SmokiesApp Founding Business Program Terms

Purpose

Welcome to the SmokiesApp Founding Business Program.

These Program Terms explain the benefits and expectations for businesses invited to participate as Founding Businesses. They are intended to be a straightforward summary of the program and work alongside the SmokiesApp Business Terms. If there is a conflict between these Program Terms and the Business Terms, the Business Terms control.

Founding Business Benefits

As a Founding Business, your business receives complimentary access to the core of SmokiesApp for as long as your business takes part in the program. There is no fee to join and no fee to keep using the core features listed here.

The core includes a verified business listing, the ability to publish deals and events, access to the business dashboard, priority support, and the opportunity to give feedback that shapes what we build next.

SmokiesApp will not begin charging your business for these core features. If we introduce paid plans in the future, we will not move your business onto one, and will not start billing your business for something it is already using, without reasonable advance notice and your agreement to that plan.

Early Access to New Features

Founding Businesses get access to new SmokiesApp features before other businesses. This is the central benefit of the program.

Early access means your business is first in line. It does not by itself mean a feature is free. Some new features are part of a paid plan, and some early looks are offered at no cost.

Whenever we offer your business an early look at something new, we will tell you up front whether it is free, whether it is a limited trial, and what happens when that trial ends. If keeping a feature will cost money, you will be told the price before you start using it, and your business will never be charged for continuing unless you agree to a paid plan first.

Declining a paid feature does not affect your participation in the program or your core listing.

Participation in the Founding Business Program does not guarantee future pricing, features, or availability.

Featured Placement and Promotional Spotlights

From time to time SmokiesApp may give your business extra visibility at no cost, such as featured placement in the app, a promoted event, or a spotlight in our own marketing.

These spotlights are offered at SmokiesApp's discretion and are not a guaranteed part of the program. We rotate them among businesses so that visibility is shared, which means a spotlight your business receives will normally run for a set period and then pass to another business.

We will tell you when a spotlight starts and when it is scheduled to end. SmokiesApp may end a spotlight earlier where it needs to, and may also offer similar placements as paid options.

Program Requirements

To remain eligible for the Founding Business Program, your business agrees to:

Maintain at least one active, publicly available deal in SmokiesApp at all times while participating in the program.

Keep your business information accurate and up to date, including your listing details, hours, contact information, photos, and website.

Honor the deals you publish according to the dates, terms, and conditions you advertise.

Only claim or manage businesses you are authorized to represent.

Comply with the SmokiesApp Business Terms and all applicable laws.

If your business does not have an active deal available for more than fourteen (14) consecutive days, SmokiesApp may end your participation in the Founding Business Program unless otherwise approved by SmokiesApp.

Ending your participation in the program does not remove your business from SmokiesApp. Your listing stays in the app. What stops are the Founding Business benefits described in these Program Terms.

Exclusive Deals

Businesses may designate qualifying offers as Exclusive Deals within SmokiesApp.

By marking a deal as Exclusive, your business represents that the deal is available only through SmokiesApp, and that it provides a better value than any substantially similar promotion your business is publicly advertising through its website, social media, email marketing, or other public channels during the same time period.

SmokiesApp may review Exclusive Deals at any time and may remove the Exclusive designation if it reasonably believes these requirements are no longer being met.

Maintaining an Exclusive Deal is not required to participate in the Founding Business Program.

Marketing Permission

You retain ownership of your business name, logo, photos, and other content.

By participating in the Founding Business Program, you grant SmokiesApp a non-exclusive, royalty-free license to use your business name, logo, photos, publicly available business information, and published deals or events for the purpose of operating and promoting SmokiesApp.

This may include use in the SmokiesApp mobile app, the SmokiesApp website, email communications, social media, advertising and promotional materials, and press releases and other marketing content.

If you provide feedback or testimonials, you also allow SmokiesApp to reference them in marketing materials unless you later ask us to stop using a specific quote or asset.

If your participation ends, SmokiesApp will stop using your business assets in new marketing materials within a reasonable period. Existing published materials do not need to be recalled or removed.

Term and Termination

Your participation in the Founding Business Program begins when your business is accepted into the program and continues until it is ended.

Either you or SmokiesApp may end participation at any time.

SmokiesApp may remove a business from the Founding Business Program if it fails to maintain an active deal as required by these Program Terms, repeatedly fails to honor published deals, provides false or misleading business information, engages in fraudulent, abusive, or deceptive conduct, or otherwise violates the SmokiesApp Business Terms.

If your participation ends, your business listing remains in SmokiesApp unless you ask us to remove it. Deals and events you published may expire or be removed, and any complimentary spotlights or early-access features end at that point. You can ask us to remove your listing or the content you provided at any time by contacting us.

Ending participation does not affect any rights or obligations that arose before termination.

Acceptance

By checking the acceptance box when claiming or adding your business, you confirm that you are authorized to act on behalf of the business, that you have read and agree to these Founding Business Program Terms, and that you agree to the SmokiesApp Business Terms.

SmokiesApp records the date, time, and version of these Program Terms that you accepted for its records.