Editorial policy

What we cover

The Rising Story reports on early-stage Indian founders — pre-seed, bootstrapped, and building outside the metros. We write about companies the larger publications do not reach, which means most of our subjects have never been covered before.

How we choose stories

Coverage is decided by us and no one else. Founders can pitch us, and we read every pitch, but a pitch is not a promise. We do not run coverage in exchange for access, advertising, equity, or the possibility of any of them later.

Fact-checking

Figures come from filings, company statements, or our own reporting, and every funding record we publish carries its source. We check names, titles, dates and amounts before publication. Where a company declines to confirm a number, we say so rather than printing it unattributed.

Corrections

We correct errors openly. A material change to a published story gets a dated note at the bottom of that story explaining what changed. We do not silently edit published work. Our full approach is on the corrections page.

Paid content

Where a third party has given us anything for a piece of content — money, equity, free product or barter — that piece carries a label at the top saying so, before the headline, and names who paid where we are able to.

The label travels with the story. It is on the page, on the card in any listing, in the RSS feed, in the newsletter, and in the structured data a search engine or an answer engine reads. A disclosure only counts on the surface where somebody actually meets the story, and for a good number of readers that is not this website.

Paid content does not get different facts. It is checked the same way as everything else, and anyone who pays for a piece has no say over what a later story says about them.

Conflicts of interest

Anyone writing for The Rising Story must disclose any financial interest, advisory role or close personal relationship with a company they cover. Where a conflict cannot be avoided, it is disclosed in the story itself.

Right of reply

Anyone criticised in a story is given a fair opportunity to respond before publication, and their response is carried in the piece. If we could not reach them, we say that too.

Sources

We prefer on-the-record sourcing. Where we grant anonymity — usually because a source risks their job or an investor relationship — we explain in the story why it was granted. We do not publish anonymous criticism of a named individual without corroboration.

Getting in touch

Corrections, complaints and right-of-reply requests go to desk@therisingstory.com. We aim to respond within three working days.