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FALL 2019 "MIND YOUR BIZ" CONTEST RULES
FALL 2019 “MIND YOUR BIZ” CONTEST
Official Rules (“Rules”)
By participating in the Program, you agree to be bound by these Rules and by the interpretations of these Rules by GMAC and the decisions of GMAC, which are final in all matters relating to the Program. If you do not agree, please do not participate in the Program.
I. Program Objective & Overview
The Graduate Management Admission Council (“GMAC”) presents the FALL 2019 “MIND YOUR BIZ” CONTEST (the “Program”), developed to encourage undergraduate students to get a taste for the business world while still in school by starting their own entrepreneurial side venture.
II. Eligibility
To be eligible to enter and receive an Award (defined below) through this Program, you must be (i) a legal resident of the United States or D.C (the “Territory”); (ii) a full or part-time college student currently attending an accredited degree-granting undergraduate school located in the Territory; (iii) between the ages of 18 and 24 years old. Current employees, directors, and officers of GMAC, their affiliates, agents and their immediate families and those living in their household, are not eligible to participate in the Program. THE PROGRAM IS VOID OUTSIDE OF THE TERRITORY; IN ALL U.S. TERRITORIES (AMERICAN SAMOA, GUAM, NORTHERN MARIANA ISLANDS, PUERTO RICO, AND U.S. VIRGIN ISLANDS); AND WHERE PROHIBITED OR RESTRICTED BY LAW. All federal, state, and local laws and regulations apply.
III. Application and Submission Information
A. Submission Dates and Times.
The Program begins at 12:00 am eastern time (ET) on September 3, 2019 and ends at 11:59 pm ET on November 30, 2019 (“Program Term”). Any application received after the Program Term will not be accepted. Submission periods will be broken into the following four rounds and five (5) winners will be selected for each round. Individuals who have already submitted during one round and have not been selected as a winner may resubmit to be considered for additional rounds, but MUST re-upload their submission online each time within the appropriate period.
Round #1: 9/3- 9/27
Round #2: 9/28-10/18
Round #3: 10/19 – 11/8
Round #4: 11/9 – 11/30
B. How to Apply.
To apply, visit the Program website at gmat.com/biz2019 and complete the application for submission, including the following information:
Personal information including:
First Name
Email Address
Phone Number
Date of Birth
University / College Name
Graduation Year
An image upload depicting a GMAT-branded napkin, or other comparable square napkin, with handwritten notes and/or visuals on one side only
Appropriate answers to the following:
Proposed business name
Brief description of the business venture and entrant’s reasoning for starting the business
A brief description of how the entrant would utilize the cash winnings
Please note: Submissions that are, in whole or in part, threatening, abusive, harassing, defamatory, libelous, hateful, embarrassing to another person or entity, deceptive, obscene, invasive of another's privacy, tortious, contain racial slurs, or contain explicit or graphic descriptions or accounts of, sexual acts, or are not within the spirit of the Program, will be deemed ineligible, as determined by GMAC in GMAC’s sole discretion. See Section V for information about what the judges will be considering when evaluating your submission.
Submission selection is dependent on the number of eligible submissions received and the judges’ analysis of the submissions in accordance with these Rules. Machine or computer-generated submissions will be disqualified. GMAC will not be liable for lost or damaged entries. Proof of transmission does not constitute proof of submission. All federal, state, and local laws apply. GMAC reserves the right to reference Application Materials in subsequent campaigns.
IV. Award Information.
A. Awards.
GMAC will award the following prizes based on the Judging Criteria set forth in Section V:
Twenty (20) prize packages will be awarded (collectively, the “Awards”) consisting of: 1) $300 Visa gift card, 2) $50 Moo.com gift card intended to cover the costs of printing business cards and other promotional print materials, and 3) Strategy consultation with marketing agency (GNF Marketing) for up to one hour (approximately $150 in value). The Awards are not transferable and may not be substituted, except that GMAC may substitute an award of equal or greater value in its sole discretion. Dependent on the judging panel’s selection, GMAC reserves the right not to award any prizes should no submissions meet the qualifying criteria. The Awards are subject to all federal, state, and local taxes and the Award recipients will be responsible for such taxes.
B. Permissible Use.
The Awards may be used at the recipients’ discretion.
