Founding Beta Partner Program
Help shape MailThreatZero.
MailThreatZero is an email security gateway. Your MX points at it, it scans everything before delivery, and it shows you exactly why it made each decision — starting in Monitor Mode, where it reports what it would have done without doing it.
We are looking for 10 founding partner organizations to run it on real mail and tell us where it is wrong. Applying does not guarantee acceptance, and it does not commit you to anything.
- Free during the beta, for up to 3 protected domains.
- One domain free for 12 months after the program ends, once you have completed the agreed testing.
- 50% off MailThreatZero software after that, on an ongoing basis.
At a glance
- What you get
- Free use during the beta for up to 3 protected domains; after it ends on 31 March 2027, one domain free for 12 months and 50% off from then on, once the agreed testing is complete.
- What you commit to, if accepted
- Deploy within 14 days of scheduled onboarding, use it for at least 30 days, 3 short check-ins and a 20-minute final interview, and report issues in enough detail to investigate. Details
- What applying does
- Records your application and your acceptance of the beta NDA (version 1.1). It changes nothing about your mail and does not guarantee a place.
Not ready for an application or an NDA? Request a demo (name and email only) or try the self-guided demo first.
- Applying
- Sends the form and accepts the NDA. It commits you to nothing else and guarantees nothing.
- Accepted
- A person has reviewed the application and agreed onboarding with you. The free-during-beta use starts here.
- Qualifying
- You completed the agreed gateway testing. This is what earns the free year and the discount.
- Feature evaluation
- Looking at one capability on its own, such as the threat map. Welcome, but it does not earn the rewards.
What founding partners get
Free throughout beta
Free use of MailThreatZero for the whole founding beta program.
- Up to 3 protected domains.
- Standard per-domain mailbox limits apply.
- Guided onboarding, mail-flow validation, Monitor Mode evaluation, policy tuning, and a direct feedback channel.
- No fixed 90-day expiration — it runs as long as the founding beta program does.
One year free after completing testing
Complete the agreed testing and one protected domain is free for 12 months after the founding beta program ends.
- The standard mailbox limit applies to that domain.
- You choose which domain the free year covers.
- We give at least 30 days' notice before the program ends.
- Additional domains move to paid continuation or are offboarded safely, agreed with you first.
- Mail delivery is never silently interrupted and no charge is ever created without your agreement.
Ongoing 50% off future software subscriptions
Qualifying founding partners keep an ongoing 50% discount on MailThreatZero software.
- Applies to future subscriptions, renewals, upgrades, and additional protected domains.
- Based on the then-current published software rates.
- Includes customer domains billed through a participating MSP account.
- No expiration while MailThreatZero remains commercially available.
- Cancelling does not erase eligibility you have already earned.
- Nontransferable to another organization.
- Does not stack with other discounts.
- A custom quote must state its discount treatment explicitly.
- Paid expansion during the free year can receive the discount once completion is confirmed.
This offer is about the Founding Beta Partner Program — a defined cohort with a start and an end. It is not about every feature that might carry a 'beta' label for a long time. Individual features may stay labeled beta before and after this program runs.
Exactly what is included
Up to 3 protected domains during the founding beta, under the standard per-domain allowance of receiving addresses (Up to 250 receiving addresses per protected domain - per domain, not shared across the account. Each distinct address that receives mail counts once. Mailboxes, users, aliases, distribution addresses and shared mailboxes all count toward that 250, so several aliases that deliver into one mailbox are still separate addresses, and there is no per-user component.). After the program ends and you have completed testing, one domain you choose stays free for 12 months, and the 50% discount applies to MailThreatZero software from then on.
The dates
- The founding beta programme ends 31 March 2027. Free use runs until then.
- We tell you it is ending by 1 March 2027 — at least 30 days beforehand, so nothing about your mail changes without warning.
- The free year runs 31 March 2027 to 31 March 2028 on the domain you choose, if you complete the agreed testing.
- The 50% discount applies from then on, with no expiration while MailThreatZero remains commercially available.
Not included in the discount
- Third-party AI and API costs
- Hardware
- Separately priced storage
- Professional services
- Taxes
- Other pass-through costs
Also true
- No card required for the free offer.
- No automatic paid conversion.
- Testing MailThreatZero does not automatically earn ExploitHound benefits.
