---
title: "144 Terms: Seat, Refund, Hire Fee and Guarantee | ELC"
description: "Every 144 rule in one place: the €2,900 seat and its refund, the company hire fee, introductions, the probation guarantee, confidentiality and data."
url: "https://www.engineeringleaders.io/144/terms/"
lang: "en"
image: "https://www.engineeringleaders.io/gallery/144/og-144.webp"
---

# 144 terms, in _one place_ .

A plain summary for engineers, CTOs and heads of talent. The signed contract governs. Updated 25 September 2026.

[Apply for a seat](https://www.engineeringleaders.io/144/#apply)[Send a CTO brief](https://www.engineeringleaders.io/144/companies/#cto-brief)

For engineers

## What does an engineer _pay_ ?

Nothing for sessions 1 and 2. Invited participants pay €2,900 including VAT for the rest of the program, at once or in 2 instalments. Marian's List refunds the seat when you sign with a 144 company within 6 months of the last session.

<table class="w-full min-w-[300px] border-collapse text-left text-[15px] leading-[1.6]"><tbody><tr class="border-b border-text-muted/15"><th scope="row" class="py-3 pr-6 font-medium text-text-primary align-top w-[32%]">Sessions 1 and 2</th><td class="py-3 text-text-secondary align-top">Free. You get a private written rating on six axes and a list of what to improve, whether you continue or not.</td></tr><tr class="border-b border-text-muted/15"><th scope="row" class="py-3 pr-6 font-medium text-text-primary align-top w-[32%]">Seat price</th><td class="py-3 text-text-secondary align-top">€2,900 including VAT, invoiced by Marian's List with the invitation after session 2. Pay at once or in 2 instalments of €1,450. Your employer can pay instead.</td></tr><tr class="border-b border-text-muted/15"><th scope="row" class="py-3 pr-6 font-medium text-text-primary align-top w-[32%]">What the seat covers</th><td class="py-3 text-text-secondary align-top">Sessions 3 to 12, the dinner, the speed dating, three scans and five coffees for everyone who completes the twelve sessions.</td></tr><tr class="border-b border-text-muted/15"><th scope="row" class="py-3 pr-6 font-medium text-text-primary align-top w-[32%]">Refund when it works</th><td class="py-3 text-text-secondary align-top">You sign an employment contract with a 144 company within 6 months of the last session: Marian's List refunds the seat, within 14 days of the company paying its fee, by credit note.</td></tr><tr class="border-b border-text-muted/15"><th scope="row" class="py-3 pr-6 font-medium text-text-primary align-top w-[32%]">Signed somewhere else</th><td class="py-3 text-text-secondary align-top">You sign with a company outside the circle before week 6: we refund the unused sessions.</td></tr><tr class="border-b border-text-muted/15"><th scope="row" class="py-3 pr-6 font-medium text-text-primary align-top w-[32%]">Score guarantee</th><td class="py-3 text-text-secondary align-top">Your average session rating is below 7 out of 10 by week 4: full refund.</td></tr><tr class="border-b border-text-muted/15"><th scope="row" class="py-3 pr-6 font-medium text-text-primary align-top w-[32%]">Confidentiality</th><td class="py-3 text-text-secondary align-top">Your current employer's CTO is never matched with you. Your scan goes only to the CTOs in your circle, and only with your consent. Nobody from 144 contacts your employer.</td></tr><tr class="border-b border-text-muted/15"><th scope="row" class="py-3 pr-6 font-medium text-text-primary align-top w-[32%]">Opt-in moments</th><td class="py-3 text-text-secondary align-top">Live coding in week 5, the recorded story in week 9 and the live interview in week 10 are your choice.</td></tr></tbody></table>

![Two engineering leaders in a one-on-one conversation at a glass table with a Mentoring Zone sign at the ELC Conference](https://www.engineeringleaders.io/_astro/coffee-mentoring-zone.C1PVUjlw_1OwVv7.webp)

![A packed audience of engineering leaders seated at small round tables applauding at an ELC meetup](https://www.engineeringleaders.io/_astro/room-design-tables.DF7QmDqV_Z1cLXNV.webp)

For companies

## What does a company _pay_ ?

Nothing to take part. A company pays 1.5x a monthly base salary only when someone from a 144 introduction starts, invoiced on the start date and payable in 30 days, with a probation guarantee.

<table class="w-full min-w-[300px] border-collapse text-left text-[15px] leading-[1.6]"><tbody><tr class="border-b border-text-muted/15"><th scope="row" class="py-3 pr-6 font-medium text-text-primary align-top w-[32%]">Taking part</th><td class="py-3 text-text-secondary align-top">Free: the brief, the dinner, the speed dating, the coffees and the scans.</td></tr><tr class="border-b border-text-muted/15"><th scope="row" class="py-3 pr-6 font-medium text-text-primary align-top w-[32%]">Hire fee</th><td class="py-3 text-text-secondary align-top">1.5x the hired person's gross monthly base salary, paid only when they start. Plus VAT.</td></tr><tr class="border-b border-text-muted/15"><th scope="row" class="py-3 pr-6 font-medium text-text-primary align-top w-[32%]">Contractors</th><td class="py-3 text-text-secondary align-top">1.5x the monthly invoiced rate.</td></tr><tr class="border-b border-text-muted/15"><th scope="row" class="py-3 pr-6 font-medium text-text-primary align-top w-[32%]">Invoice and payment</th><td class="py-3 text-text-secondary align-top">Invoiced on the start date, payable in 30 days.</td></tr><tr class="border-b border-text-muted/15"><th scope="row" class="py-3 pr-6 font-medium text-text-primary align-top w-[32%]">Introduction</th><td class="py-3 text-text-secondary align-top">A coffee that both sides accepted. The dinner and the speed dating do not count.</td></tr><tr class="border-b border-text-muted/15"><th scope="row" class="py-3 pr-6 font-medium text-text-primary align-top w-[32%]">Window</th><td class="py-3 text-text-secondary align-top">Any hire from a 144 introduction signed within 6 months of that coffee.</td></tr><tr class="border-b border-text-muted/15"><th scope="row" class="py-3 pr-6 font-medium text-text-primary align-top w-[32%]">Already in your pipeline</th><td class="py-3 text-text-secondary align-top">Excluded from the fee if you tell us within 5 working days of receiving the names.</td></tr><tr class="border-b border-text-muted/15"><th scope="row" class="py-3 pr-6 font-medium text-text-primary align-top w-[32%]">Probation guarantee</th><td class="py-3 text-text-secondary align-top">The hire leaves during probation: a free replacement introduction from the next circle, or 50% of the fee back.</td></tr><tr class="border-b border-text-muted/15"><th scope="row" class="py-3 pr-6 font-medium text-text-primary align-top w-[32%]">Off-limits</th><td class="py-3 text-text-secondary align-top">Your own employees are never matched with other companies in the circle. No two direct competitors in one circle. One seat per company.</td></tr><tr class="border-b border-text-muted/15"><th scope="row" class="py-3 pr-6 font-medium text-text-primary align-top w-[32%]">Data</th><td class="py-3 text-text-secondary align-top">Marian's List is the controller of candidate data. You receive scans for your circle only, under a data processing agreement signed with the services agreement.</td></tr></tbody></table>

Marian's List invoices both the seat and the hire fee. [The program](https://www.engineeringleaders.io/144/) · [For companies](https://www.engineeringleaders.io/144/companies/)

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