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Tovarna podjemov (Eng. Venture Factory), an institute, is the owner of the media outlet, the controller of personal data, and responsible for the content of this website as well as for the implementation of programs, projects, events, investment and mentoring activities, and other initiatives aimed at strengthening the Slovenian startup ecosystem.

As part of its activities, Tovarna podjemov collaborates with various ecosystem stakeholders, including startup entrepreneurs, potential entrepreneurs, investors, mentors, experts, researchers, support organizations, corporations, public institutions, financiers, and other domestic and international partners.

Company information:

Tovarna podjemov (eng. Venture Factory), Institute

Ulica škofa Maksimilijana Držečnika 6, 2000 Maribor, Slovenia

Company registration no: 1618911000

Company registered at: Commercial Court Maribor

VAT registration no: SI18464696, Managing Director: Matej Rus

‍Telephone: +386 31 604 137

Email: info@venturefactory.org

Web: www.venturefactory.org

Disclaimer

All rights reserved. Texts, images, graphics, sound, animations and videos and their arrangement on the Tovarna podjemov (eng. Venture Factory) Website, are protected by copyright and other protective laws. The content of this Website must not be copied, distributed, altered, or made available to third parties for commercial purposes. Some Website pages also contain images copyrighted by third parties.

Photo credits: All Images by Tovarna podjemov (eng. Venture Factory) – unless otherwise specified.

All publications and offers on our Website are non-binding. They only serve to provide information and/or to gather your interest in the presented products or services.

Tovarna podjemov (eng. Venture Factory) does not accept any liability for the up-to-dateness, accuracy and completeness of the content provided on this Website. The same applies to the contents of external Website to which this Website directly or indirectly refers by means of hyperlinks and over which Tovarna podjemov (eng. Venture Factory) has no influence.

1. DEFINITIONS AND INTERPRETATION 

In this Policy, the following terms shall have the following meanings:

“Our Website” means our primary website (www.venturefactory.org/ www.tovarnapodjemov.org) as well as any other website under our control where we place this privacy policy.

“Tovarna podjemov (eng. Venture Factory) /We/Us/Our” means Tovarna podjemov (eng. Venture Factory), Institute, a company registered at the Commercial Court Maribor, Slovenia under registration number 1618911000, whose registered address is Ulica škofa Maksimilijana Držečnika 6, 2000 Maribor, Slovenia.

“Website users” a user is any person who uses the Website in any way. The Website may be used by an indefinite number of users who accept the service under the provisions hereunder and act in accordance with these terms and conditions.

“Website availability” as a rule, the Website is available 24/7. The Service owner reserves the right to stop the access to the Website for technical reasons of maintenance and equipment replacement. The Service owner does not guarantee the accessibility of the Website in the event of downtime experienced by internet service providers or caused by force majeure or any other failure, incident or other technical issue or interruption experienced by third parties.

2. SCOPE – WHAT DOES THIS POLICY COVER?

This Privacy Policy applies to:

• the use of our website,
• participation in programs, projects, events, training, mentoring, and advisory support,
• investment, incubation, and accelerator activities,
• applications for calls, initiatives, or partnerships,
• and other activities carried out by Tovarna podjemov with the aim of developing entrepreneurship, innovation, and the Slovenian startup ecosystem.

The Policy does not apply to third-party websites linked from our website. We do not assume responsibility for the handling of data on those websites.

3. WHAT DATA DO WE COLLECT? PERSONAL INFORMATION YOU DISCLOSE TO US

We collect personal data:

• when using our website,
• when registering for our programs, events, investment, or mentoring activities,
• when establishing business or project collaborations,
• when participating in national or international projects,
• when subscribing to receive news or other content,
• and in other forms of participation within the startup ecosystem.

Some data will be collected automatically by our website (for more details, see Chapter 11 on our use of cookies), while other data will only be collected if you voluntarily provide it and consent to its use for the purposes outlined in Chapter 4, for example, when requesting a link to download our materials.

The data we may collect include, in particular:

• First and last name,
• Business/company or organization name,
• Position or job title,
• Contact information (email, phone),
• Geographic data (country, postal code),
• Company or project data (when relevant for the implementation of activities),
• IP address and technical data about the device and website usage (automatically),
• Type and version of web browser (automatically),
• Operating system (automatically),
• Referral source/medium (UTM parameters such as “source,” “medium,” “content,” “term,” and “campaign”), your activity on our website, and the website to which you navigated (automatically).

