User Content and Candidate data solely for the purpose of delivering the Service. The Company maintains system logs, activity records, and usage data for security, compliance, and operational integrity purposes.

Employer Compliance. Employers are independently and solely responsible for complying with all applicable data protection and privacy laws. Employers must obtain all required consents and provide all legally mandated disclosures to Candidates before submitting their data into the platform.

Data Retention. The Company is not obligated to retain logs or User Content for any specific duration except as required by applicable law.

9. THIRD-PARTY SERVICES

The Service integrates with or links to third-party services, including Stripe for payment processing. These third-party services are governed by their own terms of service and privacy policies. The Company does not control third-party services and is not responsible for their content, accuracy, availability, or practices.

Your use of any third-party service in connection with the Service is at your own risk. The Company expressly disclaims all liability arising from your interaction with any third-party service or platform.

10. DISCLAIMERS AND LIMITATION OF LIABILITY

DISCLAIMER OF WARRANTIES. THE SERVICE IS PROVIDED "AS IS" AND "AS AVAILABLE" WITHOUT WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, ACCURACY, RELIABILITY, OR NON-INFRINGEMENT. THE COMPANY DOES NOT WARRANT THAT THE SERVICE WILL BE UNINTERRUPTED, ERROR-FREE, OR FREE OF HARMFUL COMPONENTS.

NO GUARANTEE OF OUTCOMES. THE COMPANY EXPRESSLY DISCLAIMS ANY GUARANTEE THAT USE OF THE SERVICE WILL RESULT IN SUCCESSFUL HIRING, IMPROVED EMPLOYEE PERFORMANCE, OR ANY PARTICULAR BUSINESS OUTCOME. PLACEMENT REPORTS ARE INFORMATIONAL TOOLS ONLY.

LIMITATION OF LIABILITY. TO THE MAXIMUM EXTENT PERMITTED BY APPLICABLE LAW, IN NO EVENT SHALL VANTAGE GROUP, ITS OWNERS, OFFICERS, EMPLOYEES, OR AFFILIATES BE LIABLE FOR ANY INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, CONSEQUENTIAL, SPECIAL, EXEMPLARY, OR PUNITIVE DAMAGES, INCLUDING LOST PROFITS, LOST DATA, OR BUSINESS INTERRUPTION, ARISING OUT OF OR IN CONNECTION WITH THESE TERMS OR YOUR USE OF THE SERVICE, EVEN IF ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES.

CAP ON LIABILITY. THE COMPANY'S TOTAL CUMULATIVE LIABILITY FOR ANY CLAIMS ARISING UNDER OR IN CONNECTION WITH THESE TERMS SHALL NOT EXCEED THE TOTAL FEES PAID BY YOU TO THE COMPANY IN THE THREE (3) MONTHS IMMEDIATELY PRECEDING THE EVENT GIVING RISE TO THE CLAIM.

11. INDEMNIFICATION

You agree to indemnify, defend, and hold harmless Vantage Group and its owners, officers, employees, agents, and affiliates from and against any and all claims, demands, actions, liabilities, damages, costs, and expenses (including reasonable attorneys' fees) arising out of or relating to: (a) your access to or use of the Service; (b) any employment, hiring, termination, compensation, or organizational decisions you make based in whole or in part on Axis outputs; (c) your collection, handling, use, or disclosure of Candidate data; (d) your violation of any applicable law, including employment or anti-discrimination laws; or (e) your breach of any provision of these Terms.

12. TERMINATION

By the Company. The Company reserves the right to suspend or terminate your access to the Service at any time, with or without notice, for: (a) violation of these Terms; (b) non-payment of fees; (c) suspected fraudulent, abusive, or unlawful activity; or (d) any other reason the Company deems necessary to protect the integrity of the Service.

By the User. Employers may discontinue use of the Service at any time. Termination does not entitle you to any refund of unused Assessment Links or fees previously paid.

Effect of Termination. Upon termination: (a) your license to use the Service immediately terminates; (b) you must cease all use of the Service; and (c) provisions of these Terms that by their nature should survive termination shall survive, including Sections 7, 10, 11, 13, and 17.

13. DISPUTE RESOLUTION AND ARBITRATION

Informal Resolution. Before initiating formal dispute proceedings, you agree to contact the Company at info@thevantagegroup.co and provide written notice of your dispute. The parties agree to negotiate in good faith for a period of thirty (30) days to attempt informal resolution.

