No. Read Startup does not accept payment, gifts or access deals from companies it writes about. If sponsorships are added in future, they will be labelled as sponsored and kept separate from the breakdowns.
Does Read Startup take money from companies it covers?
No. Read Startup takes no payment, free products or access deals from any company it breaks down, so no company can buy or shape coverage.
That includes favourable access such as exclusive interviews offered in exchange for coverage. Company statements are used as sources, never as conditions.
Will Read Startup ever have sponsors?
Possibly. Any sponsor would be labelled “Sponsored”, would never be the subject of a breakdown in the same issue, and would never see or approve content before it is sent.
- Clearly labelled. Sponsored content will say “Sponsored” where readers see it, not only in small print.
- Kept apart. A sponsor will never be the company broken down in the same issue.
- No review rights. Sponsors will not see, edit or approve any breakdown.
What happens if a writer has a conflict of interest?
Any personal or financial connection to a company in a breakdown is disclosed at the top of that issue, in line with the US Federal Trade Commission’s guidance that material connections must be clearly disclosed.
The FTC’s Endorsement Guides were last revised in June 2023. Disclosure rules differ outside the US; we apply the clear-disclosure standard everywhere.
The rest of our rules are in our editorial standards, and the sources we rely on are listed in how we verify each decision.