Invest Nebraska Corporation

1. All applicants must comply with the rules of the competitions, and must agree to the terms below.

2. Applicants must be 18 years or older and must be legal residents of the United States.

3. An application must include the application form, a cover letter, and a business plan.

4. All submissiions must meet the deadline stated for the competition.

5. The business plan and cover letter may be mailed electronically; however, all contestants must mail a hardcopy of a completed application form with an original signature.

6. Applicants may submit multiple business plans, but only one business plan per proposed business is allowed.

7. The business plan must be an original idea, and must be written by the applicant/s. Any copyright or intellectual property infringement will result in immediate disqualification and possible legal action.

8. The proposed or existing business must be located in the region specific to the competition, or be willing to locate to that region.

9. While the operations of the business must be based in the region specific to the competition, sales of proposed products or services are not limited to that region.

10. The judges’ decision is final and cannot be appealed.

11. The winner will be awarded a prize by Invest Nebraska in exchange for an equity stake in the proposed business. The size of Invest Nebraska’s stake will be decided though negotiations with the owner/s after the competition, but is not to exceed 49%.

12. Upon entering negotiations with Invest Nebraska, the winner must agree to cooperate to the fullest of his or her ability in order to facilitate Invest Nebraska's due diligence. This may include, but is not limited to, providing professional references, and authorizing a background check.

13. If the parties should fail to come to an agreement that is acceptable to both parties, or if Invest Nebraska should perceive that the competition winner has failed to negotiate in good faith, Invest Nebraska reserves the right to opt out of investing in the winning business.  In that case, the runner-up of the Northeast Nebraska New Venture Competition shall automatically be considered as a potential candidate for the prize money.

14. The winner/s of the competition may be called upon to make presentations, public appearances and to parttake in an array of community-building activities. The winner/s must be willing to take on these duties.