01Agreement and eligibility
Summary
By using Shrut you agree to these terms. You must be 18 or older and able to make a binding contract.
These Terms of Service (“Terms”) are an agreement between you and Shrut Private Limited (“Shrut”, “we”, “us”), CIN U63122HR2026PTC149761, registered office WeWork Forum, DLF Cyber City, DLF Phase 3, Sector 24, Gurugram, Haryana 122002. They include our Privacy Policy, our Cookie Policy and any booking terms shown at checkout.
You must be at least 18 years old and capable of entering into a binding contract under Indian law.
If you use Shrut for an organisation, you confirm that you are authorised to bind it, and “you” includes that organisation.
These Terms are an electronic record under the Information Technology Act, 2000. No signature is needed for them to bind you.
02What Shrut is, and what it is not
Summary
Shrut is a platform for paid, one-to-one conversations with independent experts. Experts share experience and opinion. It is not professional advice, and it does not replace a lawyer, accountant, doctor or licensed adviser.
Shrut is an online platform where members book paid, one-to-one consultations (“Sessions”) with independent experts. We provide vetting, scheduling, payment collection and the technology to hold Sessions.
Experts are independent. They are not our employees, agents or partners, and they do not speak for Shrut. A Session is a conversation between the member and the expert.
Sessions offer experience-based perspective. They are not legal, tax, accounting, medical, investment or other regulated professional advice. Take independent professional advice before you act on anything discussed.
We check experts before they are listed, but we do not guarantee their claims, their views, the outcome of any Session or their suitability for your needs.
03Your account
Summary
Give us accurate details, keep your sign-in safe, and do not share your account.
You sign in with a mobile number or email verified by a one-time password. Give accurate information and keep it up to date.
You are responsible for activity on your account. Keep your credentials private and tell us straight away if you think someone else has used them.
One person, one account. Accounts cannot be shared or transferred.
We may verify your identity or organisation, and may decline or restrict an account where we have reasonable grounds.
04Booking a Session
Summary
A booking is confirmed once you have paid and received a confirmation. Write a useful brief, and keep other people’s personal data out of it.
A booking is confirmed only when payment succeeds and we send you a confirmation by email or SMS.
Sessions take place through the join link in your confirmation and dashboard, and end at the scheduled time.
You may be asked to write a brief describing what you want to discuss. Do not include confidential information you have no right to share, or personal data of third parties.
05Fees, payments and taxes
Summary
You see the price before you pay. We collect payment through a licensed partner and issue a proper tax invoice. If you are charged but no booking is made, you get the money back.
Each expert sets their Session fee. The price you pay, in Indian rupees, is shown at checkout before you confirm, together with any GST.
Shrut retains a platform fee from each Session fee and pays the balance to the expert. Members do not need to do anything about this fee.
Payments are processed by Razorpay. We do not store your card or UPI details.
We issue a tax invoice for each Session. If you need your GSTIN on the invoice, add it before you pay.
If you pay from outside India, your bank may charge currency conversion or card fees that we do not control.
If money is debited but no booking is confirmed, we refund it to your original payment method, usually within 5 to 7 business days.
06Cancellations, rescheduling and refunds
Summary
Cancel with a day’s notice and you get everything back. If we or your expert cause the problem, you choose between a refund and a rebooking.
| What happens | Outcome |
|---|---|
| You cancel 24 hours or more before the start | Full refund to your original payment method |
| You cancel less than 24 hours before the start | [50%] refund |
| You reschedule 24 hours or more before the start | Free, once per booking, subject to the expert’s availability |
| You do not join within [15 minutes] of the start | No refund. The Session counts as delivered. |
| The expert cancels, or does not join within [10 minutes] | Your choice of full refund or free rebooking with the same expert |
| A fault on our platform stops the Session | Your choice of full refund or free rebooking |
| The Session happened but did not match the profile or your brief | Write to us within [48 hours]. We review each case and may refund in full or in part. |
Refunds go to the original payment method. Your bank may take a few business days to show them. Nothing here limits any right you have under the Consumer Protection Act, 2019.
07Conduct in Sessions and on the platform
Summary
Be respectful, be honest, be prepared. No recording or AI note-takers unless everyone agrees first. Keep bookings on Shrut.
You agree to treat everyone on Shrut with respect and to give honest information about who you are and what you need.
You will not:
- harass, threaten, discriminate against or abuse anyone;
- record, transcribe, livestream or use an AI note-taking tool in a Session without the prior consent of every participant;
- share your Session link or account with anyone else;
- impersonate another person or misstate your identity, employer or experience;
- send spam, scrape the Platform, or attempt to breach its security;
- use the Platform for anything unlawful.
You will not use Shrut to find a person and then take paid consultations with them outside Shrut to avoid our fee, for [12 months] after your first Session with them booked through Shrut.
08Confidentiality and compliance
Summary
Experts must never share their employer’s or clients’ confidential information, or unpublished price-sensitive information about listed companies. Members must never ask for it. Both sides keep the conversation confidential.
No participant may ask for, or share, in a Session:
- material non-public information, including unpublished price-sensitive information under the SEBI (Prohibition of Insider Trading) Regulations, 2015;
- confidential information of a current or former employer, client or counterparty that the person is bound not to disclose;
- trade secrets, or information obtained in breach of law, contract or duty;
- personal data of third parties, or classified government information.
Experts are responsible for checking their employment contracts, non-disclosure agreements and company policies, and for getting any approval their employer requires before advising.
An expert must tell us, before the Session or at its start, if its topic concerns a company where they hold an executive role, a board seat or more than [1%] of the shares, or where they advise the other side. The Session should not continue on that topic.
Members who are investors or other regulated entities remain responsible for their own compliance obligations.
