1. To Enter. No purchase necessary to participate or win. Complete the contest entry form (“Entry Form”) on Entrepreneur® magazine's Web site located at www.entrepreneur.com/e2009college("Contest Site"). The Entry Forms must be completed electronically and submitted online to Entrepreneur Media, Inc. (“Sponsor”), together with a 1-2 minute video showing Contestant talking about an exciting and practical concept for a business which Contestant has not yet started (having no employees and no sales) (“Business Concept”). Entry Forms and videos sent in any other manner (including fax, US mail or courier service) will not be accepted. Each Contestant is responsible for notifying Sponsor via e-mail at contest@entrepreneur.com of any change in the contact information (including street address, e-mail address and telephone number) contained in his/her Entry Form. All Entry Forms shall become the exclusive property of Sponsor and will not be acknowledged or returned. Only one (1) Entry Form per Contestant will be accepted. All completed Entry Forms must be RECEIVED by Sponsor by no later than 11:59 PM Pacific Time on June 15, 2009. Contest is subject to all federal, state and local laws and regulations. VOID WHERE PROHIBITED BY LAW.
2. Eligibility. Each Contestant:
(a) must be an individual, who, as of June 15, 2009: (i) is a citizen or legal resident of the U.S. (excluding persons residing in the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico or any other U.S. territory); (ii) is at least 18 but not more than 25 years old; and (iii) is or was enrolled as an undergraduate at an accredited college or university, having successfully completed or in the process of completing a class schedule of not less than eight (8) units during the 2009 Spring Semester or Quarter.
(b) during Calendar Year 2008 up to and including June 15, 2009, was not an officer, director, employee, owner, shareholder, franchisee or franchisee’s employee, or an agent, attorney, financial advisor or other authorized representative (or spouse, child, parent or sibling of any of the foregoing) of Sponsor, United Parcel Service, Inc. (“UPS”), Mail Boxes Etc., Inc., any of The UPS Store or Mail Boxes Etc. franchised locations, or an affiliate of any of the foregoing. (An “affiliate” is any person or entity, who/which directly, or indirectly through one (1) or more intermediaries, controls, is controlled by, or is under common control with, Sponsor, UPS, Mail Boxes Etc., or any of The UPS Store or Mail Boxes Etc. franchised locations.)
Sponsor reserves the right, and each Contestant by submitting an Entry Form hereby agrees and consents to allow Sponsor, to conduct such background checks on Contestant as allowed under applicable law and for the purpose of verifying eligibility.
3. Prizes. The CEO9 Winner will:
(a) receive (i) $5,000.00 in seed money for starting a business based on his or her Business Concept, (ii) a $500 gift certificate for products and services at any of The UPS Store® franchised locations, (iii) a selection of Entrepreneur Press® books (a $300 value), and (iv) a three (3) year subscription to Entrepreneur® magazine (a $60 value).
(b) be profiled and promoted (i) in a special section of the January 2010 issue of Entrepreneur® magazine (a value in excess of $150,000), and (ii) in a follow-up article in the December 2010 issue of Entrepreneur magazine (a value in excess of $80,000).
(c) be invited to attend, together with a guest, an awards luncheon and ceremony (the “Awards Ceremony”), at which he/she will be honored. In order to attend the Awards Ceremony, the CEO9 Winner (and a guest, subject to the guest’s execution of a release provided by Sponsor) will be provided with the following expense-paid transportation and accommodations: (i) roundtrip coach airline transportation between the major airport closest to the Winner’s residence and Miami International Airport, provided that the Winner’s residence is outside of Palm Beach, Broward and Dade Counties, Florida; (ii) two (2) nights’ hotel accommodations (double occupancy) within the Miami area; and (iii) transportation between Miami International Airport and hotel accommodations in the Miami area and between such hotel accommodations and the site of the Awards Ceremony.
Sponsor shall make all decisions concerning the selection and scheduling of airline and surface transportation and hotel accommodations to be provided hereunder to the Winner and his/her guest, which decisions shall be final and binding. The Awards Ceremony will take place during an all-day conference for entrepreneurs in Miami Beach, Florida on January 26, 2010, sponsored by Entrepreneur magazine and presented by The UPS Store.
