Terms and Conditions

1. Scope of Application

These Terms and Conditions apply to all consulting and advisory services provided by Christoph Schepan, Willy-Brandt-Straße 23, 20457 Hamburg (hereinafter "Consultant") to clients (hereinafter "Client").

By using the services, the Client agrees to these Terms and Conditions.

These Terms and Conditions are exclusively directed at businesses within the meaning of § 14 BGB (German Civil Code), legal entities under public law, or special funds under public law. Should the Client be a consumer within the meaning of § 13 BGB, the corresponding consumer protection rights apply (see Section 9 – Right of Withdrawal).

Only these Terms and Conditions apply. Conflicting or deviating terms and conditions of the Client are not recognized unless the Consultant has expressly agreed to their application in writing.

Side agreements or oral agreements that deviate from these Terms and Conditions are not valid. They require written confirmation by the Consultant to be effective.

2. Services

The Consultant provides consulting services in the areas of corporate strategy, fundraising, investor relations, and business development.

The specific scope of services is individually defined in the respective consulting agreement, offer, or Statement of Work.

All services are provided to the best of the Consultant's knowledge and belief. The Consultant does not guarantee specific business results, financing success, or investment returns.

3. Contract Formation

The contract for the provision of consulting services is concluded by written confirmation from the Consultant, by booking through the website, or by commencing the consulting activities.

Inquiries through the website or via email do not yet constitute a binding offer.

The specific scope of services, compensation, and duration are individually agreed upon and documented in writing.

Statements and communications within the contractual relationship require text form (e.g., email), unless written form is legally required.

4. Client's Cooperation Obligations

The Client undertakes to provide all information, documents, and data necessary for the execution of the mandate in a timely and complete manner and to cooperate appropriately. Delays due to lack of cooperation are not attributable to the Consultant.

5. Compensation and Payment Terms

The compensation for consulting services is individually agreed upon and documented in the consulting agreement.

Unless otherwise agreed, invoices are to be paid within 14 days of invoicing without deductions.

All compensation is subject to the applicable statutory value-added tax, unless expressly stated otherwise.

For services to businesses in other EU countries, billing is done according to the reverse-charge procedure pursuant to Art. 196 VAT Directive, § 13b UStG (German VAT Act).

Additional expenses (e.g., travel costs, accommodation) are invoiced separately, provided these are not already included in the agreed compensation.

In case of payment default, the Consultant is entitled to demand default interest at the statutory rate (§ 288 BGB). The right to prove higher damages is reserved.

The Client is not entitled to withhold payments due to counterclaims or complaints unless these have been legally established or are undisputed.

6. Confidentiality

Both parties undertake to maintain confidentiality regarding all non-public information exchanged during the collaboration.

This obligation continues after the termination of the contractual relationship.

The Consultant may only disclose confidential information with the prior written consent of the Client or due to legal obligations.

7. Usage Rights and Intellectual Property

All materials, documents, and work results specifically created for the Client during the mandate become the property of the Client after full payment.

The transfer of usage rights occurs only after full payment.

The Consultant retains all rights to general methods, frameworks, and know-how developed independently or prior to the mandate.

The Consultant may use work results and references in anonymized form for self-promotion, provided no confidential content is affected.

If work results are based on open-source software or third-party material, the respective license terms apply.

8. Liability

The Consultant is liable for damages only in cases of intent or gross negligence.

Liability for slight negligence is excluded, except for damages resulting from injury to life, body, or health.

The Consultant's liability is limited in amount to the total compensation paid by the Client for the specific mandate in which the damage occurred.

The consulting services do not constitute legal, tax, or financial advice. Decisions made based on the consulting are the sole responsibility of the Client.

The Consultant maintains professional liability insurance at [Insurance Company, Location].

9. Right of Withdrawal for Consumers

Right of Withdrawal

You have the right to withdraw from this contract within fourteen days without giving any reason.

The withdrawal period is fourteen days from the date of contract conclusion.

To exercise your right of withdrawal, you must inform us (Christoph Schepan, Willy-Brandt-Straße 23, 20457 Hamburg, Email: info@schepan.com) by means of a clear statement (e.g., a letter sent by post or email) of your decision to withdraw from this contract.

To meet the withdrawal deadline, it is sufficient for you to send the notification of the exercise of the right of withdrawal before the withdrawal period expires.

Consequences of Withdrawal

If you withdraw from this contract, we must refund all payments we have received from you, without undue delay and no later than fourteen days from the day on which we received the notification of your withdrawal from this contract.

Premature Expiration of the Right of Withdrawal

The right of withdrawal expires in the case of a contract for the provision of services if the entrepreneur has fully performed the service and only began performing the service after the consumer gave their express consent and at the same time confirmed their knowledge that they would lose their right of withdrawal upon complete contract fulfillment by the entrepreneur.

10. Duration and Termination

The consulting relationship begins with the signing of the consulting agreement or with the booking through the website and runs as specified therein.

The specific termination periods are individually agreed upon in the respective consulting agreement.

Project-based mandates run until the completion of the defined scope of services.

In case of early termination by the Client, the services rendered up to the termination date must be compensated.

11. Subcontractors

The Consultant is entitled to engage qualified third parties (subcontractors) to fulfill their obligations but remains responsible for their careful selection.

12. Conflicts of Interest

The Consultant informs the Client of potential conflicts of interest.

The Consultant may provide services to multiple clients, even if they are in competition with each other, provided confidentiality is maintained.

13. Force Majeure

Events of force majeure, such as natural disasters, pandemics, war, strikes, illness, or government orders that significantly impede or make service provision impossible, entitle the Consultant to postpone the service for the duration of the impediment or to withdraw from the contract.

14. Assignment and Transfer

Assignment of rights and obligations from this contract to third parties requires the prior written consent of the respective other party.

15. Data Protection

The processing of personal data is carried out in accordance with applicable data protection laws. Further information can be found in the Privacy Policy on this website.

16. Applicable Law, Place of Performance, and Jurisdiction

These Terms and Conditions and all contracts are governed by the law of the Federal Republic of Germany.

The place of performance and jurisdiction for all disputes arising from or in connection with the contractual relationship is, to the extent legally permissible, Hamburg.

17. Online Dispute Resolution

The European Commission provides a platform for Online Dispute Resolution (ODR), which you can find at https://ec.europa.eu/consumers/odr.

We are neither obliged nor willing to participate in dispute resolution proceedings before a consumer arbitration board.

18. Severability Clause

Should individual provisions of these Terms and Conditions be or become wholly or partially invalid, the validity of the remaining provisions shall remain unaffected.

The invalid provision shall be replaced by a valid one that comes as close as possible to the economic purpose of the invalid provision.

19. Written Form Clause

Amendments and additions to these Terms and Conditions require written form. This also applies to any amendment to this written form clause itself.

20. Changes to the Terms and Conditions

The Consultant reserves the right to amend these Terms and Conditions.

Clients will be informed of changes.

Continued use of the services after notification constitutes acceptance of the updated terms.