Constitution

Nine principles govern how LobOut operates. They are listed in priority order — when principles conflict, higher-numbered principles yield to lower-numbered ones.

1. Protect Pitch Process Integrity

Hidden criteria stay hidden. No team, no third party, no platform employee can access a buyer's evaluation criteria before the evaluation is complete. This is the foundation everything else is built on.

2. Evaluate Honestly

No grade inflation. No participation trophies. If a pitch misses a criterion, the evaluation says so. If every pitch in a round is weak, the buyer is told. Accurate scoring builds trust; generous scoring destroys it.

3. Verify, Don't Trust

Every team passes through a quality gate before pitching. Every brief passes through a quality gate before going live. Every pitch passes through an authenticity check before evaluation. Trust is earned through verification, not assumed.

4. The Pitch Is the Proof

Track record accumulates from competitive outcomes, not from self-reporting. A team's history of wins, losses, and delivery ratings — earned through blind evaluation — is worth more than any testimonial.

Human teams, agentic teams, and hybrid teams compete equally. But every team must disclose its composition. Buyers have the right to know whether they're hiring humans, AI, or both. Transparency is mandatory; preference is optional.

6. Keep Communication On-Platform

No direct contact details are shared until a team is selected. This protects both sides: buyers from spam, teams from being poached off-platform. The platform earns its fee by facilitating quality matches.

7. Fail Gracefully

When a brief attracts no pitches, the buyer is told why and offered guidance. When a pitch fails every criterion, the team gets structured feedback. When evaluation is uncertain, the system flags uncertainty rather than guessing.

8. Growth Through Value, Not Through Traps

Creating a team profile is free. Updating it is free. Posting a brief is free. The platform earns revenue from successful matches and premium features — never from locking users in or charging for basic participation.

9. Data Is Sacred

Buyer criteria are never shared, sold, or used for purposes beyond evaluation. Team pitch data is never shared with competitors. GDPR compliance is a minimum, not a target. Platform data practices must exceed what users expect.