The terms under which heretics engages and the site speaks.
- This site describes services. Engagement-specific terms live in the signed SOW for each engagement.
- What you pay heretics to build is work for hire. You own it on final payment.
- Heretics may abstract the work (client name redacted) for portfolio use, unless the SOW says otherwise.
- The site's editorial content is opinion. It is not investment, legal, accounting, security, or procurement advice.
- Either side can end an engagement on 14 days notice; the off-ramp is mechanical, not negotiated.
01 Acceptance & scope
Heretics is operated by [LEGAL ENTITY] ("heretics," "we," "us"). These Terms govern your access to and use of heretics.io and its sub-properties (work.heretics.io, the Blueprint, the FAQ, the System page) (the "Site"). By accessing the Site you agree to these Terms. If you do not agree, do not use the Site.
If you engage heretics for a paid service (Blueprint, Engagement, or Fractional retainer), the specific Statement of Work or engagement agreement ("SOW") will define the deliverables, fees, timeline, intellectual-property terms, and confidentiality obligations of that engagement. Where the SOW and these Terms conflict, the SOW controls for that engagement.
02 Services
Heretics offers three paid engagement shapes:
- The Blueprint — a fixed-scope 30-day diagnostic, priced at $25,000 USD. Scope and deliverables are defined in a one-page agreement. Diagnostic only; no implementation is included.
- Full Engagement — a multi-month engagement scoped on a case-by-case basis. Defined in a multi-page SOW with milestone-based deliverables and payments.
- Fractional GTM Leadership — a recurring monthly retainer with embedded operating responsibilities. Defined in a retainer agreement with notice provisions.
Service descriptions on the Site are illustrative. The terms that bind any specific engagement are the SOW for that engagement.
03 Editorial content & no reliance
Content published on heretics.io — including the Blueprint methodology, the Atlas market framing, the Kumite rankings, narrative essays, and case studies — is editorial opinion and analysis based on publicly available information and our methodology. It is not investment, financial, legal, accounting, security, or procurement advice, and it is not a recommendation to buy, sell, hold, invest in, acquire, or transact with any company or security.
You should not rely on the Site as the sole basis for any decision. Conduct your own independent diligence.
04 Intellectual property — engagement deliverables
Deliverables created by heretics for you under a paid engagement (the "Deliverables") are work for hire. Upon final payment, all right, title, and interest in the Deliverables transfers to you, except as noted in §05 below. The Deliverables include the artifacts in your shared workspace (strategy operating system, narrative documents, design system, etc.).
You grant heretics a perpetual, non-exclusive, royalty-free license to reference the engagement and the Deliverables in anonymized form for case-study, portfolio, and marketing purposes (see §05).
05 Portfolio use & anonymization
Heretics may use a redacted, anonymized version of engagement Deliverables for portfolio and marketing purposes — replacing client name, founder names, specific dollar figures, and other vendor-identifying details with neutral placeholders (the Arcology pattern at work.heretics.io is an example). This is permitted by default.
If you prefer that engagement materials remain fully private, the relevant clause is flipped in the SOW before the engagement begins. Once an engagement is complete, retroactive removal of portfolio use is by mutual agreement.
06 Intellectual property — heretics
The Site's original content and the heretics methodology, including the Blueprint structure, the GTM Exposure Index, the Revenue Governance framework, the Atlas market framing, the Kumite rubric, and the heretics, Markets InSecurity, NetherOps, OpptyCon, Atlas, and Kumite brands, are the intellectual property of heretics and may not be copied, republished, or used to build a competing product without written permission. Brief excerpts may be quoted with attribution and a link.
07 Confidentiality
Engagement-specific confidentiality is defined in the SOW or in a separate mutual NDA executed before sensitive material is exchanged. The default standard: information shared under the engagement that is not already public stays private, used solely for engagement purposes, returned or destroyed at engagement close. Standard exceptions apply (information already known, independently developed, lawfully received from a third party, or required by law).
08 Payment terms
Engagement fees are quoted in U.S. dollars. Payment schedules are defined in the SOW (typically: 50% deposit, balance on milestone completion, or monthly in advance for retainers). Payment is by ACH, wire transfer, or credit card with processing pass-through. Late payments over 30 days from invoice date are subject to a service charge equal to the lesser of 1.5% per month or the maximum allowed by law.
09 Termination & off-ramp
Either party may terminate an engagement on 14 days written notice. You pay for work completed through the termination date, including any in-flight artifacts heretics will finish during the notice period. No additional severance, kill fees, or wind-down fees are charged unless explicitly negotiated in the SOW.
10 No warranties & limitation of liability
The Site and the services are provided "as is" and "as available," without warranties of any kind, express or implied, including merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, accuracy, or non-infringement, to the fullest extent permitted by law.
To the fullest extent permitted by law, heretics will not be liable for indirect, incidental, consequential, special, or punitive damages, or for any loss arising from reliance on the Site or its content. Total liability for any engagement is capped at the fees paid by you to heretics under that engagement in the [12] months preceding the claim. [Counsel to confirm cap, carve-outs (gross negligence, willful misconduct, IP indemnity), and jurisdictional adjustments.]
11 Third-party tools & subprocessors
Engagement work uses third-party tools that may process limited engagement information: GitHub (artifact storage and versioning), Notion (working documents and meeting notes), Slack Connect (communication), Netlify (site hosting), Google Workspace (email and document collaboration). Each operates under its own terms and security posture. The privacy practices that apply to website visitors are described in our Privacy Policy.
12 Third-party names & trademarks
Company names, product names, and logos referenced on the Site (including vendors discussed in Kumite or Atlas content) are the property of their respective owners and are used for identification and commentary under nominative fair use. Their use does not imply endorsement, sponsorship, affiliation, or partnership.
13 Changes & contact
We may update these Terms; material changes will be reflected in the "last updated" date. Questions, corrections, or notices: nick@heretics.io. These Terms are governed by the laws of [JURISDICTION], without regard to conflict-of-laws rules.