Eligibility and Rules

ELIGIBILITY

All participants in USASBE Launch! must comply with the following eligibility rules, which have been developed to ensure compliance with the mission of this competition. The organizers of USASBE Launch! reserve the right to determine eligibility of any individual or to disqualify any individual or team they determine to be in violation of any eligibility rule.

TEAM COMPOSITION:

1. Individuals may enter as individuals; forming a team is not necessary.
2. All team members must be full-time or part-time undergraduate students who are currently enrolled in a degree program at an academic institution of higher education (i.e., community college, college, university or equivalent).
3. At least half (1/2) of the members of each team must be students who will graduate after the semester/quarter/trimester after the USASBE Launch! finals. More simply, at least half (1/2) of the members of each team cannot be graduating seniors.
4. Non-students may be members of the venture’s management and/or advisory team, but the team competing and presenting must be comprised only of students who fit these eligibility requirements.
5. Students must hold a significant stake in the venture being entered in the competition. Specifically:
   1. the student entrants must be founders on the entity’s founding documents,
   2. each student entrant must own at least 5% of the total outstanding equity in the venture being entered in the competition,
   3. all student entrants, in aggregate, must own at least 75% of the total outstanding equity in the venture being entered in the competition, and
   4. each student entrant must have an executive-level (C-suite) position in the venture, as illustrated in official documents (i.e., by-laws).
   5. All team members must be 18 years of age or older.
   6. Individuals can only be members of one team.
   7. Students may form teams of up to 5 student members.

VENTURE AND GENERAL RULES:

1. Teams may only make one submission.
2. The new venture being entered cannot have received more than $10,000 in outside investment from all sources.
3. Existing companies that have booked revenue prior to April 2013 may not enter USASBE Launch!
4. The following venture types are prohibited from entering USASBE Launch!: franchises, licensing agreements, spin-offs from existing firms, buy-outs, expansions of existing companies, or any other form of organization deemed by USASBE Launch! organizers to not fall into the general category of a new, independent venture in a seed position.

GENERAL RULES

Withdrawal Penalty. If a confirmed team drops out of the competition after November 20^th FOR ANY REASON, the members of that team will be ineligible to compete in future competitions.

Disqualification. USASBE Launch! organizers and/or USASBE reserves the right to disqualify, in its sole and absolute discretion, any team from the competition at any time for any reason. Reasons for disqualification may include, but are not limited to, plagiarism and any other form of academic dishonesty, misappropriation or infringement of the intellectual property of others, and any failure to comply with the competition rules, regulations, and submission guidelines. Disqualified teams shall forfeit any and all prizes awarded to them.

Entry Fees. There is no entry fee to compete in USASBE Launch!

Confidentiality. Submitted ideas and plans are protected in the spirit of non-disclosure, and all entry materials will be treated as confidential. The only individuals who will have access to ideas and submission materials are the Judging Coordinator and the judges who are assigned to the specific submission. No materials will be distributed to any other party unless requested by the respective team. No individual affiliated with the competition (including judges) will sign a Non-Disclosure Agreement (NDA) in connection with performing their duties for the competition. It is the applicants’ responsibility to protect their intellectual property, and seek legal counsel to aid in such protection if they have further questions regarding the legal protection of their ideas. No other provisions are made to protect intellectual property.

Guarantees. Participation in this competition gives entrants no guarantees, expressed or implied, to any prizes or to any potential or future funding. Copies of submission materials will not be returned to the entrants. Participants agree that the organizers of the competition are not liable for any direct or indirect damages, including any loss of revenue that may or may not be related to business advice received in conjunction with the competition.

Use of Competition Materials. The organizers reserve the right to use any submitted material to facilitate the event and/or publicize future events and DO NOT guarantee the confidentiality of any submitted materials.

Copyrights and Permissions. If an individual or team uses copyrighted materials and/or images from a third-party in their submissions or presentations, they must obtain permission and authorization in advance from the owners to use this material.

Submission. Entrants must adhere to all submission deadlines and guidelines and submit all materials by 11.59pm CST on the appropriate date. No late submissions will be accepted and any submissions exceeding the maximum length will not be considered.

Offers and Solicitations. This competition does not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to purchase securities. This competition is merely a forum for students to present their projects. No person or organization connected with the competition in any way makes any representation as to the reliability of the information provided by contestants or their representatives.

Rule Changes. Any changes to these rules shall be communicated by e-mail, within 24 hours of such change, to all registered participants. Registered contestants shall then have a further 48 hours to decide whether to remain in, or withdraw from the competition. Should the competition administrator not receive e-mail notification of withdrawal within that 48-hour period, it shall be assumed that contestants have consented to the rule change.