The fine print

Terms of Service

Effective Date: July 16, 2026

1. Acceptance of These Terms

These Terms of Service ("Terms") govern your access to and use of mattfoss.com and any related pages, content, products, and services offered by Foss Consulting LLC, doing business as The FOSS Group ("we," "us," or "our"). By visiting this site, submitting your information through a form, taking The Score assessment, downloading materials, creating an account, or purchasing any product or service, you agree to these Terms and to our Privacy Policy. If you do not agree, do not use the site or our services.

You must be at least 18 years old and able to enter into a binding contract to use the site or our services. If you are entering into these Terms on behalf of a company or other organization, you represent that you have the authority to bind that organization to these Terms, and "you" refers to both you and that organization.

2. Who We Are and What We Offer

The FOSS Group provides leadership coaching and information products built around The FOSS Method. Depending on what you choose, our services may include:

  • A free leadership assessment (The Score) and free resources such as a book chapter.
  • Books and written materials.
  • Online courses and group cohorts.
  • One-on-one coaching.
  • On-site installation and implementation work with your team.

The specific scope, format, and deliverables for any paid engagement are described at the point of purchase or in a separate written agreement. Where a separate signed agreement covers your engagement, that agreement controls if it conflicts with these Terms.

3. Educational Purpose Only, Not Professional Advice

All of our content, coaching, assessments, courses, and materials are for general educational and informational purposes. They are not professional advice and are not a substitute for advice from a qualified professional who knows your specific situation.

Nothing we provide is legal, accounting, tax, financial, investment, medical, or other licensed professional advice. We are not your lawyer, accountant, financial advisor, or fiduciary. Before acting on anything you learn from us, consult the appropriate licensed professional about your own circumstances. You are responsible for your own business and personal decisions.

Using the site or consuming our content does not create any professional, fiduciary, coaching, employment, or advisory relationship between you and us. A coaching or consulting relationship begins only under a separate written agreement signed by both parties. The Disclaimer posted on this site is incorporated into and forms part of these Terms; where they overlap, they are meant to be read together.

4. No Guarantee of Results; Earnings Disclaimer

We share methods, frameworks, and experience that have worked for us and for the leaders we work with. We do not and cannot guarantee any specific outcome, result, revenue, profit, or level of success.

Any earnings, income, revenue, or growth figures we reference anywhere on the site or in our materials are illustrations only. They are not a promise or guarantee of your earnings or results, and we make no representation that you will earn or achieve any amount. Your results depend on factors we do not control, including your own effort, your team, your market, your industry, your timing, your capital, and your decisions. Any examples, case studies, or testimonials reflect individual experiences and are not typical or guaranteed. Use your own judgment, do your own due diligence, and accept responsibility for your results.

Any statements we make about future potential, growth, or outcomes are forward-looking, aspirational, and inherently uncertain. They are not guarantees of future performance. Where we describe an ongoing commitment to keep working with a client (for example, continued coaching for a defined period), that commitment is defined and capped in the applicable engagement agreement, is conditioned on the client meeting the requirements stated in that agreement, and is not a guarantee of any particular result.

5. Payments, Billing, and Refunds

Prices for paid products and services are shown at the point of purchase and may change at any time. By purchasing, you agree to pay the listed price plus any applicable taxes.

  • Payment. Payment is due as described at checkout or in your engagement agreement. We may use third-party payment processors, and your payment is also subject to their terms. You represent that you are authorized to use the payment method you provide.
  • Subscriptions and installments. If a product is sold on a recurring or installment basis, you authorize us (or our processor) to charge the applicable amount on each scheduled billing date until the plan is completed or cancelled as described at purchase. Recurring and installment plans renew automatically at the stated interval until you cancel. You can cancel anytime through your account or by contacting legal@mattfoss.com, which stops future charges; cancellation does not refund amounts already billed for the current period.
  • Refunds. Refund eligibility, if any, is stated at the point of purchase or in your engagement agreement. Where no refund policy is stated for a given product, that product is non-refundable.
  • Chargebacks, failed, or disputed payments. If a payment fails or is reversed, we may suspend or end your access to the related product or service until the balance is resolved. Filing a chargeback without first contacting us to resolve the issue is a breach of these Terms.

