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Code of Conduct

The International Founders Network (IFN) exists so that founders who are new to a country have somewhere safe to ask questions. Everyone is welcome at our events and in our member spaces, whatever their nationality, immigration status, first language, gender, orientation, disability, appearance, race, or religion.

Last updated: August 8, 2026

What we expect

These are the behaviors that make IFN worth attending:

  • Showing empathy and kindness toward other founders
  • Respecting different opinions, experiences, and ways of working
  • Giving useful feedback, and accepting it without taking offense
  • Taking responsibility and apologizing when we get something wrong
  • Thinking about what is best for the whole community, not only ourselves
  • Keeping private what other founders share about their companies

What is not allowed

The following count as harassment or misuse of the community, and they are not tolerated anywhere IFN operates:

  • Sexual language or imagery, and unwelcome sexual attention or advances
  • Deliberately provoking people, insults, and personal or political attacks
  • Harassment of any kind, in public or in private
  • Publishing someone else's private information without their permission
  • Pressuring anyone to invest, buy, or sign anything at an IFN event
  • Any other behavior that would be out of place in a professional setting

Reporting a problem

If you are being harassed, if you see someone else being harassed, or if something at an IFN event made you uncomfortable, write to hello@ifn.community. That address reaches the founding team directly.

IFN is run by a small team, so we will not pretend there is a duty desk waiting. What we can promise is that every report is read, kept private, and answered by a person. Depending on what happened, we take one of these three steps:

  1. Correction

    A private, written note explaining what happened and why the behavior was not acceptable.

  2. Warning

    A written warning that sets out what happens if it continues. Contact with the people involved is paused for a set period.

  3. Removal

    A permanent ban from IFN events, from the members-only channel, and from every other IFN space.

Not sure about something?

Ask. If you are unsure whether something belongs at an IFN event (a pitch, a photograph, a recruiting message), it is easier to check first than to undo it afterwards. Write to hello@ifn.community.