V. Judging & Notification
During four distinct judging rounds detailed below spanning September 3, 2019, through November 30, 2019, a panel of judges composed of GMAC-appointed affiliate representatives will judge qualifying entries. All entries are scored anonymously and confidentially. In the event that no qualifying submissions are selected by the judging panel, no Awards will be awarded. Judges will evaluate the submissions based upon the following “Judging Criteria” on a 1-5 scale (1 = Low, 5 = High) for each of the 3 categories, which will then be averaged:
Appeal (40%): Determined by how eye-catching the overall presentation/visual is
Feasibility (30%): Takes into account whether there are resources currently available to make the submitter’s business venture a reality
Originality (30%): Whether the idea closely resembles an already existing business or has a key differentiator
Should the judges award them, the award winners will be selected and contacted by email on or about the following schedule, dependent on the date of their submission:
Round #1: Five (5) winners selected on or about 9/27
Round #2: Five (5) winners selected on or about 10/18
Round #3: Five (5) winners selected on or about 11/8
Round #4: Five (5) winners selected on or about 11/30
Should the judges determine that there are submissions eligible to be considered winners and the winner has been verified, selected winners will appear in an online gallery set to be posted on or about the following schedule:
Round #1: Winners posted on or about 10/4
Round #2: Winners posted on or about 10/25
Round #3: Winners posted on or about 11/15
Round #4: Winners posted on or about 12/6
In the event of a tie, the winning submission will be selected based upon the submission with the highest score in the area of Appeal. Potential recipients will have five (5) business days from the date of notification that he or she has been selected as a winner to claim his or her Award. Such recipients may be required to complete a certificate of eligibility, publicity and liability release document (“Award Documentation”) and provide tax identification or other information prior to receiving their Award, upon request.
GMAC and its affiliates, subsidiaries, employees, agents, officers and directors, advertising and marketing agencies, and their respective officers, directors, employees, and their respective agents will not be liable for unsuccessful efforts to notify a potential recipient. No Award transfer, assignment, or substitution by the Award recipient is permitted. All federal, state, and local taxes, fees, duties and surcharges, if any, on the Award are the sole responsibility of the Award recipient. If any potential recipient fails to respond to the notification that he or she has been selected as a winner within fourteen (14 days) of the date of the notification, declines the Award, fails to claim the Award, is unavailable for Award fulfillment, fails to abide by these Rules , or is ineligible, GMAC may choose to select an alternate recipient based upon the Judging Criteria provided above.
VI. Award Administration Information
A. Publicity.
Except where prohibited by law, by accepting any Award, the recipient consents to the use of the Award recipients’ name, likeness, submission, and Application Materials by GMAC, and its partners, affiliates, parent companies and/or subsidiaries, for advertising and publicity purposes in any and all media worldwide (including Award recipients lists) without additional compensation or notification. Award recipients will be required to complete Award Documentation, as described above and as requested by GMAC.
B. Intellectual Property.
The following pertain to any intellectual property submitted during the course of the Program:
Warranty.
By entering the Program, each applicant warrants and represents that the proposal submitted is his/her own original work created and recorded (as applicable) in accordance with these Rules and that he/she owns or otherwise controls all of the rights to the Application Materials, including the submission, and that the Application Materials do not violate any law, regulation or any right of any third-party, including, but not limited to, rights of copyright, trademark, publicity and/or privacy. Please understand that submitting any Application Materials, including the submission, that is copyrighted by another individual, or otherwise subject to the rights of another individual, will make the submitter responsible for any legal action the legal copyright or rights holder might take.
License.
By submitting an application into the Program, you grant to GMAC the right, without limitation, to display your name, submission, likeness, and biographical information (city/state/school) online and in any media now known or hereinafter developed.
C. Limitation of Liability & Release.
All applicants individually and on behalf of their relatives, heirs, assignees, executors, and administrators, hereby permanently, irrevocably and forever waive and release any and all rights, demands, losses, liabilities, claims and causes of action whatsoever which you may now or hereafter be entitled to assert against GMAC, its affiliates, parent companies, and subsidiary companies, its employees, agents and officers, and its advertising, marketing and promotion agencies, as well as all others associated with the development and execution of the Program (collectively, the “Released Parties”), including, but not limited to, any death, injury, loss of enjoyment or other harm or loss of any nature whatsoever caused by, contributed to, or arising out of the Program and/or any Award received, any claim or demand for additional compensation or any other claim or demand related to the Program or what GMAC provides, and forever release and discharge the Released Parties from any and all liability with respect thereto. The Released Parties assume no responsibility for any error, omission, interruption, deletion, defect, or delay in operation or transmission; communications line failure; theft or destruction of or unauthorized access to Program applications or forms; or alteration of applications or forms, or any registration, submission, judging, or recipient selection.
