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    Official Rules

    Eligible Participants

    Students currently enrolled at Brigham Young University-Provo, Brigham Young University-Hawaii, or Brigham Young University-Idaho may compete in the Social Venture Competition. Teams of up to five (5) undergraduate or graduate degree seeking students at the above-mentioned universities who are part-time (minimum of six (6) credit hours) or full-time students enrolled during the semester of the competition may compete.

    Non-students, students from other institutions, or mentors may be members of the venture’s management team but the BYU student team competing / presenting in the SVC must be made up only of students of Brigham Young University. As plans will be judged on viability, including the quality of the plan’s management team, management teams should include experienced, qualified members whenever possible.

    Someone other than the BYU student team may own the idea for the plan, but the venture plan and any presentations must be the original work of the BYU students on the management team.

    Repeat Submissions

    Teams and plans that have competed and placed as an award winning finalist may not compete with the same plan in a subsequent year’s competition. All other previous entrants may enter again in subsequent years.

    Nature and Status of Venture

    The venture can be a nonprofit, a for-profit, a hybrid of both, or even a division of an existing organization. However, the competition’s purpose is to develop innovative ventures in seed, start-up, or early growth stage. A venture not fitting the competition’s purpose will not advance in the competition.

    Selection Process

    All teams must submit their plan by the submission deadline: 2 p.m., Friday, 23 January 2009. Teams will receive feedback on their plans and may make any changes to their plan. The resubmission deadline is 12 February 2009, before 5 p.m. Judges will have one week to read plans and choose semi-finalists. Semi-finalists teams will be notified no later than 19 February 2009.

    The semi-final round will be held on 13 March 2009. Teams will present their plans to judges and to a public audience. Three teams will be chosen to advance to the final round.

    The final rounds will take place 2-3 April 2009. The first day, 2 April, teams will present their social venture plan behind closed doors to a panel of judges. All team members must be present on this day. Judges will be given a chance to ask in-depth questions about each plan and will decide on a competition winner (Note: the winner will not be announced until 3 April). Judges may include BYU faculty, ESR Center personnel, social venture professionals, and other community professionals.

    The second day of the final event, 3 April, will be open to the public. The three finalist teams will present their plans to the audience, after which the audience will vote for their favorite plan. Prize money in the amount of $3,000 will go the "audience’s choice." The official winner (chosen by the judges the previous day) will then be announced.

    Awards

    The three winning plans will receive monetary awards in the following amounts:

    • $10,000—First–place winner
    • $4,000—Second–place winner
    • $1,000—Third–place winner

    These funds can be used for the venture (preferred) or split among the team members.

    Launch and Implementation

    The three winning ventures may each receive up to $12,000 additional funding as they meet specific milestones jointly set with the competition judges and advisors. This money must go directly to the venture. Milestones might include:

    • Launch (venture legalization, partnership agreements)
    • Initial product delivery
    • Secondary funding received (non-founder, non-family donor/investor funds received at certain levels)
    • Consistent growth (certain number of months of profit, increased customers, or product delivery, etc.)
    • Specified social return on investment reached
    • New partnerships arranged

    Confidentiality

    Team members and their advisors should be aware that neither administrators of the competition nor judges of the venture plans will be required, nor should they be asked, to sign nondisclosure agreements. The BYU Economic Self-Reliance Center will ask all who view the venture plans to abide by the University’s Honor Code. Participants are encouraged to be selective about what they disclose, to label plans and contents with the words “CONFIDENTIAL AND PROPRIETARY” if needed, and to seek legal counsel if they have any further questions regarding the legal protection of their ideas. Contestants are responsible to protect any information concerning the plan that they share with everyone and anyone connected with this competition.