The small print, in plain English.
The Line is a free weekly call-in run by NEO Founders. Before you leave a message, here is what you are agreeing to and what you can expect from us.
1. What The Line is, and what it is not
The Line is general business commentary. Samantha answers messages based only on what you tell her in a short voice note. She does not know your full situation, your numbers, your contracts or your market, so what she says is her opinion on the facts as described, not professional advice.
Nothing on The Line is legal, financial, tax, accounting, investment, HR or regulatory advice, and it does not replace advice from a professional who knows your circumstances. If a decision is significant, check it with the right adviser before acting.
Listening to The Line, or having your message answered, does not make you a client of NEO Founders and does not create any duty of care, contract or confidential relationship between us. Any decision you take based on The Line is yours, and you take it at your own risk.
2. Sending a message
To leave a message you must be at least 18 and the business you describe must be your own, or one you are authorised to speak about. Keep it to your first name, where you are, what the business does and what is stuck. Please do not include other people’s names or personal details, anything confidential or commercially sensitive, account numbers, or anything abusive, unlawful or defamatory. We may delete messages that do, without replying.
By sending a message you confirm that it is your own voice, that what you say is true as far as you know, and that you have read these terms.
3. Playing your message publicly
The point of The Line is that answers are shared, so that founders with the same problem hear them too. When you tick “Answer this on The Line” on the recorder, or send a WhatsApp voice note without saying “private”, you give NEO Founders permission to use your message publicly. Specifically, you grant NEO Founders a non-exclusive, worldwide, royalty-free, perpetual licence to record, store, edit for length and clarity, transcribe, caption, clip and publish your message and Samantha’s answer on neofounders.co.uk, on NEO’s social media channels (including Instagram, TikTok, LinkedIn and YouTube), in email, audio, video and in any format The Line is published in now or in future.
We will identify you by first name only, and we will not name your business unless you ask us to. You will not be paid for the use of your message and you do not get approval over the edit, though we will always try to represent what you said fairly.
You keep ownership of your recording. If you change your mind about public use before your message has been answered, email us and we will keep it off air. If it has already been published, we will remove it from the places we control within a reasonable time of a written request, but we cannot recall copies that have already been shared or downloaded by others.
4. Private messages
If you untick “Answer this on The Line”, or start a WhatsApp note with the word “private”, your message will not be played, quoted or published anywhere. Samantha may reply to you directly if she can, but a private reply is not guaranteed.
5. No guarantee of an answer
Samantha listens to every message and chooses three a week to answer. Picked or not, every message is heard, but we cannot promise that yours will be answered, when it will be answered, or that an answer will solve the problem. We may pause or end The Line at any time.
6. Your data
When you use the recorder we collect your name, your email address and your voice recording through SpeakPipe, which processes recordings on our behalf and may store them outside the UK. When you use WhatsApp we see your phone number and profile name. We use these details to listen to your message, reply where we can, and publish it if you have agreed to that. We will not add you to NEO’s mailing list unless you tick a box or ask us to.
We keep unanswered and private messages for up to 12 months, then delete them. Messages that have been published are kept for as long as the content stays live. You can ask us to delete your recording and details at any time by emailing studio@neofounders.co.uk, and you have the other rights set out in our privacy policy.
7. Liability
Nothing in these terms limits or excludes any liability that cannot be limited or excluded by law. Subject to that, NEO Founders and Samantha Wagstaff are not liable for any loss, cost or damage, including loss of profit, revenue, customers or data, arising from anything said on The Line, from your reliance on it, or from any decision you take as a result. The Line is provided free and as-is, without any warranty that it is accurate, complete or suitable for your situation.
8. Who owns what
The Line name, format, artwork, recordings of Samantha’s answers and all published episodes belong to NEO Founders. You may share published episodes with a link or the platform’s share tools, but you may not copy, re-upload or edit them without permission. Your own recording remains yours, subject to the licence in section 3.
9. Changes and law
We may update these terms from time to time; the date at the top tells you when. The version in force when you send a message is the one that applies to it. These terms are governed by the law of England and Wales and any dispute will be dealt with by the courts of England and Wales.
10. Contact
NEO Founders, Yorkshire, United Kingdom · studio@neofounders.co.uk