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RULES AND REGULATIONS

 

PROPOSED RULES & REGULATIONS GOVERNING APPLICATION, PARTICIPATION AND ENGAGEMENT IN INNOPRENEURS

 

 

I. DESCRIPTION

“Innopreneurs” is an integrated platform for ideas and startups to grow competitively. It contains Idea Contest, Startup Contest and the ambassador program. It is an international level platform that encourages individuals/ students/ professionals to bring ideas, innovations to the platter for others to devour. 

II.   DEFINITIONS

  1. Organiser means Lemon Ideas.

  2. Interested Participant means startups, entrepreneurs, innovators, individuals who are interested in participating in the Event.

  3. Event means Innopreneurs (Startup Contest) and Innopreneurs (Idea Contest).

  4. Applicant means Interested Participant who has successfully applied the Participation Application for the Event.

  5. Participant means the Applicant who has been selected to participate in the Event.

  6. Participation Application means the application required to be submitted by the Applicant to participate in the Event.

  7. Registration Application means the application required to be submitted by the Interested Participant to register for the Event

  8. Website means www.innopreneurs.in

III.   PROCEDURE TO PARTICIPATE IN STARTUP CONTEST

Level 1

The Interested Participant needs to visit the website (www.innopreneurs.in) (“Website”) for registering their credential/contact information in the Event. The Interested Participant may click on the “Apply Now” section on the startup contest page to access the Registration Application. All of the applications will then be forwarded to the screening panel for the screening and the organizer may ask for some of the detailed inputs to be filled by the applicant for screening purpose. The Applicant shall be required to complete the detailed inputs form as mentioned in the instructions, if it is likely to be shortlisted for the regional pitching rounds.

Level 2

All Applications shall be evaluated by a selection panel during the screening process. The selection panel will evaluate the applications, inter alias, based on the following criteria:

  1. The novelty of the idea/product.

  2. Commercial feasibility and potential.

  3. Scalability.

  4. Sustainability.

  5. Current stage of Startup / Idea

  6. Profile of the promoters, founders and key managerial persons.

  7. Sector focus of the current edition

Based on the decision of the selection panel, successful applications will be selected for the next level of the Event (“Contestants”). The decision of the selection panel will be final and binding on all the Participants. 

Level 3

All the screened applications will be then called for either of the contest under this initiative 'Innopreneurs Startup Contest'. The shortlisted participants need to pay a commitment fee of INR 999 (Indian Entries) / $15 USD (Outside India Entries) per team for confirming the pitching slot. A mini training boo camp will be conducted for all of the selected participants for grooming them followed by their pitches in the regional rounds. Top entries from the regional rounds will be then promoted to the pre-finale of the same. Top 150 startups will be selected in total for the pre-finale rounds across all of the regional rounds.

Level 4

The top 150 startups will pitch in the pre-finale rounds that would be conducted in parallel to the regional rounds and top 25 startups will be selected from the pre-finale rounds for the finale round.

Level 5

A finalists readiness boot camp will be conducted for all the finale participants to groom them for the finale pitching. This readiness boot camp will have a lot of intellectual inputs from varied mentors.

Level 6

Pitching by all top 25 teams will be conducted during the finale round followed to which top 5 startups will be then selected for the Grand Finale.

Level 7

Grand Finale will be conducted having the pitches of top 5 startups along with speaker talks and awards & prizes distribution in a public ceremony.

Note: The funding, incubation & accelerations cohort discussions would continue in parallel to the aforementioned process. 

IV.   PROCEDURE TO PARTICIPATE IN IDEA CONTEST

Level 1

The Interested Participant needs to visit the website (www.innopreneurs.in) (“Website”) for registering their credential/contact information in the Event. The Interested Participant may click on the “Apply Now” section on the startup contest page to access the Registration Application. 

