Business Competition

Overview
How To Enter
Eligibility and Rules
Judging & Sustainability Criteria
Frequently Asked Questions
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2009 Finalists
2009 Semifinalists

Competition Rules

  • All entries must meet one of the competition's six clean technology category definitions.
  • All entries must have a team of at least two individuals.
  • All entries must be a startup with less than $500,000 from outside funding (some exceptions apply).
  • Pay the entry fee.
  • At least one contestant must be a United States resident, citizen, or legal alien (e.g. F1, H1 visas).

Startups and Funding Limits

All entries must be a startup that has received less than $500,000 in external provate financing. Grant funding and any money from friends and family are excluded from this $500,000 limit. A startup can be a group of people who have formed a team to enter the contest. However, a legal entity (corporation, LLC, or similar) must be created prior to receiving any prizes, and any such legal entity must have an ownership structure typical of an independent startup.

Our prizes are not intended to subsidize corporate or university projects. The amount and source of any secured capital arrangements should be clearly identified in the team's executive summary.

Taxability

All winnings are taxable and the winners must complete a form W-9 prior to payment.

Intellectual Property Rights Owners

Before submitting your business plans, we urge your team to confirm with appropriate advisors or legal counsel that any intellectual property described in your plan is protected, by appropriate intellectual property filings, notices, (patent, copyright, etc) by the owning institution and/or individuals. We also recommend that you determine in advance whether your plan describes a technology, invention, copyrightable work or other intellectual property owned by your employee or university.

If you are not sure about the legal status of your own or third party intellectual property or any other aspect of your plan, we urge you to seek independent legal counsel.

Non-disclosure

We appreciate your concern regarding this very sensitive matter. Our judges will handle the executive summaries and business plans that we receive with caution. However, the judges, sponsors, partners and Cleantech Open organizers will not enter into a non-disclosure agreement with any entrant. By entering the competition, each entrant will acknowledge that information provided by such entrant is at risk of disclosure. The disclosure of any information regarding your intellectual property may constitute a "public disclosure" that adversely impacts your potential rights. If you have valuable intellectual property, please seek legal advice prior to submitting your application. Practically, we expect that most entrants will be able to present a compelling business case without divulging unprotected proprietary information.