Terms of Service

1. What Hop is

Hop is a mentorship marketplace operated by Design Buddies ("Hop", "we", "us"). Hop connects designers seeking guidance ("mentees") with experienced designers offering it ("mentors"). Mentors are independent members of the community, not employees, contractors, or agents of Hop. Advice shared in sessions is the mentor's own.

2. Accounts and eligibility

You must be at least 18 years old to use Hop. You agree to provide accurate information in your profile and application, keep your login credentials secure, and not impersonate anyone. Every mentor and mentee application is reviewed, and we may approve, decline, suspend, or remove accounts to protect the community.

3. Booking sessions

Sessions on Hop are requests, not instant reservations. A mentee requests a time; the mentor accepts or declines, typically within 24 hours. If a mentor does not respond in time, the request expires automatically and any payment authorization is released. A session is only confirmed once the mentor accepts.

4. Payments and fees

Mentors choose whether sessions are free or paid and set their own prices, which are always shown before you book. Payments are processed by Stripe; Hop never stores your card details. For paid sessions, your card is authorized when you send a request and only charged when the mentor accepts. On each paid session, Hop keeps a 10% platform fee and Stripe keeps its standard processing fee (2.9% + 30¢); mentors receive the remainder via their connected Stripe account. Mentors are responsible for their own taxes.

5. Cancellations and refunds

For paid sessions:

If the mentor cancels, or does not show up, the mentee receives a full refund. If the mentee cancels more than 24 hours before the session, the mentee receives a full refund. If the mentee cancels within 24 hours of the session, the payment is not refunded and the mentor keeps it. If a request is declined or expires, the card authorization is released and nothing is charged. Rescheduling a confirmed session keeps the payment in place for the new time.

6. Showing up

Mentorship only works when people show up. No-shows are tracked on both sides, and an account with three no-shows is automatically paused pending review. Repeated late cancellations (within 24 hours of a session) are also tracked. If you need to change plans, reschedule as early as you can.

7. Community standards

Our Community Guidelines are part of these terms. Harassment, discrimination, spam, solicitation unrelated to mentorship, and recording sessions without consent are not allowed. You can report any session or member from your dashboard, and we review every report.

8. Your content

You own what you create: your profile, portfolio links, and work samples remain yours. By posting them on Hop you give us a non-exclusive license to display that content on the platform and, for mentors who opt into a public profile, on the public web, so mentees can find and book you. You can edit or remove your content anytime.

9. Disclaimers

Mentors share personal experience and professional opinions. Their guidance is not legal, financial, medical, or psychological advice, and Hop does not guarantee any outcome: no job offers, promotions, or specific results. Hop is provided "as is" without warranties of any kind, and we do our best to keep the platform available but do not promise uninterrupted service.

10. Limitation of liability

To the maximum extent permitted by law, Hop and Design Buddies are not liable for indirect, incidental, special, or consequential damages arising from your use of the platform. Our total liability for any claim is limited to the greater of $100 or the amount you paid to Hop in the 12 months before the claim.

11. Ending things

You can stop using Hop and delete your account anytime. We may suspend or terminate accounts that violate these terms or put the community at risk. Sections that by their nature should survive termination (like payments owed, disclaimers, and liability limits) survive it.

12. Changes and contact

We may update these terms as Hop evolves; if we make material changes we will post the updated terms here with a new effective date, and continued use means you accept them. These terms are governed by the laws of the State of California, USA. Questions? Email fluffle@designbuddies.community.