We're pleased to have partnered with Cloudflare to give our members access to apply for one year free on the Cloudflare startup plan, this is designed for early stage startups. This offer doesn't require a Cloudflare coupon, discount or promo code you'll just need a FounderPass member and then to apply directly with Cloudflare via the instructions we send you.

If you're wondering what Cloudflare is, then essentially think of it as a tool to help make your website faster whilst protecting it from attacks, ultimately leading to a better experience for your users by delivering everything to them quicker, reducing downtime and giving you peace of mind that your website is protected. You'll get benefits such as a free SSL certificate, CDN (Content Delivery Network) protection from brute force attacks and faster load times.

Cloudlfare have a variety of plans including a free tier which is great if you have any personal sites but for those with a business you'll need to opt for one of the paid plans such as the Pro or Business plan. For larger businesses you can get custom prices for an Enterprise plan. Of course one great option for early stage companies is to use our offer of a free year of the Cloudflare Startup plan.

How to apply for this

• Make sure you have full (paid) membership of FounderPass (join here or upgrade here)
• Then contact us here and mention you want to apply for this
• We then will send you full instructions

Who can apply for this:

• You are not currently on the startup plan
• You've raised less than $3 million in venture capital
• Have a full FounderPass membership or be a member of an accelerator program (or less than 1 year after graduation)

What you get in the Cloudflare Startup Plan:

This package is designed for early stage startups, if you apply and get accepted you'll recieve one year free of the following plan. This plan helps you to leverage the Cloudflare global network to help build and scale your business.

• CDN & Managed DNS (global cloud network of 200 cities; one (1) domain with one (1) custom SSL certificate; Image optimization) 
• WAF (Advanced web application firewall (WAF) with 50 custom rulesets) 
• Advanced DDOS (Unmetered mitigation of DDoS attacks with network prioritization) 
• 100 page rules; role-based account access and 24/7/365 Email Support

You also get access to advanced features including:

• Cloudflare Workers
• Cloudflare Stream
• Cloudflare Zero Trust
• Cloudflare Images
• Cloudflare for SaaS
• Advanced Certificate Manager
• Cloudflare Image Resizing
• Argo Smart Routing
• Cloudflare Spectrum, Load Balancing & Waiting Room
• Area 1 Email Security

What is a Content Delivery Network

One of the key features of Cloudlfare is the CDN that it offers, this is essentially a network of servers across the world that help to make sure that your content/website is delivered as fast as possible to your users. Your content is essentially stored on the network of servers so when one of your website visitors comes along and loads your website it's delivered to them from a nearby network rather than from far away. Cloudflare has one of the biggest networks in the world spanning over 100 countries, meaning it can deliver the content to over 95% of the world's population within 50ms. This does give it users an advantage over alternative companies.

This network also has another advantage and this is its ability to block DDoS attacks, these are cyber attacks where by your website is flooded with traffic way beyond anything you'd typically see and this without protection can lead to your website going down. Cloudflare has the network and technology to block these types of attacks and does so every day millions of times.

Does your business need Cloudflare?

Ultimately you'll be the one you can best judge this, but we always advise startups that are quite reliant on their website i.e your website is essential to your business, to consider using a company like Cloudflare to give you added protection and of course peace of mind. Cloudflare are one of the leading companies and with the generous deal they offer startups of a year free it's certainly worth exploring for your business.