These Terms of Service ("Terms") govern your use of the website shellback-strategic.com ("Site"), the Exit Readiness Score tool ("Score Tool"), digital products, and advisory services provided by Shellback Strategic ("we," "us," or "our"). By accessing our Site, using our tools, or purchasing our products, you agree to these Terms. If you do not agree, please do not use our Site or services.
1. Services overview
Shellback Strategic provides exit readiness and commercial value creation advisory services for owner-led businesses, including:
- The Exit Readiness Score — a free online self-assessment tool
- Digital products — the Exit-Ready Starter Kit and Exit-Ready System (downloadable templates, workbooks, and guides)
- The Exit Readiness Workshop — a paid one-on-one working session with written deliverable
- The Strategic Assessment — a comprehensive paid diagnostic engagement
- The Value Creation Partnership — a paid ongoing advisory engagement
- Educational content — blog posts, guides, and frameworks published on our Site
2. Not professional advice
Important: The information, tools, scores, and recommendations provided by Shellback Strategic — through our website, score tool, digital products, workshops, assessments, and advisory engagements — are for informational and educational purposes only. They do not constitute, and should not be relied upon as, legal, financial, tax, accounting, investment, or M&A advisory services.
We are not attorneys, accountants, certified public accountants, registered investment advisors, licensed brokers, or M&A intermediaries. We do not provide business valuations for legal or regulatory purposes. We do not broker, negotiate, or facilitate business sales or acquisitions.
You should consult qualified professionals — including attorneys, CPAs, financial advisors, and licensed business brokers — before making significant business decisions, including decisions related to selling, restructuring, or transitioning your business.
3. Earnings and results disclaimer
Our website, products, and advisory services reference enterprise value ranges, EBITDA multiples, and potential financial outcomes. These references are based on general market data, publicly available industry benchmarks, and our professional experience. They are illustrative, not guarantees.
We make no representations or warranties regarding specific financial outcomes. Every business is different. The enterprise value improvements, multiple ranges, and financial projections discussed on our site or in our products are estimates based on general patterns — not promises applicable to your specific situation. Your actual results will depend on factors including your industry, market conditions, execution quality, timing, and numerous other variables outside our control.
Any case studies, testimonials, or example outcomes presented on our Site represent individual results and are not indicative of typical results or guaranteed future performance.
4. Digital product terms
License
When you purchase a digital product (Exit-Ready Starter Kit or Exit-Ready System), you receive a personal, non-transferable, non-exclusive license to use the materials for your own business purposes. You may share the materials with members of your immediate team (employees, partners, and advisors working directly on your business). You may not resell, redistribute, sublicense, publish, or make the materials available to the public.
Delivery
Digital products are delivered immediately after purchase via download links on a confirmation page. You are responsible for downloading and saving the files. We make reasonable efforts to keep download links active but do not guarantee perpetual access. If you experience issues accessing your files, contact us at hello@shellbackstrategic.com.
Refund policy
We offer a 30-day money-back guarantee on all digital product purchases. If the product does not meet your expectations for any reason, email us within 30 days of purchase and we will issue a full refund. No questions asked. No conditions. Refunds are processed through Stripe and typically appear within 5–10 business days.
Upgrade credit
If you purchase the Exit-Ready Starter Kit ($49) and later wish to upgrade to the Exit-Ready System ($197), your Starter Kit purchase is credited toward the System price — you pay only the difference ($148). Similarly, digital product purchases are credited toward Workshop or advisory engagement fees.
5. Advisory service terms
Advisory services (Workshops, Strategic Assessments, and Value Creation Partnerships) are governed by separate engagement agreements executed before the start of each engagement. Those agreements specify scope, fees, timeline, deliverables, confidentiality terms, and termination provisions.
The general terms in this document apply to all interactions with Shellback Strategic. In the event of a conflict between these Terms and a specific engagement agreement, the engagement agreement controls.
6. Exit Readiness Score tool
The Exit Readiness Score is a free self-assessment tool provided for informational purposes. Your assessment responses are processed in your web browser to generate your score — we do not store your individual question responses on our servers unless you voluntarily submit them through the email gate or application form.
Your score is based entirely on self-reported information. We make no warranty regarding the accuracy, completeness, or reliability of the score as an indicator of your actual exit readiness, business value, or transaction prospects. The score is a starting point for reflection and planning — not a professional assessment, valuation, or binding determination.
7. Intellectual property
All content on this Site — including text, graphics, logos, the turtle shell mark, frameworks, methodologies, templates, assessment questions, scoring algorithms, and digital product materials — is the property of Shellback Strategic and is protected by copyright and other intellectual property laws.
You may not reproduce, distribute, modify, create derivative works from, publicly display, or otherwise exploit our content without prior written permission, except as permitted under the digital product license (Section 4).
The "Shellback Strategic" name, logo, and turtle shell mark are trademarks of Shellback Strategic. Unauthorized use is prohibited.
8. User conduct
When using our Site and tools, you agree not to:
- Provide false or misleading information in forms, the score tool, or applications
- Attempt to access restricted areas of the Site, download links, or administrative systems
- Use automated tools (bots, scrapers, crawlers) to access the Site beyond what is permitted by our robots.txt
- Interfere with the proper functioning of the Site
- Use our products or materials for any unlawful purpose
9. Limitation of liability
To the fullest extent permitted by applicable law, Shellback Strategic, its owners, employees, and contractors shall not be liable for any indirect, incidental, special, consequential, or punitive damages — including loss of revenue, profit, business, data, or goodwill — arising from or related to your use of our Site, tools, products, or services, even if we have been advised of the possibility of such damages.
Our total aggregate liability for any claims arising from your use of our Site, products, or services shall not exceed the total amount you paid to Shellback Strategic in the 12 months preceding the claim.
10. Indemnification
You agree to indemnify and hold harmless Shellback Strategic, its owners, employees, and contractors from any claims, liabilities, damages, losses, and expenses (including reasonable legal fees) arising from your violation of these Terms, your use of our products or services, or any business decisions you make based on information obtained through our Site, tools, or advisory services.
11. Third-party services
Our Site integrates with third-party services including Stripe (payments), Google Analytics (analytics), Vercel (hosting), and Google Fonts (typography). Your use of these services is subject to their respective terms and privacy policies. We are not responsible for the availability, functionality, or practices of third-party services.
12. Governing law and disputes
These Terms are governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of the State of Indiana, without regard to conflict of law principles. Any dispute arising from or related to these Terms shall be resolved through binding arbitration in Hendricks County, Indiana, in accordance with the rules of the American Arbitration Association. The prevailing party shall be entitled to recover reasonable attorneys' fees and costs.
13. Modifications
We reserve the right to modify these Terms at any time. When we make material changes, we will update the "Last updated" date. Your continued use of the Site after changes are posted constitutes acceptance of the modified Terms.
14. Severability
If any provision of these Terms is found to be unenforceable or invalid, that provision shall be limited or eliminated to the minimum extent necessary, and the remaining provisions shall remain in full force and effect.
15. Contact
Questions about these Terms? Contact us at:
Shellback Strategic
Email: hello@shellbackstrategic.com
Website: shellback-strategic.com