Founding partner rewards are earned by completing the agreed gateway testing on your own protected domains. Evaluating a single feature on its own does not earn them. You can tell us which extra capabilities you want to look at, and we will include them in your evaluation. Viewing the threat map, or trying attachment sandboxing, does not by itself make you a founding partner — the gateway testing is what the rewards are for.
The full terms are published and versioned: Founding Beta Partner Program Terms (version 1.1).
Who is building it
Built by Dewey Straughn, who founded his MSP in 1999 and spent 24 years running it before selling in 2023. His background includes security, infrastructure, data centers, and building business applications.
You will be talking to him directly, not to a support queue.
What testing involves
What we ask of you
- Arrange deployment within 14 days of scheduled onboarding.
- Use MailThreatZero in an authorized environment for at least 30 days.
- Complete three short check-ins and a final 20-minute interview.
- Report issues with enough detail for us to investigate.
What we do not ask
- No minimum number of bugs.
- No favorable review, public endorsement, or testimonial.
- Logos and case studies are a separate, optional permission you can decline.
If we end the program before you can finish these, an administrator reviews your participation and grants an extension or a completion waiver. You do not lose earned benefits because we changed our plans.
Apply for beta access
Applying changes nothing: not your DNS, not your mail routing, not your filtering policy, not your account permissions, and not your billing. Nothing is pointed at the gateway until you and we agree a date.
What happens next
- Apply. Send the form below. Nothing changes on your side.
- Verify your email. We email you a link to confirm the address is yours. Unconfirmed applications are deleted after 14 days.
- Application review. A person reads it. We reply either way, including when we decline.
- Coordinated onboarding. If accepted, we agree the setup with you before anything is pointed at the gateway.
- Active testing. Monitor Mode first, then whatever you choose to enforce, with check-ins along the way.
Questions people ask
Does applying change anything about my mail?
No. Applying changes nothing: not your DNS, not your mail routing, not your filtering policy, not your account permissions, and not your billing. Nothing is pointed at the gateway until you and we agree a date.
What if I need different NDA wording?
If your organization needs different NDA wording, ask for an NDA discussion instead of accepting this one. That request does not create an application and does not grant beta access. Write to us about the NDA and say what needs to change.
Do I have to give a testimonial or a good review?
No. There is no minimum number of bugs, no required endorsement, and no review obligation. Logos and case studies are a separate permission you can decline and still keep every reward.
What if the program ends before I finish testing?
An administrator reviews your participation and grants an extension or a completion waiver. You do not lose earned benefits because we changed our plans.
Is a credit card required?
No card is required for the free offer, and there is no automatic conversion to a paid plan. Nothing starts charging you by default.
Does this apply to every feature marked "beta"?
This offer is about the Founding Beta Partner Program — a defined cohort with a start and an end. It is not about every feature that might carry a 'beta' label for a long time. Individual features may stay labeled beta before and after this program runs.
Your application and your data
We use what you send here to assess your application, to contact you about it, and — if you are accepted — to plan your onboarding.
Applications are readable by MailThreatZero administrators only. They are not sold, rented, or shared with third parties.
Our own mail platform sends the verification and reply emails. Your address is processed to deliver them.
We do not add you to any marketing list unless you tick the separate box, which is never pre-ticked.
Ask us at any time to delete your application and we will, subject to the note below.
Deleting your application removes what you told us about your organization. It does not remove the minimal record of which agreement version you accepted and when, or of any reward you earned — the discount has no expiration and cancelling does not erase it, so a record that proves you are owed it has to outlive the application. That record is kept separately and holds nothing about your estate.
That is the record we hold ABOUT you. Your own data in the product follows the platform's published retention table: archived mail is kept until each message's own archive retention date, reports and statistics for 120 to 400 days, and delivered and quarantined mail as described there. Ask us to delete it sooner and we will, except archived mail under legal hold or WORM protection, which cannot be deleted before its date.
Do not send credentials, API tokens, real message contents, attachments, or detailed mail-routing information through this form. We do not ask for them here and we do not want them here.
How long we keep an application
| State | Retention |
|---|---|
| Unverified | Deleted 14 days after applying if the email address is never confirmed. |
| Declined or withdrawn | Deleted 90 days after the decision, if you were never accepted. |
| Waitlisted | Kept up to 180 days, then we ask you whether to renew it. |
| Accepted | Kept while you are a participant. |
| After you leave | Your application and participant record are deleted 30 days after your participation ends. |
These are the periods our cleanup job actually enforces, not a statement of intent.
Mail, reports and archives from a domain you protect during the beta follow the same platform retention table as every other customer.