Rules and Regulations
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Rules and Legal Considerations
The following rules are binding throughout the entire duration of the competition. Participation in the competition indicates that teams accept these rules. The Wright Venture committee members reserve the right to disqualify any team and/or team member based on these rules.
Submission Criteria
Submissions must be unique and innovative. Rules regarding acceptable submissions include:
- External funding for business ideas is prohibited during the competitive period. Self-funded ideas are permitted provided they have not earned over $50,000 in gross revenue prior to application deadline. Contact the program committee director for clarification if needed.
- Any idea that is a derivative of ongoing research at the university must be different from the proposed research of the faculty member for which the students' work (or different from the students' own work if funding is grant-, fellowship-, or scholarship-based). Any idea found to be similar to a faculty member’s work which is funded will be disqualified from the competition. All conflicts of this nature will be handled on a case-by-case basis.
- All elements for each entry stage must be received via email or online form no later than midnight of the published submission deadline.
- Entries must include the proposed company name and all team members’ names.
- All documents must be labeled with company name and contact information of the team leader.
- Data and resources must be referenced when applicable.
The program committee reserves the right to reject any submission for reasons including, but not limited to:
- Deemed to be in violation of Wright State University code of ethics and/or Raj Soin College of Business professional pledge.
- Violates any local, state, or national law and/or appears to be pornographic in nature.
- Does not present sufficient content or material appropriate to send to judges for evaluation and feedback.
- Does not follow the rules set forth by the Wright Venture committee.
Team Criteria
- At least one registered team member must be a Wright State University student currently enrolled in at least one class in either undergraduate or graduate programs.
- Maximum team size should not exceed five team members. Single member teams are eligible. (Outside contractors or employees are not counted in team size criteria).
- Each team must have a team leader. The team leader must be prepared to take responsibility for all team actions. The team leader will be the primary point of contact for all correspondence, scheduling, and awards.
- Outside entities are prohibited from enlisting the services of Wright State University students in an effort to front their agenda and obtain funding. The team leader must be in complete control of the advancement of the business idea and may not be acting under the direction of outside entities (Wright Venture assigned mentors and advisors excluded). Any indication of this activity will be cause for immediate disqualification.
- Team members must be present for all group sessions and the final presentation.
- Team members must conduct themselves according to the Raj Soin College of Business professional pledge and Wright State University code of ethics. Failure to do so will be an automatic disqualification.
- Teams submitting an existing business idea must still be considered to be in start-up phase which is loosely defined as less than two years of operations and under $50,000 in gross revenues within the operating period.
Confidentiality
Business concepts, overviews, and plans submitted to the program committee will not be released for any purposes other than use within the competition. Teams may choose to include the following optional disclaimer on the cover sheet of their submissions, recognizing that it is not a legally binding agreement:
This business plan is confidential and is presented solely for the purpose of evaluation in the Wright Venture business program. This plan may not be reproduced or redistributed in whole or in part. By accepting a copy of this plan, the recipient agrees not to reproduce or disclose the contents of this plan to third parties without the prior written consent of its authors.
Protection of any documents, prototypes, research, or other related materials are the sole responsibility of each team and its members.
University Claims on Student-Developed Technology
Students at Wright State University who develop new technologies and/or new ventures while enrolled at the university can be assured that the university does not have a claim on the intellectual property of the student’s technology or venture unless one of the following applies:
- The student has worked with compensation under the direct supervision of a faculty member or researcher whose costs are being borne at least in part by the university;
- The student has worked under a research grant or other research sponsorship;
- The student is commercializing a technology or discovery that was made by a faculty member or other university researcher;
- The student has engaged services of a university department and has agreed otherwise as a condition of receiving such services.
These provisions do not apply to individuals who are paid salaries by the university. In general, except as noted above, tuition-paying students are encouraged to put their efforts into seeking the advice and facilitation of faculty members and other resources at the university with the assurance that such action in itself will not result in an intellectual property claim on their work by the university.
Judging
Judges include experts and entrepreneurs who review each entry and make recommendations and/or decisions that are forwarded to the program committee.
No participant may, under any circumstances, attempt to contact a judge during or before the competition. Any such behavior will result in the disqualification of the participant and their team.
- All judges are not necessarily professors‚ scientists, or engineers‚ so it is the student’s responsibility to be certain that their entry is clearly articulated for general understanding.
- Clear‚ concise pitch summaries are preferred—they are important in getting initial notice and understanding for an idea.
- Without diagrams‚ sketches, and visual support‚ your entry will be at a definite disadvantage in providing clarity for the judges.
Judging Parameters
Final Presentation/Pitch
Topic/Criteria
Problem Definition and Solutions:
- What is the problem being solved?
- Who is it being solved for?
- How is the problem being solved?
- How is the solution different/unique?
Product and Market:
- Product (how it works)
- Revenue model (how you make money)
- Traction (evidence that users love your product)
- Revenue potential (how much you could make if you dominate market)
- Competitive analysis (competitors and why your product is better)
- Growth plan (how you'll profitably acquire/retain customers and at scale)
Financial Projections and Management:
- How much money you'll make in first 3-5 years
- Management team (experience/expertise to own this opportunity)
- Funding needs (how much you'll need and how you'll use it)
Summary and Idea Viability
Presentation Skills:
- Able to verbally communicate business idea
- Successfully defended idea during questioning
- Capable of expressing firm understanding of profit/operating costs
- Presented in a professional manner
Start-up Funding Award and Prizes
The prize is the $5,000 start-up grant to the finalist. Start-up funding is distributed according to the guidelines below:
The start-up funding award money will only be distributed to one member of a winning team (team leader). That member will be responsible for the distribution of the funds according to their business plan. This student will also be the recipient of and point of contact for any secondary or in-kind awards.
Sponsorship of in-kind services and secondary awards may be awarded based on sponsor participation.
Start-up funding will be provided in four rounds as outlined in the business plan. The program committee will determine whether each additional round of funding will be awarded based on quarterly reviews of the team’s progress in accordance with the business plan.
