The rules of the room

What we expect

• Generosity first. Show up with help before you show up with asks.
• Honesty on stage and off. The format only works if the stories are true.
• Confidentiality by default. Founders share hard things. What is said in the room about someone's company stays out of your feed unless they say otherwise.
• Respect for the room. Questions, not speeches. Curiosity, not cross-examination.

What we do not tolerate

• Harassment or discrimination of any kind: on gender, race, ethnicity, religion, age, disability, sexual orientation, or anything else people are.
• Unwanted romantic or sexual attention. One no is the whole conversation.
• Intimidation, sustained interruption, or hostility, in person or online.
• Recording or photographing speakers without consent.
• Doxxing or sharing someone's private information.
• Treating the room as a lead list. No cold pitching attendees, no scraping the crowd, no "quick call next week?" ambushes. Investors and vendors are welcome as humans, not as pipelines.

How it is enforced

Organizers are empowered to act immediately and without debate: a warning, removal from the event, or a ban from the community, depending on severity. Speakers and sponsors are held to the same standard as everyone else. Sponsorship buys coffee, not immunity.

How to report

Talk to any organizer at the event, or write to conduct@bafounders.com. Every report is read by a human, taken seriously, and handled as confidentially as the situation allows. Reports about an organizer go over their head, not to them.

Where it applies

Every Badass Founders event, every chapter, and every online space that carries the name. Chapters agree to enforce this code as a condition of their license.

This code is original to Badass Founders and free for any chapter or community to reuse and adapt.