In the event any of the above prizes are unavailable, Sponsor, in its sole discretion, reserves the right to substitute those prizes with a prize or prizes of equal or greater value. All prizes are nontransferable, and no substitution or cash equivalent thereof shall be permitted, except in the sole discretion of Sponsor.4. Selection of CEO9 Winner. A single winner will be selected as the College Entrepreneur of 2009 through the following four (4) step process:
(a) Selection of Semi-Finalists: By no later than June 22, 2009, ten (10) Semi-Finalists will be selected by Sponsor’s Editorial Department from among all eligible Entry Forms submitted.
(b) Selection and Notification of Finalists: By no later than July 6, 2009, an independent panel of judges made up of representatives of Sponsor’s Editorial Department, Mail Boxes Etc., and a guest judge selected by Sponsor (“Independent Panel”)will select five (5) Finalists from among the Semi-Finalists, and Sponsor will promptly notify the Finalists via e-mail.
(c) Online Selection of Winner-Designate: Profiles of the five (5) Finalists will then be posted on the Contest Site (“Online Profiles”), together with their videos, during the period from July 13, 2009 to and including October 12, 2009 (“Voting Period”). During the Voting Period, visitors to the Contest Site will be able to vote online for their favorite Finalist, with one (1) vote per visitor allowed. Online votes shall be automatically collected and stored in an electronic database maintained by Sponsor and automatically tabulated as the votes are entered. The Finalist receiving the most online votes (the “Online Winner-Designate”) will be accorded a 25-point preference (“Point Preference”) in the final selection of the Winner-Designate by the Independent Panel. Online Profiles will be based on information contained in each Finalist’s Entry Form and video, as well as such additional information, quotes and/or photographs which the Finalists may provide to Sponsor in response to Sponsor’s request. By submitting an Entry Form and video, each Contestant, if selected as a Finalist, agrees and consents to allow Sponsor to post an Online Profile about the Contestant, with full knowledge and understanding that such Profile and the information contained therein will be available for viewing by visitors to the Contest Site.
(d) Final Selection of a Winner-Designate and Runners-Up: By no later than October 16, 2009, the Independent Panel shall select the Winner-Designate and four (4) Runners-Up. The Winner-Designate and Runners-Up will be judged on a point system, with each member of the Independent Panel to allocate a total of 100 points among the five (5) Finalists and with the Online Winner-Designate to receive his/her Point Preference in addition thereto. Those Finalists with the greatest number of points in descending order (including any Point Preference) shall be designated the CEO9 Winner-Designate, and First, Second, Third and Fourth Runners-Up. In the event of a tie, the Finalist receiving a majority of votes cast by those participating members of the Independent Panel shall be declared the Winner-Designate.
(e) Notification of Winner-Designate: By no later than October 16, 2009, Sponsor will officially notify the CEO9 Winner-Designate in writing and include with that notice an Affidavit of Eligibility and Release ("Affidavit"), which the Winner-Designate must sign, date, have notarized and return to Sponsor at the street address identified in Paragraph 9 below. The completed Affidavit must be RECEIVED by Sponsor within ten (10) days after its delivery or attempted delivery to the Winner-Designate’s last-known street address. If the Winner-Designate cannot be found or fails to timely complete and return the Affidavit in accordance with these Official Rules, that Winner-Designate will be disqualified and the Runner-Up next in order shall be designated and contacted by Sponsor as the new Winner-Designate and thereafter confirmed as the Winner, subject to his/her timely completion and return to Sponsor of the Affidavit.
(f) Announcement and Posting of Winner: The CEO9 Winner will be announced in the January 2010 issue of Entrepreneur magazine and posted on the Contest Site at www.entrepreneur.com/e2009college, beginning on or about December 22, 2009 up to and including April 26, 2010.