Each participant keeps confidential what the other shares in a Session and identifies as confidential, or which a reasonable person would understand to be confidential. An expert’s general knowledge and experience are not restricted.
We may suspend accounts and report suspected violations to the authorities where the law requires or permits.
09Additional terms for experts
Summary
You are independent, you set your rate, and you handle your own taxes. Badges describe status and cannot be bought. Nobody can pay for a better listing.
You act as an independent professional. You decide what to share, set your rates and availability, and are responsible for your own taxes, registrations and insurance.
You confirm that your application is accurate. We may check it with employers, referees and public sources, and may remove your profile or badges if it is not.
Badges such as Founding Expert, Verified Expert and Matiman speaker describe factual status. They are not paid for and are not a ranking. Listing, placement and ranking cannot be bought.
We pay you the Session fee less our platform fee of 25%, any GST on that fee, and tax deducted at source where the law requires. Payouts go to your verified bank account, usually within [7 business days] after the Session is completed. You must provide your PAN and bank details before your first payout.
Join on time and give notice if you must cancel. Repeated no-shows may lead us to pause your profile.
You are free to advise elsewhere. Shrut does not require exclusivity or a minimum number of Sessions.
10Organisation accounts
Summary
Organisations pay by invoice and manage their own people. Admins see bookings and spend, never what was said.
An organisation account lets an administrator add members, and see their bookings, invoices and usage. Administrators cannot see the content of Sessions.
The organisation pays on the invoice terms agreed with us and is responsible for its members’ compliance with these Terms.
11Matiman events
Summary
Events have their own ticket terms, shown when you register.
Matiman by Shrut events, tickets and sponsorships are subject to the event terms shown at registration, together with these Terms where relevant.
12Your content, and reviews
Summary
What you write is yours. You let us show it so Shrut can work. Reviews must be honest and first-hand.
You own the content you submit, such as your profile, briefs and reviews. You give Shrut a non-exclusive, worldwide, royalty-free licence to host, display and use it to run and promote the Platform.
Reviews must be honest and based on your own Session. We may remove reviews that break these Terms.
We may use anonymised, aggregated data to improve the Platform.
13Intellectual property
Summary
The Shrut name, marks and content belong to us. You can quote Field Notes with credit but not republish it.
The Shrut name, ripple mark, “Access to Experience”, Matiman and Field Notes are trademarks of Shrut Private Limited, registered or applied for. Do not use them without our written permission.
The Platform and its content are owned by us or our licensors. You may quote Field Notes articles with attribution, but you may not republish them in full.
14Suspension and ending
Summary
You can close your account any time. We can suspend one that breaks these terms or puts others at risk.
You may close your account at any time. Bookings already made are handled under Cancellations, rescheduling and refunds.
We may suspend or end your access if you breach these Terms, put others at risk, or where the law requires. We will give notice where practical and explain why.
Clauses that by their nature should continue after your account ends, including confidentiality, liability and dispute resolution, will continue.
15Disclaimers
Summary
We work hard to make Shrut good, but we cannot promise outcomes or perfect uptime, and experts’ views are their own.
To the extent the law permits, the Platform is provided “as is” and “as available”. We do not promise that it will be uninterrupted or error-free, or that any Session will achieve a particular result.
Experts’ views are their own. We are not responsible for decisions you make relying on a Session, or for services provided by third parties.
16Limits on liability
Summary
We are responsible for what the law says we must be. Beyond that, our liability is capped at what you paid us.
Nothing in these Terms limits liability that cannot be limited by law.
To the extent the law permits, Shrut is not liable for indirect, incidental, special or consequential loss, or for lost profits, opportunities or goodwill.
Our total liability to you for all claims arising from these Terms is limited to the fees you paid to Shrut in the 12 months before the claim.
17Indemnity
Summary
If your breach of these terms causes us a third-party claim, you cover it.
You will indemnify Shrut against third-party claims, losses and reasonable costs arising from your breach of these Terms, your violation of law, or your disclosure of information you had no right to share.
18Grievance redressal
Summary
If something is wrong, write to our Grievance Officer. We reply within 48 hours and resolve it within a month.
In line with the Information Technology Act, 2000 and the Consumer Protection (E-Commerce) Rules, 2020.
Email: grievance@shrut.io.
We acknowledge complaints within 48 hours and aim to resolve them within one month.
19Governing law and disputes
Summary
Indian law applies. Talk to us first. If that fails, disputes go to arbitration in Gurugram, Haryana.
These Terms are governed by the laws of India.
If a dispute arises, write to us at legal@shrut.io and give us 30 days to resolve it.
Unresolved disputes will be referred to arbitration under the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996, before a sole arbitrator appointed by mutual consent. The seat and venue will be Gurugram, Haryana, and the language will be English.
Subject to the above, the courts at Gurugram, Haryana have exclusive jurisdiction.
If you are a “consumer” under the Consumer Protection Act, 2019, nothing here prevents you from approaching a consumer commission.
20Changes to these Terms
Summary
If we change these terms in a way that matters, we tell you first.
We may update these Terms. For material changes we will give you at least [15 days] notice by email or in your dashboard. If you keep using Shrut after they take effect, you accept them. Bookings already made are not affected.
21General
Summary
The usual housekeeping.
These Terms are our entire agreement with you on their subject. If a part is unenforceable, the rest continues. Our not enforcing a right is not a waiver of it.
We may assign these Terms to a successor to our business. You may not assign yours without our consent.
Neither party is liable for delay or failure caused by events beyond its reasonable control.
We give notices by email or in your dashboard. The English version of these Terms prevails.
22Contact us
Summary
Questions about these terms? Write to us.
Shrut Private Limited, WeWork Forum, DLF Cyber City, DLF Phase 3, Sector 24, Gurugram, Haryana 122002.
Email: legal@shrut.io, or use Support.