4. HOW DO WE USE YOUR DATA? 

All personal data is stored securely in accordance with the EU GDPR Regulation. For more details on security see section 5, below. We process your personal information for these purposes in reliance on our legitimate business interests, in order to enter into or perform a contract with you, with your consent, and/or for compliance with our legal obligations.

We use your data to provide the best possible products and services to you. This includes: 

• organizing and implementing incubation, accelerator, investment, and educational programs,
• providing mentoring and advisory support to startup companies,
• connecting startup companies with investors, mentors, corporations, and other partners,
• coordinating collaboration between the private and public sectors,
• implementing national and international projects,
• informing about calls, investment opportunities, events, and professional content,
• managing relationships with ecosystem stakeholders,
• improving the user experience and developing new programs and services,
• customizing and personalizing your experience on our website,
• providing and managing your access to our website,
• providing our products and services, e.g., downloading our free resources such as “whitepapers,”
• registering your interest in products or services currently in development and providing up-to-date information on updates,
• customizing and personalizing our products and services for you,
• responding to your messages and establishing communication (e.g., via email or phone) with you regarding specific business opportunities,
• publishing your statements that may contain personal data. Before publishing, we will obtain your consent to use your name and statement. If you wish to update or delete your statement, please write to info@venturefactory.org and be sure to include your name, the location of the statement, and your contact information,
• sending emails, e.g., our newsletter with news and business opportunities in the startup and innovation ecosystem, alerts, etc., to which you have subscribed (you can unsubscribe or update your data at any time by clicking “Unsubscribe” at the bottom of the email or sending a message to info@venturefactory.org),
• sending targeted advertising to you. Your data may be used to develop and display content and advertising (and collaborate with third parties who do so), tailored to your interests and/or location, and to measure its effectiveness,
• requesting feedback. Your data may be used to request feedback and contact you regarding your use of our services,
• analyzing your use of our website and collecting feedback, which allows us to continuously improve our website and your user experience.

For our newsletter and other e-mail marketing campaigns as well as statistics on user behavior we may use services provided by third party providers, including ActiveCampaign, Microsoft and Google Analytics. 

In some cases, the collection of data may be a statutory or contractual requirement, and We will be limited in the products and services We can provide you without your consent for Us to be able to use such data.

With your permission and/or where permitted by law, We may also use your data for marketing purposes which may include contacting you by e-mail or telephone with information, news and offers on Our programs, projects, products, and services. We will not, however, send you any unsolicited marketing or spam and will take all reasonable steps to ensure that We fully protect your rights and comply with Our obligations under the GDPR regulation.

Under GDPR we will ensure that your personal data is processed lawfully, fairly, and transparently, without adversely affecting your rights. We will only process your personal data if at least one of the following basis applies: 

• you have given consent to the processing of your personal data for one or more specific purposes;
• processing is necessary for the performance of a contract to which you are a party or in order to take steps at the request of you prior to entering into a contract;
• processing is necessary for compliance with a legal obligation to which we are subject;
• processing is necessary to protect the vital interests of you or of another natural person;
• processing is necessary for the performance of a task carried out in the public interest or in the exercise of official authority vested in the controller; and/or
• processing is necessary for the purposes of the legitimate interests pursued by us or by a third party, except where such interests are overridden by the fundamental rights and freedoms of the data subject which require protection of personal data, in particular where the data subject is a child.

5. HOW AND WHERE DO WE STORE YOUR DATA? 

We only keep your data for as long as We need to in order to use it as described above in section 4, and/or for as long as We have your permission to keep it. In any event, We will conduct an annual review to ascertain whether we need to keep your data. Your data will be deleted if we no longer need it in accordance with the terms of our Data Retention Policy. Our Data Retention Policies are:

• Unless we are legally binded to storing the specific data, data will be removed if the person requests us to do so by either replying to one of our messages or sending an e-mail to info@venturefactory.org
• Company data will be removed if we are informed that the company no longer operates.
• Personal data will be removed if we are informed that he/she has deceased.

