No hidden score, no hand-tuned placement, no ambiguous tie-break. Every material ranking rule is public.
Payments use whole US-dollar amounts and are stored as integer cents. The minimum new listing and top-up is $1.
Rank is current-season cumulative spend, descending. If totals are equal, whoever reached that total first stays higher.
We show the exact difference plus $1 when a quote is calculated, but another startup can move while checkout is open. Your verified payment still applies and receives its actual live rank.
The browser and success redirect never change altitude. Only a correctly signed Stripe paid Checkout webhook can credit a payment, and duplicate delivery cannot credit twice.
Every Monday at 00:00 UTC a new season begins. Seasonal altitude returns to zero; profiles, lifetime spend, clicks, summit wins, achievements, and Hall of Fame records remain.
All placements are paid sponsorships, not votes, reviews, or editorial recommendations. Payments are normally non-refundable, and rankings can change at any time.
Only the top 50 approved startups appear on the mountain. Every other approved listing remains searchable in Base Camp.
Automated click inflation, deceptive listings, unsafe destinations, prohibited content, or attempts to manipulate the platform can lead to suspension without changing the verified-revenue ledger.