Binding Arbitration. If informal resolution fails, any dispute, claim, or controversy arising out of or relating to these Terms or the Service shall be resolved exclusively through final and binding arbitration administered under the rules of the American Arbitration Association (AAA). Arbitration shall take place in Parker County, Texas.

CLASS ACTION WAIVER. YOU EXPRESSLY WAIVE ANY RIGHT TO PARTICIPATE IN A CLASS ACTION LAWSUIT, CLASS-WIDE ARBITRATION, OR ANY OTHER REPRESENTATIVE PROCEEDING. ALL CLAIMS MUST BE BROUGHT ON AN INDIVIDUAL BASIS ONLY.

Exceptions. Either party may seek injunctive or other equitable relief in a court of competent jurisdiction in Parker County, Texas, to prevent actual or threatened infringement of intellectual property rights or to prevent irreparable harm.

Arbitration Costs. Each party shall bear its own costs and fees in connection with arbitration, except that the arbitrator may award reasonable fees and costs to the prevailing party in accordance with applicable law.

14. PROHIBITED ACTIVITIES

You agree not to engage in any of the following activities in connection with the Service: (a) copying, reproducing, distributing, reselling, or sublicensing the Service or any outputs for any commercial purpose; (b) reverse engineering, decompiling, disassembling, or attempting to extract the underlying logic, source code, or methodology of Axis; (c) using the Service in any manner that violates applicable law, including any employment, anti-discrimination, or data protection law; (d) uploading or transmitting malicious code, viruses, or any content intended to disrupt or damage the Service or any connected system; (e) attempting to gain unauthorized access to any account, system, or network associated with the Service; (f) using the Service for any fraudulent, deceptive, or misleading purpose; (g) circumventing or disabling any security, access control, or licensing mechanism of the Service; (h) misrepresenting your identity, affiliation, or authority in connection with the Service; or (i) interfering with or disrupting the integrity or performance of the Service or any data contained therein.

15. CHANGES TO TERMS

The Company reserves the right to modify these Terms at any time. Material changes will be communicated by posting a revised version on the Website with an updated effective date. In appropriate circumstances, the Company may provide additional notice via email to registered Employers.

Your continued access to or use of the Service following the effective date of any modification constitutes your acceptance of the revised Terms. If you do not agree to any modification, you must discontinue use of the Service.

16. GOVERNING LAW AND JURISDICTION

These Terms and any disputes arising hereunder shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of the State of Texas, without regard to its conflict of law principles.

Subject to the arbitration provisions in Section 13, the parties consent to exclusive jurisdiction and venue in the state and federal courts located in Parker County, Texas, for any claims not subject to arbitration.

17. MISCELLANEOUS

Severability. If any provision of these Terms is found to be invalid, illegal, or unenforceable under applicable law, such provision shall be modified to the minimum extent necessary to make it enforceable, and the remaining provisions shall continue in full force and effect.

Entire Agreement. These Terms, together with the Privacy Policy and any other agreements expressly incorporated by reference herein, constitute the entire agreement between you and the Company with respect to the Service and supersede all prior agreements, understandings, and representations.

Waiver. Failure by the Company to enforce any right or provision of these Terms shall not constitute a waiver of such right or provision. Any waiver of any provision of these Terms shall be effective only if in writing and signed by an authorized representative of the Company.

No Partnership. Nothing in these Terms creates any agency, partnership, joint venture, or employment relationship between the parties. You may not represent yourself as an agent or representative of the Company.

Assignment. You may not assign or transfer your rights or obligations under these Terms without the Company's prior written consent. The Company may assign its rights and obligations without restriction.

Force Majeure. The Company shall not be liable for any delay or failure to perform resulting from causes beyond its reasonable control, including acts of God, natural disasters, public health emergency, labor disputes, governmental action, or internet or telecommunication outages.

Notices. Notices to the Company under these Terms must be sent in writing to 317 Forest Trl. Weatherford, TX 76085 or by email to info@thevantagegroup.co. The Company may provide notices to you at the email address associated with your account.

18. CONTACT INFORMATION

For questions, concerns, or notices regarding these Terms, please contact the Company at: