Frequently Asked Questions

General

1.I forgot my password, what to do?

Please click here and follow the instructions.

Membership

1.What does a membership consist of?

Membership with Lava People gives you access to the full community and its functionalities for one year. At the end of the year you will be approached to renew your membership. It is not possible to buy a monthly or 6 month membership to Lava People. In the collaboration suite a user receives two workspaces with the full functionality set, 250 MByte of document space, unlimited users from your LavaPeople network, and 360 minutes of web or telephone conferencing.

2.Why such an extensive profile?

To benefit most from the functionalities on the platform you need to fill in an extensive profile. The information in your profile forms the basis for the matchmaking module; the different characteristics are used so that other users are able to find your profile to contact you about investment opportunities, partnerships or advice. This function is not to be used to spam other members, Lava People maintains a strict abuse policy on this to prevent such activity. (add link to abusy policy FAQ)

3.I feel that the categorization on Lava People doesn?t suffice to represent my profile, what to do?

Please inform us about the situation by sending an email to feedback@lavapeople.com and we will look into the case ASAP.

4.Can I remain anonymous?

Yes it is possible to use an alias on the platform and remain anonymous to people outside of your network. This way we can prevent that well-known individuals get spammed purely because of their name. They can then only be found on the basis of their profile characteristics ensuring a 'quality match'.

5. How can I join Lava People with my entrepreneurial organization / network?

If you are part of an organization, institute or group with an entrepreneurial mindset and think it is interesting to become involved with Lava People. Please contact us via groups@lavapeople.com

6.How can I terminate my membership?

To terminate your membership you can select the button to do so under 'settings' which is the 'i' icon in your dock. Once you have terminated your account, you cannot reactivate it. Upon terminating your account, you are also waiving your rights to the affiliate program, in which you can earn referral for bringing new members to the community. Click here to learn more about the affiliate program.

The Community

1.How do I disconnect from someone?

You can disconnect by simply selecting the disconnect button on this persons profile, if they are connected to you. Once confirmed, this person will dissappear from your 'my people' list and you will dissapear from theirs without notice.

2.What is my Clipboard?

My Clipboard is used to bookmark different profiles of individuals so you can save these for later review. When you add someone to your clipboard, this user will not receive notice of this.

3.What happens when I recommend someone to a friend?

When you recommend someone to a friend a mail is sent to one of your connections (via the lava platform) with a link to this person?s profile or item within the community. You are free to add an accompanying note as you please. When you recommend someone's profile to one of your connections this user will not be notified of this recommendation.

4.What language can I use?

We recommend using English in all areas accessible by all Lava People to maintain an open environment that is accessible to all members. However for country specific discussions or events and direct communication you can feel free to use the language you are both most comfortable with.

5.I have a suggestion for the community, where can I send it?

At Lava People we?re always open to suggestions and feedback on the platform. Please feel free to send us an email: feedback@lavapeople.com

6.Are my discussions on Lava People monitored?

Yes, discussions on Lava People are monitored but not moderated. So we do keep an eye on the platform to make sure that the discussions and topics are appropriate for an entrepreneurial community. In addition if you have a problem with a certain discussion or participant don't hesitate to let us know via misuse@lavapeople.com

7.How do I get my application or service in the third party resource center?

If your company offers an application or service that is of interest to Lava's members we can integrate this into our resource center. This way our members will be able to learn about your offering and access the product or service via our portal. If you would like more information on this, please send us an email with more information about your company and the resource via resources@lavapeople.com

8.Can the webmasters or management read my messages via the 'Inbox' system?

No we can't, there is no administrative capability or functionality for the webmasters or management to browse or read any of the members' messages.

The Collaboration Suite

1.Is the 'Projects' Collaboration suite secure?

The 'Projects' Collaboration suite is build from the ground up with security in mind. Any data element is fully access controlled, such that only users that you invite to take part in your project or 'workspace' are able to view and/or edit any of the information you have stored within your area. Of course, the connection is secured (https://), such that all transfer through the Internet is encrypted. Finally, the servers are placed in a fully access controlled environment.

2.Can I invite non-lava members to use the Collaboration suite?

Yes, to avoid pollution of our community with corporate employees who join purely for the benefits of the collaboration suite, we support a separate entry environment to the Collaboration suite for your stakeholders. Please click here to learn more about these possibilities and pricing.

3.Why do I only get two workspace projects with my membership?

The 'Projects' Collaboration suite is a powerful project management tool that traditionally has a pricing model that is much higher than what most start-ups can afford. Lava People this makes professional collaboration software available to help entrepreneurs get started with their ventures.

Once the use of collaboration environment moves towards full commercial use, it is, however, necessary to charge additionally in order to sustain the positioning of this application and avoid pollution of our community with corporate employees who join purely for the benefits of the collaboration suite.

Click here to learn more about pricing of additional workspaces.

4. How do I invite others to joing my workspace in the Collaboration suite?

You can add people in your Lava People network directly to your workspace. Just follow the link ?add members to workspace? on your workspace home page. Then you see the ? first empty ? list of workspace members. Click ?Add Member? and you can select the person from your network. The person receives a short notification into his or her inbox. If the person you are looking for is not in the list, please invite him or her into your network first.

If you want to collaborate with non-entrepreneurs, please do not have them join Lava People, as this should be reserved for like-minded entrepreneurs. Instead, you can choose the option to invite external people directly into your workspace for a small fee. First select, how many people you want to invite (you can always extend to increase this later), then go to ?invite external members? in the administration area. Choose ?invite? and just enter the email addresses of your partners. They will receive an invitation with a link to the registration page. You can see also the status of the invitations you sent.

Payment

1.Why should I pay for a membership?

Having quality people in our community is crucial in creating a thriving entrepreneurial hub. But how do you define quality when it comes to entrepreneurial development? By education, experience or background?

We believe that the definition of quality is two sided: On one side quality is defined by fit - fit between two different individuals, whether someone is able to answer your question, complement your business activities or add value as an investor. On the other side quality is defined by commitment to entrepreneurship & being serious about doing business.

And just as we are committed to delivering a sustainable and ad-free community platform of serious entrepreneurs and investors, we ask you for a membership fee as a token of your commitment.

2.How does the payment model for Lava People work?

The membership fees are transferred using Paypal and the referral fees can be transferred either via Paypal or to your bank-account.  When you use Paypal to pay-out the credits you have earned no charges apply. When you pay-out the credits to your bank account, additional charges apply.

3.How does the affiliate program work on Lava People?

We reward our members for referring those who they believe can benefit from and add value to the platform. This means that you earn money for referring Lava People to other people, who will become a Member. The referral fee constitutes of 25% of the membership fee that is being paid by the Referral Member. These referral fees are being rewarded to the second degree, so not only will the Member be rewarded with 25% of the fee of his own referrals, but also with 25% from the fee of the direct referrals. This way you can earn back your membership fee easily. Growth of the community amongst existing networks is encouraged.

4.What can I do with these referral fees?

The fees can either be used to renew or upgrade your account, or can be paid out to you via Paypal or bank transfer.

Abuse

1.I have encountered some unethical or inappropriate use of Lava People, what can I do about it?

Please send us an email explaining the case and we will look into this seriously: misuse@lavapeople.com

2.Someone is pretending to be another person, where can I take this up?

Please send us an email explaining the case and we will look into this seriously: misuse@lavapeople.com

3.I am receiving offers and ads through Lava People, where to report this?

Please send us an email explaining the case and we will look into this seriously: misuse@lavapeople.com

4.How are members who misbehave reprimanded?

When misuse has been flagged by our members we will consider each item on a case-by-case basis. In the worst-case scenario, we can terminate the member's account, but generally we will send up to 2 warnings via the lava mail before suspending or terminating the account.