Some or all of your data may be stored or transferred outside of the European Economic Area (“the EEA”) (The EEA consists of all EU member states, plus Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein). You are deemed to accept and agree to this by using Our Website and submitting information to Us. If We do store or transfer data outside the EEA, We will take all reasonable steps to ensure that your data is treated as safely and securely as it would be within the EEA and under the GDPR. Such steps may include, but not be limited to, the use of legally binding contractual terms between Us and any third parties We engage and the use of the EU-approved Model Contractual Arrangements. 

Data security is of great importance to Us, and to protect your data We have put in place suitable physical, electronic and managerial procedures to safeguard and secure data collected through Our Website. Notwithstanding the security measures that We take, it is important to remember that the transmission of data via the internet may not be completely secure and that you are advised to take suitable precautions when transmitting to Us data via the internet.

6. DO WE SHARE YOUR DATA? 

Your personal data may, when necessary for the implementation of activities or when you have explicitly registered for a particular activity, be shared with:

• co-organizers of programs and events,
• investors and investment partners,
• mentors, experts, and advisors,
• financiers and public institutions,
• project partners within national and international projects,
• contractual processors (e.g., IT providers, email service providers, analytics tool providers, etc.).

We may contract with third parties to supply products and services to you on Our behalf. These may include payment processing, delivery of goods, search engine facilities, advertising and marketing. In some cases, the third parties may require access to some or all of your data. Where any of your data is required for such a purpose, We will take all reasonable steps to ensure that your data will be handled safely, securely, and in accordance with your rights, Our obligations, and the obligations of the third party under the law.

We may compile statistics about the use of Our Website including data on traffic, usage patterns, user numbers, sales and other information. All such data will be anonymised and will not include any personally identifying information. We may from time to time share such data with third parties such as prospective clients, partners and advertisers. Data will only be shared and used within the bounds of the law.

In certain circumstances We may be legally required to share certain data held by Us, which may include your personal information, for example, where We are involved in legal proceedings, where We are complying with the requirements of legislation, a court order, or a governmental authority. We do not require any further consent from you in order to share your data in such circumstances and will comply as required with any legally binding request that is made of Us.

In all cases, we ensure that the data are processed in accordance with applicable legislation and based on the relevant contractual or legal grounds.

7. WHAT HAPPENS IF OUR BUSINESS CHANGES HANDS? 

We may, from time to time, expand or reduce Our business and this may involve the sale and/or the transfer of control of all or part of Our business. Data provided by users will, where it is relevant to any part of Our business so transferred, be transferred along with that part and the new owner or newly controlling party will, under the terms of this Privacy Policy, be permitted to use the data for the purposes for which it was originally collected by Us. In the event that any of your data is to be transferred in such a manner, you will not be contacted in advance and informed of the changes.

8. HOW CAN YOU CONTROL YOUR DATA? 

When you submit information via Our Website, you may be given options to restrict Our use of your data. We aim to give you strong controls on Our use of your data (including the ability to opt-out of receiving emails from Us which you may do by unsubscribing using the links provided in Our e-mails).

These may help to prevent you receiving unsolicited marketing. Please note, however, that these services will not prevent you from receiving marketing communications that you have consented to receiving.

9. YOUR RIGHT TO WITHHOLD INFORMATION AND YOUR RIGHT TO WITHDRAW INFORMATION AFTER YOU HAVE GIVEN IT 

You may access certain areas of Our Website without providing any data at all. However, to use all features and functions available on Our Website you may be required to submit or allow for the collection of certain data.

You may restrict your internet browser’s use of Cookies. You may withdraw your consent for Us to use your personal data as set out in section 4 at any time by contacting Us. We will delete Your data from Our systems. However, you acknowledge this may limit Our ability to provide the best possible products and services to you.

10. HOW CAN YOU ACCESS YOUR DATA?

You have the legal right to ask for a copy of any of your personal data held by Us (where such data is held). Please contact Us for more details at info@venturefactory.org.

11. WHAT COOKIES DO WE USE AND WHAT FOR? 

11.1. Our Website may place and access certain first party Cookies on your computer or device. First party Cookies are those placed directly by Us and are used only by Us. We use Cookies to facilitate and improve your experience of Our Website and to provide and improve Our products. We have carefully chosen these Cookies and have taken steps to ensure that your privacy is protected and respected at all times.

11.2. By using Our Website you may also receive certain third party Cookies on your computer or device. Third party Cookies are those placed by Our Website, services, and/or parties other than Us. We use third party Cookies on Our Website for analytics, location, and social sharing services. These Cookies are not integral to the functioning of Our Website.

