Founding Owner Terms

1. Program overview

The Founding Owner program is a limited-recognition program for early gear owners on Gear Wave. Each U.S. state in which Gear Wave is live has a hard cap of 25 Founding Owner spots. Once a state's cap is reached, the program closes in that state and remaining applicants are placed on a waitlist for any forfeitures. Spots are awarded first-come, first-served when an owner publishes their first listing in an eligible state and passes identity verification.

2. Eligibility

• Must be 18 years or older.
• Must hold an active Gear Wave owner account in good standing.
• Must list at least one item located in a live state with founding spots still available.
• Must pass Gear Wave identity verification.

3. Perks granted

Once a Founding Owner spot is claimed, the following perks apply for as long as the account remains in good standing:

• 92% owner payout. Gear Wave's commission stays at 8% (vs. the standard 15% on Starter and 10% on Pro/Premium) for every booking for as long as your account remains in good standing. For an already-claimed spot, Gear Wave will not reduce this payout percentage except as provided in Section 4 or where required by law, and this commitment binds any successor to or assignee of Gear Wave.
• 50% off Pro or Premium subscription for 12 months from your first paid Pro/Premium billing cycle, applied automatically at checkout.
• Founding Owner badge on your profile, listings, and reviews for as long as your account is in good standing.
• Early access to new features and a direct email line to the founding team.

3a. Program status; no ownership interest

"Founding Owner" is a recognition and pricing benefit only. It does not confer any equity, ownership, profit-sharing, dividend, governance, voting, employment, agency, partnership, or joint-venture interest in Gear Wave, and it does not guarantee any number of bookings, level of earnings, search ranking or placement, or continued operation of the Gear Wave marketplace. These terms incorporate the Gear Wave Terms of Service, including its dispute-resolution, arbitration, and class-waiver provisions, which apply to any dispute arising out of this program. If these terms conflict with the Terms of Service, these terms control as to the perks described in Section 3, and the Terms of Service control in all other respects.

4. Good standing

Founding Owner perks may be paused if your account is suspended for suspected fraud, repeated material policy violations, or material violations of the Rental Agreement or Terms of Service. Except in cases of fraud, Gear Wave will provide written notice describing the issue and, where the issue is curable, at least fourteen (14) days to cure before any perk is revoked. Any pause or revocation is prospective only and does not change the payout rate applied to bookings already completed. If your account returns to good standing, perks are restored for future bookings; restoration following a fraud-related revocation is at Gear Wave's discretion.

5. Changes

Gear Wave may make non-material clarifications to these terms. Gear Wave will not materially reduce the perks of an already-claimed Founding Owner spot except as provided in Section 4 or where required by law. Any other material change to these terms applies only to spots claimed after the change takes effect and will be communicated by email at least 30 days in advance.

6. Other programs

Gear Wave may operate separate recognition programs in the future (for example, market-opener tiers in new cities). Those programs will have their own terms and are not part of the Founding Owner program.

Questions? Contact the team.