Accelerate Your Business Challenge:

Business Planning & Pitch Competition

2019

OFFICIAL GUIDELINES

The guidelines presented below are designed to safeguard the viability of this challenge competition.

Submission Guidelines
    1. Business plan information MUST be original work of the applicant submitting it to this competition.
    2. Applicant must have full authority to disclose any and all information submitted to this competition.
    3. The plan's overall presentation should include the following
    4. All entries must be submitted with the following:
          • Business Name
          • Name of Business Owner 
          • Position/Title at Business
          • Phone Number
          • Email Address
          • Street Address
          • City, State & Zip
          • Business Website or OTHER primary website (i.e. Amazon store, Etsy store, Facebook page)
          • Company Logo or image that best represents the business (REQUIRED)
          • Social media sites for the business

      PLUS

          • All Pages MUST be numbered and labeled with company and registrant’s name. 
          • Minimum Margin – 0.75 inches
          • Font Size 12 pts 
          • Font Types: Arial, Calibri, Helvetica, or Garamond.
    5. Completed plan should be uploaded as a PDF Document ONLY.
    6. Minimum business plan page count - 6 pages
    7. Maximum business plan page count – 25 pages.
    8. Registrants MUST mail one (1) copy of their business plan to: KSR Solutions, LLC, 8647 Richmond Hwy, #622, Alexandria, VA 22309 RE: Business Plan Challenge. 
    9. All business plan submissions must be submitted via email and mail (postmarked) no later than 11:59 pm on 8/31/2019
General Guidelines
    1. All business plan entries must be submitted in English.
    2. All registrant entries will be treated with the utmost confidentiality.
    3. This competition is subject to all applicable Federal, State and Local rules and regulations.
    4. ALL taxes associated with the prizes are the sole responsibility of the awardees or prize winners.
    5. NO-GUARANTEE – There is no guarantee that a registrant will receive an award or prize. IF the judges deem the entries ineligible for a prize or have no reasonable chance of success, they and the organizers reserve the right not to award any prizes.
    6. IF the judges determine that submissions received during this years’ competition are not eligible, the organizers of this competition can and will cancel or make changes where applicable.
    7. The organizers shall determine, in its sole discretion, whether an registrant meets the eligibility criteria to participate in the competition.
    8. ONLY registrants that comply with ALL entry guidelines will be submitted to our judging panel.
Eligibility

All individuals submitting entries to this year’s competition must adhere to the following rules, regulations and conditions governing this program. No exceptions will be made.

    1. Business Plan submissions must be received by the deadline set forth.
    2. ALL submissions received after the deadline date will NOT be eligible to be a part of this competition.
    3. Registrant and their business must be located in one of the following jurisdictions:
      1. Virginia
      2. Maryland
      3. Washington, DC
    4. Registrant must be at least eighteen (18) years of age to enter.
    5. Registrant business must be a for-profit business entity.
    6. Company must be legally set up as a company and registered in one of the three (3) approved jurisdictions.
    7. Registrant’s business entity must be in an ‘Active’ or ‘Current’ status with their State’s State Corporation Commission.
    8. Company must be considered a minority – Woman, Veteran, Service-Disabled, Hispanic, Black, Asian, Other Minorities type business owners.
    9. Registrant must own at least 51% of the existing business.
    10. Small business owners in operations over five years can also apply.
    11. Registrant must not have more than fifteen (15) employees.
    12. Registrant’s business must have revenue of NO more than $500,000 during the past twelve (12) months.
    13. All registrants who make it into the finals of this Challenge Competition, must present proof of permanent resident status or U.S. citizenship in order to claim a prize.
Ineligible Guidelines
    1. Ineligible Industries: Gaming/Gambling, Drug-related companies; Other industries might apply - organizers will make further determination.
    2. Non-Profit businesses are NOT eligible to enter this competition.
    3. Other ineligible guidelines may apply if the business presented violates Federal, State or Local laws and regulations.
Limitation of Liability
    1. By participating in the Accelerate Your Business Challenge: Business Planning & Pitch Competition, each Entrant releases and holds the organizers, KSR Solutions, LLC, its affiliates, sponsors and each of their directors, officers, employees, representatives, and agents harmless from and against any claims, costs, injuries, losses or damages of any kind arising out of or in connection with the Competition or with the acceptance, possession, use of or defect in any award (including, without limitation, claims, costs, injuries, losses or damages related to personal injuries, death, damage to, loss or destruction of property, rights of publicity or privacy, defamation or portrayal in a false light).
    2. Organizer is not responsible for any incorrect or inaccurate information, whether caused by technical or human error or otherwise which may occur in the processing of entries or voting in this Competition or in the running of this Competition.
    3. Organizer will not be responsible for typographical, printing or other errors in these Official Guidelines or in other materials relating to the Contest.
    4. If for any reason, the Competition is not capable of running as planned, including but not limited to by reason of fraud, computer virus, tampering, unauthorized intervention, human error, technical limitations or failures, mistake or any other cause that in the sole opinion of the Organizer could compromise, undermine, corrupt or otherwise affect the integrity, fairness, administration, or proper conduct of this Competition, the Organizer reserves the right, in its sole discretion, to cancel, terminate, modify or suspend the Competition at any time and without notice.
    5. Notwithstanding anything set forth above, to the extent that the preceding release is determined by a tribunal of competent jurisdiction to be invalid, unenforceable or void for any reason, each Registrant agrees that, to the fullest extent permitted by law (i) any and all disputes, claims, and causes of action arising out of or in connection with the Competition, or any awards awarded shall be resolved individually without resort to any form of class action; (ii) any claims, judgments and awards shall be limited to actual out-of-pocket costs incurred by such Registrant, but in no event attorney's fees and no greater than $1,000; and (iii) under no circumstances will any Registrant be permitted to obtain any award for, and Registrant hereby waives all rights to claim, incidental, punitive or consequential damages.
    6. By participating in the submission process for this Challenge Competition, Registrant grants to Organizer, its sponsors, and affiliated companies an exclusive, assignable, royalty-free and irrevocable right and license to edit or otherwise use all materials submitted by Registrant in connection with the Competition, in whole or in part, for any purpose and in any manner or media (including, without limitation, the Internet) now known or hereafter devised, throughout the world in perpetuity, and to license others to do so, without notice and without compensation, royalty, accounting, liability or obligation of any kind to any Registrant. 
    7. Each Registrant further agrees that it will use its best efforts to have its employees, consultants, volunteers, officers and directors sign any additional licenses or releases that Organizer may require.

BY SUBMITTING SUBMISSION MATERIALS, EACH REGISTRANT ACKNOWLEDGES THAT THE SUBMISSION MATERIALS, AND ANY OTHER MATERIALS SUBMITTED IN CONNECTION WITH THIS CHALLENGE COMPETITION, MAY BE POSTED ON THE ORGANIZER’S AND ITS AFFILIATED SPONSORS WEBSITE(S), IN ORGANIZER'S SOLE DISCRETION. Organizer reserves the right to edit the Submission Materials and other materials prior to posting them to the website in its sole discretion.

Dispute Resolution

Any dispute concerning this Competition shall be submitted to binding arbitration in the Commonwealth of Virginia within one (1) year from the date that the cause of action arose.

NOTICE: The above guidelines are subject to change without notice.

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