6. Intellectual Property

The FOSS Method, the site and its design, and all related content and materials (including text, graphics, logos, course content, assessments, frameworks, templates, workbooks, videos, and downloads) are owned by Foss Consulting LLC or its licensors and are protected by intellectual property and other laws.

When you purchase or access a product, we grant you a limited, personal, non-exclusive, non-transferable, revocable license to use it for your own internal leadership and business use. You may not:

  • Copy, reproduce, republish, or distribute our content or materials beyond your permitted use.
  • Resell, sublicense, rent, or share access with people who have not purchased it.
  • Record, repackage, or create derivative products from our content for sale or public distribution.
  • Remove or alter any copyright, trademark, or other proprietary notices.

"The FOSS Method," "Standards First. Results Follow.," and related names and marks are our trademarks. You may not use them without our prior written permission. All rights not expressly granted are reserved.

If you send us ideas, feedback, or suggestions about our content or services, you grant us a perpetual, royalty-free, worldwide license to use them without obligation or compensation to you.

7. Acceptable Use and Your Conduct

You agree to use the site and our services lawfully and responsibly. You will not:

  • Provide false information or impersonate another person or organization.
  • Use the site or services in any way that breaks the law or infringes the rights of others.
  • Attempt to gain unauthorized access to the site, its systems, or other users' accounts or data.
  • Introduce malware, scrape or harvest data without permission, or interfere with normal operation of the site.
  • Use our content, coaching, or community in a way that harasses, defames, or harms others.

You are responsible for keeping any account credentials secure and for all activity that occurs under your account. We may suspend or end your access if you violate these Terms.

8. Information You Submit

When you submit your name, email, or other details through our forms or assessments, you confirm that the information is accurate and that you have the right to provide it. How we handle your information is described in our Privacy Policy. By submitting your information, you consent to our use of it as described there.

9. Third-Party Links and Services

The site may link to or rely on third-party websites, tools, and services that we do not own or control. We provide these for convenience and do not endorse and are not responsible for their content, products, practices, or terms. Your use of any third-party service is at your own risk and is governed by that third party's terms and policies.

10. Disclaimer of Warranties

The site, content, and services are provided "as is" and "as available," without warranties of any kind, whether express or implied. To the fullest extent permitted by law, we disclaim all implied warranties, including warranties of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, title, and non-infringement.

We do not warrant that the site or services will be uninterrupted, error-free, secure, or free of harmful components, or that any content is accurate, complete, or current. Some jurisdictions do not allow certain warranty exclusions, so some of the above may not apply to you.

11. Limitation of Liability

To the fullest extent permitted by law, Foss Consulting LLC and its owners, employees, contractors, and affiliates will not be liable for any indirect, incidental, special, consequential, exemplary, or punitive damages, or for any loss of profits, revenue, data, goodwill, or business opportunity, arising out of or related to your use of the site, content, or services, even if we have been advised of the possibility of such damages.

To the fullest extent permitted by law, our total liability for any claim arising out of or related to the site, content, or services will not exceed the amount you paid us for the specific product or service that gave rise to the claim during the six (6) months before the claim arose. Some jurisdictions do not allow certain limitations of liability, so some of the above may not apply to you.

12. Indemnification

You agree to defend, indemnify, and hold harmless Foss Consulting LLC and its owners, employees, contractors, and affiliates from and against any claims, damages, losses, liabilities, costs, and expenses (including reasonable attorneys' fees) arising out of or related to your use of the site, content, or services, your violation of these Terms, or your violation of any law or the rights of any third party.

