These Terms of Service ("Terms") govern your use of the Chiaro Valuations website and the valuation services we provide. By using this website or engaging us for work, you agree to these Terms. Please read them carefully.
Contents
1. Who we are
This website and the services described on it are provided by Francesco Vitaliano, operating as Chiaro Valuations, based in Milan, Italy ("Chiaro Valuations", "we", "us", or "our"). You can reach us at contact@chiarovaluations.com.
2. Our services
We provide financial analysis services for startups and their founders, including discounted cash flow (DCF) models, valuation reports, comparable-company analysis, cap table and dilution scenarios, and related presentation materials. The exact scope, deliverables, timeline, and price of any engagement are set out in the quote and, where applicable, the engagement letter agreed with you before work begins.
3. Nature of our work and important limitations
Our deliverables are independent analytical work prepared for fundraising and internal decision-making purposes. They are not:
- investment advice, financial advice, or a personal recommendation to buy, sell, or hold any security;
- a regulated financial or investment service;
- an audit, assurance engagement, or accounting opinion;
- a sworn or certified appraisal (perizia giurata) for statutory, court, or tax purposes.
A valuation is an informed estimate based on assumptions and information available at a point in time. It does not guarantee any particular price, outcome, or result in a fundraising or transaction. You remain responsible for your own decisions. Please also read our Disclaimer, which forms part of these Terms.
4. Quotes, orders, and how a contract forms
Information on this website is an invitation to enquire, not a binding offer. After your enquiry or introductory call, we send a fixed quote describing the scope, price, and timeline. A contract is formed when you confirm acceptance of that quote (by email or by signing an engagement letter) and, where required, pay the upfront deposit. We may decline or stop work on any engagement, for example where a conflict of interest arises or the required information is not provided.
5. Your responsibilities
- You agree to provide accurate, complete, and lawful information needed for the work, and you confirm you are entitled to share it with us.
- You are responsible for the accuracy of the underlying data and projections you supply. Our analysis relies on that information and we do not independently audit or verify it unless expressly agreed.
- You agree to respond to reasonable requests for information within the agreed timeline. Delays on your side may affect the delivery date.
- Our services are intended for business and professional use. By engaging us you confirm you are acting for purposes relating to a trade, business, or profession, and not as a consumer.
6. Prices and payment
Prices for our standard packages are shown on the website and confirmed in your quote. Unless stated otherwise:
- payment is split 50% on acceptance to begin work and 50% on delivery of the agreed deliverables;
- payment is made by bank transfer or card, as indicated on the invoice;
- prices are stated exclusive of VAT or other taxes where applicable; the correct treatment is confirmed in your quote and on the invoice.
Work generally begins once the upfront payment is received. Invoices are payable by the date shown on them.
7. Revisions and refunds
Each package includes a set number of revision rounds, stated in the package description and your quote. Revisions cover adjustments within the agreed scope; new requirements outside that scope may be quoted separately.
If, after the included revisions, the deliverable still does not match the scope agreed in your quote, we will refund the final 50% payment for that deliverable. Because our work is a bespoke professional service, refunds are otherwise at our discretion and are not given for a change of mind, for a valuation result you did not hope for, or for outcomes in your fundraising.
8. Intellectual property
On full payment, you receive ownership of, and full rights to use, the final deliverables prepared specifically for you (your model, report, and slides), including the right to share them with your investors and advisers. We retain ownership of our underlying methods, know-how, templates, and any general tools we use to produce the work, none of which contain your confidential information. We may describe the engagement in anonymised, non-confidential terms as a reference unless you ask us not to.
9. Confidentiality
We treat the business and financial information you share as confidential and use it only to perform the engagement. We do not disclose it to third parties except to the service providers needed to deliver our work, or where required by law. We are happy to sign a mutual non-disclosure agreement before you share sensitive material.
10. Liability
Nothing in these Terms limits liability that cannot be limited under applicable law, including liability for fraud, gross negligence, or wilful misconduct. Subject to that:
- our total liability arising from or in connection with any engagement is limited to the total fees you paid us for that engagement;
- we are not liable for indirect or consequential losses, including lost profits, lost funding, lost opportunities, or losses arising from decisions you or third parties make based on our deliverables;
- we are not liable for inaccuracies that result from incomplete or inaccurate information you provided.
11. Cancellation and termination
You may cancel an engagement at any time by written notice. Any upfront payment covers work already carried out and is non-refundable once work has started, except as set out in section 7. Either party may end an engagement if the other seriously breaches these Terms and does not fix the breach within a reasonable time. Sections that by their nature should survive (including confidentiality, intellectual property, and liability) continue to apply after an engagement ends.
12. Governing law and disputes
These Terms and any engagement are governed by Italian law. We will always try to resolve any issue amicably first. Where a dispute cannot be resolved, the courts of Milan, Italy, have jurisdiction, except where mandatory law provides otherwise.
13. Changes to these Terms
We may update these Terms from time to time. The version that applies to your engagement is the one in force when your quote is accepted. The "last updated" date above shows the current version for the website.
Questions about these Terms? Email contact@chiarovaluations.com.