Privacy Policy

The Start-Up Studio
thestartupstudio.org

The Start-Up Studio takes your privacy seriously. This policy explains what personal data we collect, why we collect it, how we use it, and your rights under UK law.

Plain English where possible. No unnecessary legalese.

1. Who we are

The Start-Up Studio is a business support programme funded by Staffordshire County Council and delivered by RTi Solutions LLP.

Data controller:
RTi Solutions LLP (Companies House: OC455657)
Registered with the Information Commissioner's Office: ZC105369

The Start-Up Studio is delivered under SCC contract IA3856 - Start-Up Business Mentoring and Growth Support, Lot 3 Lichfield District.

Where participant data is processed for SCC contract reporting, RTi Solutions LLP and Staffordshire County Council act as independent data controllers under UK GDPR. Each party is responsible for the data it holds.

Only authorised programme staff (Ian Harford and Clare Harford) access participant personal data.

Data protection contact:
admin@thestartupstudio.org
07717 446794

2. What data we collect

When you submit a contact or enquiry form:

• Name, email address, phone number (optional)
• Enquiry type and message
• How you heard about us
• Marketing preference (opt-in only)

When you register for a workshop or session:

• Full name, email address, phone number, postcode
• Business stage: pre-start / early-stage (0-2 years) / employed / returning to work
• Referral source: SCC / Chamber / Social media / Networking / Other
• Privacy notice acceptance (required)
• Case study consent (separate, optional opt-in)

When you express interest in Business Club:

• Name, email address, phone number (optional)
• Whether you have attended a workshop
• What you hope to get from Business Club
• Marketing preference (opt-in only)

When you use this website:

• Standard server logs: IP address, browser type, pages visited, time of visit
• Cookies - see our Cookie Policy

We do not collect sensitive personal data. We do not collect payment data (bookings are handled externally by Eventbrite).

3. Why we collect it

We do not use participant data for commercial purposes. We do not contact programme participants with commercial offers.

4. How we use your data

• To register and confirm your workshop or session attendance
• To send booking confirmations, reminders, and follow-up emails
• To record and report attendance to Staffordshire County Council under contract IA3856
• To respond to your message or enquiry
• To send programme updates, news, and free resources (opt-in only)
• To invite participants (who have given case study consent) to contribute to programme case studies
• To monitor website performance and security

We will never sell your data or share it with third parties for their marketing purposes.

5. Who we share your data with

Staffordshire County Council

We are contractually required to share participant attendance data with SCC under contract IA3856. This includes: attendance records, business stage, referral source, and (where consent has been given) case study contributions. SCC is an independent data controller for this data.

Service providers

All providers handling participant personal data on our behalf are required to maintain EEA-based data processing in compliance with SCC contract IA3856 and UK GDPR.

International transfers

Some services we use - including Resend, Eventbrite, and Google Calendar - may process data outside the EEA. Where this occurs, appropriate safeguards are in place, including Standard Contractual Clauses or equivalent mechanisms recognised under UK GDPR. When you click an Eventbrite or Google Calendar booking link, you are using those platforms directly and their own privacy policies apply.

6. Data retention

Retention periods are reviewed periodically to ensure alignment with SCC contract IA3856 requirements and UK GDPR.

7. Your rights

Under UK GDPR, you have the right to:

• Access - request a copy of the personal data we hold about you.
• Rectification - ask us to correct inaccurate or incomplete data.
• Erasure - ask us to delete your data where there is no lawful reason to retain it. Note: where data is required for SCC contract reporting, we may not be able to delete it before the contract retention period ends.
• Restriction - ask us to pause processing in certain circumstances.
• Objection - object to processing based on legitimate interests.
• Portability - request your data in a portable, machine-readable format.
• Withdraw consent - withdraw marketing or case study consent at any time. This will not affect the lawfulness of any processing already carried out.

To exercise any of these rights, contact us at admin@thestartupstudio.org. We will respond within one calendar month. We may need to verify your identity before acting on your request.

8. Cookies

We use cookies on this website. For full details, please see our Cookie Policy.

9. Data security

We apply appropriate technical and organisational security measures to protect your data. Participant records are stored in access-controlled, encrypted infrastructure. Access is limited to authorised programme staff only.

In the event of a data breach affecting your personal data, we will notify you and the ICO as required by UK GDPR.

10. Changes to this policy

We may update this policy from time to time. The date at the top shows when it was last updated. If changes are material, we will notify programme participants by email.

11. Contact and complaints

Data protection queries:
admin@thestartupstudio.org | 07717 446794

ICO registration: ZC105369

Complaints: If you are unhappy with how we handle your personal data, you have the right to complain to the Information Commissioner's Office:
Website: ico.org.uk/make-a-complaint
Phone: 0303 123 1113