13. Governing Law, Mediation, and Binding Arbitration

These Terms are governed by the laws of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, USA, without regard to its conflict-of-laws rules.

Informal resolution first. If a dispute arises out of or relates to these Terms, the site, our content, or our services, you agree to first contact us at legal@mattfoss.com and work with us in good faith to resolve it. If we cannot resolve it informally within thirty (30) days, the parties agree to attempt in good faith to settle the dispute through confidential, non-binding mediation before a single mediator in Pennsylvania, with the parties sharing the mediator's fees equally.

Binding arbitration. If the dispute is not resolved by mediation within a further thirty (30) days, it will be finally resolved by confidential, binding arbitration administered by the American Arbitration Association (AAA) under its Commercial Arbitration Rules, before a single arbitrator, seated in or conducted remotely from Pennsylvania. The arbitrator's decision is final and may be entered as a judgment in any court of competent jurisdiction. Judicial proceedings to review the award, if any, will be brought in the state or federal courts located in Pennsylvania, and you consent to the personal jurisdiction of those courts.

Class-action waiver. All disputes will be brought only in your individual capacity, and not as a plaintiff or class member in any purported class, collective, consolidated, or representative proceeding. The arbitrator may not consolidate more than one person's claims or preside over any class or representative proceeding.

Exceptions. Nothing in this section prevents either party from (a) seeking injunctive or other equitable relief in a Pennsylvania court to protect intellectual property or confidential information, or (b) bringing an individual claim in small-claims court where the claim qualifies. If any part of this arbitration agreement is found unenforceable, the remainder will still apply, except that if the class-action waiver is found unenforceable as to a particular claim, that claim will proceed in court rather than in arbitration.

14. Termination

We may suspend or end your access to the site or any product or service at any time if you violate these Terms or for any other reason at our discretion. Sections of these Terms that by their nature should survive termination (including Intellectual Property, Disclaimer of Warranties, Limitation of Liability, Indemnification, and Governing Law, Mediation, and Binding Arbitration) will continue to apply after your access ends.

15. General

These Terms, together with any separate agreement or policy referenced here, are the entire agreement between you and us regarding the site and services. If any provision is found unenforceable, the rest will remain in effect. Our failure to enforce any provision is not a waiver of it. You may not assign these Terms without our written consent; we may assign them in connection with a merger, acquisition, or sale of assets.

16. Changes to These Terms

We may update these Terms from time to time. When we do, we will post the revised version here and update the effective date above. Changes apply going forward from the date they are posted. Your continued use of the site or services after changes are posted means you accept the updated Terms. Please review this page periodically.

17. Recording, Transcription, and AI-Assisted Tools

Some of our current or future products and services may let you or your organization record, transcribe, summarize, or otherwise process meetings, conversations, or other content, including with the help of artificial-intelligence tools. If you use any such feature, you are solely responsible for complying with all applicable laws, including recording-consent and wiretap laws. Many jurisdictions, including Pennsylvania, require the consent of all parties before a conversation may be recorded; others require the consent of only one party. You are responsible for determining which laws apply to you and your participants and for obtaining any required consent before recording, and for providing any notices required by law to the people in your meetings.

Where a feature provides a notice or announcement that a session is being recorded, that notice is a convenience and does not replace your own legal obligations. You, and each participant, are responsible for your own conduct. If a participant chooses to remain in a session after a recording notice has been given, that is the participant's decision and responsibility. To the fullest extent permitted by law, you agree that we are not liable for, and you will indemnify us against, any claim arising from your recording, transcription, or processing of any meeting or conversation, or from your use of any AI-assisted feature. Our handling of information processed through these tools is described in our Privacy Policy and any applicable product terms.

18. Contact Us

Questions about these Terms can be sent to:

  • Foss Consulting LLC (The FOSS Group)
  • 275 Cumberland Pkwy # 309, Mechanicsburg, PA 17055
  • legal@mattfoss.com