11.3. Before Cookies are placed on your computer or device, you will be shown a pop-up requesting your consent to set those Cookies. By giving your consent to the placing of Cookies you are enabling Us to provide the best possible experience and service to you. You may, if you wish, deny consent to the placing of Cookies; however certain features of Our Website may not function fully or as intended.

11.4. Certain features of Our Website might depend on Cookies to function. EU Cookie Law deems these Cookies to be “strictly necessary”. Your consent will not be sought to place these Cookies. You may still block these Cookies by changing your internet browser’s settings, but please be aware that Our Website may not work as intended if you do so. We have taken great care to ensure that your privacy is not at risk by allowing them.

11.5. Our Website uses analytics services provided by third parties, Website analytics refers to a set of tools used to collect and analyse usage statistics, enabling Us to better understand how people use Our Website. This, in turn, enables Us to improve Our Website and the products and services offered through them. You do not have to allow Us to use these Cookies, as detailed below, however whilst Our use of them does not pose any risk to your privacy or your safe use of Our Website, it does enable Us to continually improve Our Website, making it a better and more useful experience for you.

• The analytics service(s) used by Our Website use(s) Cookies to gather the required information. Certain of these Cookies may be placed immediately when you first visit Our Website and it may not be possible for Us to obtain your prior consent. You may remove these Cookies and prevent future use of them by following the steps set out below.
• You can choose to enable or disable Cookies in your internet browser. Most internet browsers also enable you to choose whether you wish to disable all cookies or only third-party cookies. By default, most internet browsers accept Cookies but this can be changed. For further details, please consult the help menu in your internet browser or the documentation that came with your device. You can choose to delete Cookies at any time however you may lose any information that enables you to access Our Website more quickly and efficiently.
  It is recommended that you keep your internet browser and operating system up-to-date and that you consult the help and guidance provided by the developer of your internet browser and manufacturer of your computer or device if you are unsure about adjusting your privacy settings.

12. SUMMARY OF YOUR RIGHTS UNDER GDPR

Under the GDPR, you have:

• the right to request access to, deletion of or correction of, your personal data held by Us;
• the right to complain to a supervisory authority;
• be informed of what data processing is taking place;
• the right to restrict processing;
• the right to data portability;
• object to processing of your personal data;
• rights with respect to automated decision-making and profiling (see section 13 below).

To enforce any of the foregoing rights or if you have any other questions about Our Website or this Privacy Policy, please contact Us.

13. AUTOMATED DECISION-MAKING AND PROFILING

13.1 In the event that We use personal data for the purposes of automated decision-making and those decisions have a legal (or similarly significant effect) on You, You have the right to challenge to such decisions under GDPR, requesting human intervention, expressing their own point of view, and obtaining an explanation of the decision from Us.

13.2 The right described in section 13.1 does not apply in the following circumstances:

• The decision is necessary for the entry into, or performance of, a contract between the You and Us;
• The decision is authorized by law; or
• You have given you explicit consent.

13.3 Where We use your personal data for profiling purposes, the following shall apply: 

• Clear information explaining the profiling will be provided, including its significance and the likely consequences;
• Appropriate mathematical or statistical procedures will be used;
• Technical and organisational measures necessary to minimise the risk of errors and to enable such errors to be easily corrected shall be implemented; and
• All personal data processed for profiling purposes shall be secured in order to prevent discriminatory effects arising out of profiling.

13.4 We currently make the following automated decisions:

Data entered in order to download one of our free resources (e. g. whitepapers, studies), set-up a call or purchase products/services, will be stored and processed to contact the person via e-mail or phone based on the person’s specific interest and to discuss a potential business collaboration.

14. CONTACTING US

If you have any questions about Our Website or this Privacy Policy, please contact us by email at info@venturefactory.org, by telephone on +386 31 604 137, or by post at Ulica škofa Maksimilijana Držečnika 6, 2000 Maribor, Slovenia. Please ensure that your query is clear, particularly if it is a request for information about the data We hold about you.

15. CHANGES TO OUR PRIVACY POLICY

We may change this Privacy Policy as we may deem necessary from time to time, or as may be required by law. Any changes will be immediately posted on Our Website and you will be deemed to have accepted the terms of the Privacy Policy on your first use of Our Website following the alterations. We recommend that you check this page regularly to keep up-to-date.