VII. Privacy Policy.
Your personal information will be used to fulfill the terms of this Program and may therefore be shared with any subcontractor, agent or partner that assists or is otherwise involved in the Program or website operation as specified in GMAC's Privacy Statement available at the following page: http://www.gmac.com/about-us/privacy-center.aspx. If you have any questions about the use of your personal information, please contact us at privacy@gmac.com.
VIII. Other Information.
Submission of an application to receive an Award constitutes agreement (a) to be bound to these Rules and by all decisions of GMAC and judges, acting in their sole discretion; b) to the transfer of your personal information and your application to GMAC and the use of your application, including your submission, by GMAC; and (c) that all Application Materials become the property of GMAC and will not be acknowledged or returned. GMAC is not responsible for: (i) lost, late, incomplete, invalid, illegible, or misdirected applications, which will be disqualified; (ii) failed, partial or garbled computer transmissions; (iii) technical failures of any kind, including, but not limited to, electronic malfunctioning of any network, hardware or software; or (iv) any error, technical or otherwise. GMAC reserves the right, in its sole discretion, to disqualify any application not in compliance with these Rules . All issues of interpretation will be decided by GMAC. Decisions of GMAC and judges are final and binding in all matters related to this Program.
You acknowledge and agree that GMAC may keep your Application Materials indefinitely and disclose them for any purpose, including, but not limited to: (a) comply with legal process; (b) enforce these Rules ; (c) respond to claims that any Application Materials violate the rights of third-parties; or (d) without undertaking a duty to do so, protect the rights, property, or personal safety, of our users and the public.
GMAC reserves the right, at its sole discretion, to: disqualify any individual(s) who tamper with the application process; and/or cancel, terminate, modify, or suspend the Program. GMAC reserves the right to disqualify any application from this or any future Program if, in its sole discretion, GMAC reasonably believes that any person has attempted to undermine the legitimate operation of the Program, GMAC, or GMAC websites by cheating, deception, or other unfair practices, or has tampered with any of GMAC's websites, the submission process, the judging process, violated these Rules , or acted in an unsportsmanlike or disruptive manner, or with an intent to annoy, abuse, threaten, or harass GMAC, its agents, its assigns or any other applicant. No purchase necessary to submit an application to the Program. Void where prohibited.
IX. Governing Law.
The Program and the rights and obligations of all applicants and applications shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of the Commonwealth of Virginia, USA, without giving effect to any principles of conflicts of law, and the federal law of the United States. Should any provision of these Rules be held to be void, invalid, unenforceable, or illegal by a proper legal authority, the validity and enforceability of the other provisions shall not be affected.
X. Dispute Resolution:
All disputes, claims or demands that relate to these Rules and/or the Program will first be brought to the attention of the other party and will be resolved individually, without resort to any form of class action. The receiving party shall have sixty (60) days from the date of such notice to remedy the described breach or violation and notify the complaining party in writing of the resolution. If the dispute, claim or demand is not resolved to the satisfaction of the complainant within sixty (60) days, the complainant may request an informal resolution conference (mediation), which if agreed to by the other party will be scheduled to occur within twenty-one (21) days of the written response. Each party shall have the right to be represented at such a conference by counsel and will ensure that a decision-maker with full and complete authority to resolve the dispute attends the conference. Such conference will be in front of a third party mediator mutually agreed upon and chosen by the parties. If the parties do not agree to a conference or are unable to resolve a dispute after such a conference, the parties agree that exclusive jurisdiction for any dispute, claim or demand related in any way to these Rules will be decided by binding arbitration. All disputes between the parties, of whatsoever kind or nature arising out of these Guidelines, shall be submitted to JAMS (http://www.jamsadr.com) for binding arbitration under its rules then in effect, before one arbitrator to be mutually agreed upon by both parties. The parties agree to share equally in the arbitration costs incurred.
XI. Award Recipients List.
To obtain the names of the Award recipients, send an email to gmatambassador@gmac.com with “Award Recipient” as the subject line. Requests must be received by 11:59 p.m. ET on December 31, 2019 Award recipient lists will be sent after the recipients have been verified.
XII. GMAC Information.
Graduate Management Admission Council, 11921 Freedom Drive, Suite 300, Reston, VA 20190 USA.
XIII. Questions.
Any questions or comments regarding this Program should be directed to GMAC by contacting gmatambassador@gmac.com.