5. Judging Criteria. The selection of Semi-Finalists and Finalists, and selection of the Winner-Designate and Runners-Up by the Independent Panel, shall be based on information contained in each eligible Contestant’s Entry Form and accompanying video, including: (i) the mission statement for the Business Concept; (ii) the proposed structure of the Business Concept; and (iii) Contestant’s description of his/her goals for the first and third years of the Business Concept’s existence.
6. Contestant Warranties and Consents. By completing and submitting an Entry Form, each Contestant: (a) warrants and represents that he/she has read and agrees to be bound by these Official Rules; (b) warrants and represents that he/she is eligible under these Official Rules to participate in the Contest; (c) warrants and represents that all of the information contained in the Entry Form and in the accompanying video submitted to Sponsor, as well as any other information provided in response to Sponsor’s request (if applicable), is accurate, does not violate any third party's legal rights (including without limitation, right of privacy), and otherwise does not violate applicable law; (d) consents to the use by Sponsor, Mail Boxes Etc., and their affiliates of his/her name and/or likeness and any information provided hereunder by Contestant, for promotional purposes (whether in print, online or in any other media now known or hereafter developed), without further notice or additional compensation and unless prohibited by applicable law; (e) agrees, if selected and confirmed as a Winner, to be solely responsible for any and all tax consequences as a result of accepting and receiving any of the Prizes; and (f) acknowledges, understands and agrees that the Released Parties (as defined Paragraph 8 below) are not responsible for ensuring the accuracy of the online voting, and shall not be liable for any malfunction, inaccuracies, or errors related to the voting process or the results of the Contest.
7. Sponsor Rights. Sponsor reserves the right, in its sole discretion and without liability therefor:
(a) to make all decisions concerning eligibility, which decisions shall be final and binding;
(b) to disqualify any Contestant, whom it determines: (i) to be ineligible, (ii) to have submitted inaccurate information to Sponsor, including information in the Entry Form and/or video, (iii) to have been responsible for tampering with any aspect of the Contest, or (iv) to have otherwise violated the Official Rules or applicable law; and
(c) to suspend, cancel or modify the Contest at any time if a virus, bug, or other technical problem corrupts the administration, security or functionality of the Contest or of the Contest Site or if the Contest process cannot be completed as planned for any reason whatsoever.
8. No Liability. By participating in the Contest, Contestant acknowledges, understands and agrees:
(a) That Sponsor, Mail Boxes Etc., UPS, each of The UPS Store or Mail Boxes Etc. franchised locations, and the affiliates of each of the foregoing, and their respective officers, directors, shareholders, employees, agents, and other authorized representatives (collectively, the “Released Parties”) are not responsible for, and shall not be liable for: (i) Entry Forms or any other Contest documentation or communications, which are late, lost, delayed, damaged, misdirected, incomplete, illegible or unintelligible (as applicable); (ii) telephone, electronic, hardware or software program, network, Internet, or computer damage, malfunctions, failures, or difficulties of any kind; (iii) failed, incomplete, garbled, or delayed computer transmissions; (iv) any condition caused by events beyond their control, including without limitation technical malfunctions of telephone networks or lines, servers, networks, or computer systems, human error, defective computer equipment, or traffic congestion on the Internet, that may disrupt or corrupt access or communication to/from the Contest Site; (v) any injuries, losses, or damages of any kind whatsoever resulting from, or related in any manner to, participation in the Contest or the Contest Winner's possession or use of any of the Prizes; or (vi) any printing or typographical errors in any materials associated with the Contest.
(b) That the Released Parties have no obligation to advise Contestant of an incomplete or otherwise non-compliant entry.
(c) That the Prizes are being provided "as is" and without any express or implied warranties, including without limitation implied warranties of merchantability and fitness for a particular purpose.
(d) To release and hold harmless each of the Released Parties from any and all losses, damages, rights, claims and actions of any kind, resulting from, or related in any manner to, the Contest or the Winner's acceptance, possession, or use of any of the Prizes, including without limitation personal injury, death, property damage, and claims based on publicity rights, defamation, and invasion of privacy.
9. Contest Contact Information:
