Terms of Service

1. The service and who operates it

VendorQuals (vendorquals.com) is operated by Secure Success Launch LLC, a Maryland limited liability company. It provides an evidence-graded directory of incident response and specialist security firms, a structured RFP builder with validated matching, and carrier panel readiness analysis. By using the site you agree to these terms.

2. What our listings are, and are not

This clause is the heart of the service, so it is stated plainly:

• Listings document what public sources state, with sources and access dates. A listing is not an endorsement, referral, or guarantee of a firm's quality, availability, or fitness for your needs.
• Verification states are honest and often partial: "registry-checked" means a specific public registry was queried on a stated date; "research-sourced" means documented research; "claim-only" means the claim is labeled as a claim. Never assume more than the profile states.
• Data can be outdated: firms change services, panels change membership. Each profile shows what was checked and when; you are responsible for confirming what matters to your decision.
• Engaging any firm is your decision and your contract. VendorQuals is not a party to it.

3. How VendorQuals makes money

Stated as plainly as the listing clause, because a directory's revenue model is a conflict-of-interest disclosure:

• Firms pay for verification review and membership. Payment buys the review process, not a verdict: paying firms fail review, and the verified state is earned on evidence.
• Carriers and program administrators pay for panel readiness analysis of their own published panels.
• Buyers browse the directory, read the content, and use the free tools without paying and without an account.

No firm can pay for a higher evidence tier, a better match score, or placement above what its documented evidence earns. If this ever changes, this section is updated before the change takes effect.

4. Listing guidelines

Every listing, paid or unpaid, must clear the same bar. The evidence requirements in full:

• Certifications are held by named individuals and verified against the issuer's public directory where a registry check has run; organizational claims derived from holders are labeled as derived.
• Carrier panel memberships are recorded only from carrier-published pages or documents, with the source and access date attached.
• Research-sourced profiles cite their provenance. Anything self-reported stays labeled as a claim until verified.
• Documented engagements cite their sources. Invented engagements, fabricated credentials, or invented panel memberships result in rejection or removal, with the reason on record.
• Listings that cannot document their services may remain unlisted. Listing is not automatic and is not an endorsement.

5. Sponsorship

As of these terms, VendorQuals carries no advertising, no sponsored placements, and no paid endorsements of any kind. If sponsored placements are ever introduced, they will be visually labeled at the point they appear, will never affect evidence tiers, match scores, or ordering, and this section will be updated before they go live.

6. Your submissions

• You confirm that what you submit (RFP requirements, listing information, claims, evidence links) is accurate to the best of your knowledge and that you are authorized to submit it.
• You grant VendorQuals the right to store, evaluate, and verify your submission against public sources, and to publish the non-personal results (for listing requests: the evaluated, sourced facts about the organization).
• Knowingly false submissions (fabricated credentials, invented panel memberships) result in rejection and removal, with the reason on record.

7. Firms and listed organizations

Profiles are compiled from public sources and the organization's own submissions. If you represent a listed organization and something is wrong, the correction path is the profile claim process on your firm page; corrections are applied with their evidence, not silently.

8. Acceptable use

• No automated scraping or bulk harvesting of the directory; we operate rate limits and edge protections against it.
• No attempts to bypass authentication, probe the infrastructure, or interfere with other users' data.
• Content may be quoted with attribution and a link; it may not be republished wholesale as your own dataset.

9. Intellectual property

The site, its structure, its evidence framework, and its written content are VendorQuals' property. Organization names, trademarks, and certification marks belong to their owners; we reference them factually with sources.

10. Disclaimers and liability

The service is provided "as is." To the maximum extent permitted by law, VendorQuals is not liable for decisions made in reliance on listing data, for the acts or omissions of any listed firm, or for indirect or consequential damages. Our aggregate liability for any claim related to the service is limited to amounts you paid us, if any, in the twelve months before the claim. Nothing in these terms limits liability that cannot be limited by law.

11. Changes

These terms may be updated; the date above changes with them. Material adverse changes are announced on the site before taking effect.

12. Governing law and contact

These terms are governed by the laws of the State of Maryland, without regard to its conflict-of-laws rules. The operator is Secure Success Launch LLC, Maryland.

Questions about these terms: privacy@vendorquals.com