Your information. Your choices.

Who this site is for

Our website is intended for people located in the United States. We do not market outside the United States. If you are located outside the United States, please do not submit personal information through our website.

Who we are

BlackOak Partners is a strategic advisory firm serving founders and CEOs of B2B software, SaaS, and tech-enabled companies. We are based in Kansas City. Our website is blackoak.partners. You can reach us at liam@blackoak.partners.

What information we collect

We collect information in three ways:

Information you give us directly

When you contact us, sign up for our newsletter, or use a tool on our website, you may give us:

• Your name
• Your email address
• Your company name and role
• Information about your company or fundraising plans
• Documents you upload, such as pitch decks
• Any other details you choose to share with us in a message or form

Information collected automatically

When you visit our website, we automatically collect some basic information that most websites collect:

• Your approximate location based on IP address
• Your browser type and device type
• Which pages you visit and how long you spend on them
• How you arrived at our site

We use this information to understand how people use our site and improve it. We do not use it to track you across other websites.

Information from third parties

If you sign up for our newsletter through a referral or arrive through a partner link, we may receive limited information from those sources, such as the source of the referral.

How we use your information

We use the information we collect to:

• Respond to your questions and provide the services you request
• Send you our newsletter, if you have signed up for it (you can unsubscribe at any time)
• Follow up about whether we can help with your work
• Improve our website and services
• Protect against fraud, abuse, and security threats
• Comply with legal obligations

AI processing

Some of our website tools use artificial intelligence to generate output, such as drafting a forwardable email or providing feedback on a pitch deck. When you use these tools:

• The information you submit is sent to a third-party AI service provider to generate the output you requested.
• We do not allow our AI service provider to use your information to train their models.
• We retain a copy of your submission and the generated output so we can follow up with you, improve the tool, and provide support if you have questions.

If you would prefer that we delete your submission after the tool runs, email us at liam@blackoak.partners and we will do so.

Who we share information with

We do not sell your personal information. We share it only in the following limited circumstances:

Service providers

We use a small number of trusted service providers to operate our business. These include providers of email and calendaring, customer relationship management, email marketing, document sharing and storage, website hosting, AI processing, and form submission handling. These providers process your information on our behalf and are bound by their own privacy and security commitments. They are not permitted to use your information for their own purposes.

Legal and safety

We may share information if we are required to by law, by valid legal process, or to protect against fraud, security threats, or harm to people or property.

Business changes

If BlackOak Partners is ever acquired, merged, sold, or restructured, your information may be transferred as part of that transaction. We will require the receiving party to honor this policy or provide protections at least as strong, and we will notify you of material changes through the website or by email where reasonably practicable.

How long we keep your information

We keep your information for as long as we need it to provide the services you requested or to follow up with you. As a general rule:

• Newsletter signups: until you unsubscribe.
• Form submissions and tool inputs: typically retained for 24 months, then deleted unless you have asked us to keep them or we have an ongoing business relationship.
• Pitch decks and uploaded documents: typically retained for 12 months unless deletion is requested sooner.
• Records we are legally required to keep: as long as the law requires.

You can request that we delete your information sooner by emailing liam@blackoak.partners.

Your rights and choices

You have the right to:

• Ask us what information we have about you
• Ask us to correct inaccurate information
• Ask us to delete your information
• Unsubscribe from our newsletter at any time
• Opt out of follow-up communications

To make any of these requests, email liam@blackoak.partners. We will respond within 30 days, or sooner if required by law.

If you live in California

California residents have additional rights under the CCPA, including the right to know what categories of personal information we collect, the right to delete personal information, the right to correct inaccurate information, and the right not to be discriminated against for exercising these rights. We do not sell personal information.

If you live in another U.S. state with a privacy law

Several U.S. states have privacy laws giving residents rights similar to those described above. We honor these rights regardless of where in the United States you live. To exercise them, email liam@blackoak.partners.

How we protect your information

We take reasonable steps to protect the information you provide. No system is perfectly secure, and we cannot guarantee absolute security. If we become aware of a security incident that materially affects your information, we will notify you in line with applicable law.

Cookies and tracking

Our website uses a small number of cookies and similar technologies to make the site work and to understand how it is used. These are limited to what is needed for basic functionality and analytics. You can disable cookies in your browser settings, though doing so may affect how the site works. We do not use advertising cookies or cross-site tracking.

Children

Our website and services are not directed to children under 16. We do not knowingly collect information from children. If you believe a child has submitted information to us, contact us at liam@blackoak.partners and we will delete it.

Changes to this policy

We may update this policy from time to time. When we do, we will update the “Last updated” date at the top. If the changes are significant, we will notify you by email or by posting a notice on our website.

Contact us

Questions about this policy, or want to make a request? Email liam@blackoak.partners.