Affiliate Terms & Brand Guidelines

• You must be 18+ and able to form a binding contract.
• You enroll through the Program platform, verify your email, and accept these Terms and the Brand Guidelines (Part B).
• Approval is automatic but revocable. We may decline, suspend, or remove any Affiliate at any time, at our discretion — including for violations of these Terms or the Brand Guidelines.

• You’ll receive a unique referral link. Use only the links and codes the platform issues to you.
• Attribution is last-touch with a 60-day cookie: a referred person is credited to you if they make a qualifying purchase within 60 days of their most recent click on your link, provided no later Affiliate link intervenes.
• You may not alter, cloak, or obscure your link in ways that interfere with tracking, and you may not use your own link to buy for yourself (no self-referrals).

• Refer tier: 15% of qualifying customer payments — the single affiliate payout rate.
• Base Camp: 15% of the member’s subscription payments for their first 12 months only. Commission stops after month 12.
• The Summit: 15% of the one-time program fee.
• Free products (Readiness Assessment, Compass Sessions): no commission — but if a person you referred starts with a free product and then purchases Base Camp or the Summit within the 60-day window, that purchase is commissionable.
• Commissions are calculated on the net amount actually paid to us (excluding taxes, discounts, and processing fees) and only on completed, non-refunded transactions.

• Commissions are paid through the Program platform via PayPal or Wise.
• Holding period: a commission becomes payable ~30 days after the underlying charge clears, to allow for refunds, chargebacks, and cancellations.
• Schedule: payouts run monthly.
• Minimum payout: $50. Balances below the minimum roll over until reached.
• Refunds/chargebacks: if a referred transaction is refunded or charged back, the related commission is reversed or deducted from your balance.
• Taxes: you are an independent contractor responsible for your own taxes. U.S. Affiliates may be required to provide a W-9; we may issue a 1099 where required. Non-U.S. Affiliates are responsible for their local obligations.

You may not:

• Send spam or unsolicited bulk messages, or violate any anti-spam or privacy law.
• Bid on or use The Next Mountain’s brand terms (e.g., “The Next Mountain,” “Next Mountain Base Camp,” “The Summit,” founder names) in paid search, or run ads that impersonate us.
• Make false, misleading, or exaggerated claims, or any income, outcome, or ROI guarantee on our behalf.
• Invent statistics, testimonials, or endorsements, or misquote our materials.
• Use cookie stuffing, forced clicks, typosquatting, malware, or any deceptive tracking.
• Register domains, social handles, app names, or trademarks containing our brand names.
• Misrepresent your relationship with us (you are an affiliate, not an employee, agent, partner, or official spokesperson).
• Promote on sites or in contexts that are illegal, hateful, deceptive, sexually explicit, or otherwise inconsistent with the brand.

Violations can result in withheld commissions and removal from the Program.

• We grant you a limited, non-exclusive, revocable, non-transferable license to use our approved name, logos, and marketing assets solely to promote The Next Mountain under these Terms.
• Use assets as provided; don’t modify, recolor, or distort them. Don’t imply endorsement, partnership, or employment beyond “affiliate.”
• All intellectual property remains ours. The license ends when your participation ends.

• Either party may end participation at any time, for any reason.
• If you leave or are removed in good standing, eligible commissions already earned and past the holding period are paid out at the next payout cycle (subject to the $50 minimum).
• If you are removed for violating these Terms or the Brand Guidelines, unpaid commissions tied to the violation may be forfeited.
• Sections on IP, confidentiality, disclaimers, and limitation of liability survive termination.

• Always “The Next Mountain” — include “The,” capitalize all three words.
• Our current products are the Readiness Assessment, Compass Sessions, Base Camp, and The Summit.
• Don’t call anything “Next Mountain Circles” or “the Circle” — that name is retired. Don’t invent product names or tiers.

• Readiness Assessment — a free, ~3-minute read on where your organization stands with AI.
• Compass Sessions — a free, ~30-minute live AI briefing for leaders, every Tuesday at 11am ET.
• Base Camp — a monthly community for executives: an AI briefing, peer breakouts, and live coaching, plus a weekly written briefing. $100/month founding rate (first 12 months).
• The Summit — a two-day executive AI-strategy intensive in Boulder, Colorado. $3,000/person.

• Use our real language and the approved descriptions above.
• Be honest about what each product is, and who it’s for (senior leaders, not engineers).
• Point people to the free first step (the Assessment or a Compass Session) when they’re early.

• Promise income, outcomes, or ROI on our behalf.
• Invent stats, testimonials, or endorsements.
• Run paid search on our brand terms or impersonate us in ads.
• Spam, or share your link where it doesn’t belong.
• Speak as if you’re an employee, partner, or official spokesperson.