Level 2

All Applications shall be evaluated by a selection panel during the screening process. The selection panel will evaluate the applications, inter alias, based on the following criteria:

  1. The novelty of the idea/product.

  2. Commercial feasibility and potential.

  3. Problem identification dimension.

  4. IPR dimension.

  5. Idea Stage.

Entries from Startup Contest will be considered for the Idea Contest as per screening panel recommendation. Based on the decision of the selection panel, successful applications will be selected for the next level of the Event (“Contestants”). The decision of the selection panel will be final and binding on all the Participants.

Level 3

All the screened applications will be then called for either of the contest under this initiative 'Innopreneurs Idea Contest'. The shortlisted participants need to pay a commitment fee of INR 999 (Indian Entries) / $15 USD (Outside India Entries) per team for confirming the pitching slot. Followed to which the participants need to send a 3 min recorded pitch for the next level of evaluation as per the guidelines shared with the participants over email. 

Level 4

Followed to the evaluation of recorded pitches, the top 10 entries would be selected and called on for a live pitch during the Grand Finale event. This Grand Finale would be conducted having the live pitches of these top 10 ideas and awards & prize distribution ceremony in public. The winner of the Idea Contest will be awarded with 1 lac in cash prize.  

V. GENERAL TERMS AND CONDITIONS

  1. Participation in the Event in any of the aforesaid manner shall be considered to be acceptance of all the rules and regulations of the Event. The Organizer reserves the right to disqualify/terminate the participation of any Applicant and the decision of the Organizer shall be final and binding.

  2. The Applicants must fulfil the following criteria:

    • should be of sound health and mind.

    • the idea/plan must be implemented in India.

    • the business plan should have a determinable revenue model.

    • should be able to verbally communicate in Hindi/English.

    • the business plan should not belong to following industries- alcohol, tobacco, gambling, firearms, and explosives.

  3. Applicants must enter the Event on their own behalf and entries by proxy will not be accepted, even for their family members.

  4. The entries are not transferable.

  5. The Organiser also reserves the right to disqualify a Contestant in case a discrepancy is found to exist in the information furnished/provided/stated by the Contestant during the conversation with the Organiser or any of the Organiser's sub-contractors and vendors in the Event, and/or in the information stated in the documents furnished by the Contestant.

  6. The Contestant shall undertake, warrant and guarantee to the Organiser that the Contestant has the full legal capacity to participate in the Event in accordance with these Rules & Regulations.

  7. By registering for the Event, the Contestant represents that he/she is medically fit and do not have present or past psychological ailments. If in the past he/she has had any psychological ailments or have been under medication for any psychological, anxiety, hypertension, depression or any other medical problems, the same shall be disclosed to the Organiser in writing along with a copy of the certificate from a qualified medical practitioner declaring him/her to be fit for participation in the Event.

  8. The Contestant represents that he/she has not been accused or convicted or is otherwise involved in any criminal offence and/or is not under inquiry or trial by the police or judiciary which has not been disclosed to the Organiser in writing. That the Contestant is not required to be present before any authority including police or any court of law during the shooting dates informed by the Organiser and has no other disability which would prevent his/her participation in the Audition or the Event (if selected).

  9. The Contestant acknowledges that he/she has voluntarily chosen to participate in the Event at his/her free-will and is willing to bear all risk, costs & consequences arising from such participation in the Event.

  10. If an entry is received for participation, it is assumed that the person sending in the entry has provided the Organisers with permission to send SMS's to or call him/her, whether or not such sender is registered on the National Do Not Call registry.

 

Information

  1. The Contestant is required to furnish necessary supporting documentation (if asked) as proof of age, address, name, photo identity and nationality i.e. one original and attested photocopies of either (i) passport/driving license or (ii) PAN Card along with birth certificate (iii) voter identity card with the birth certificate (iv) UID/Aadhaar Card.

  2. Organiser may, at its discretion contact the Applicant(s) and/or Contestant(s) at any time, if required, for any clarifications needed for the information provided in the application.

  3. The Organiser has the right at any time to require proof of identity and/or eligibility. Failure to provide such proof within a reasonable time could result in disqualification from the Event.

  4. In case there are any mismatch of Applicant/Contestant(s) details in any round of the Event, the Contestant(s) may be disqualified from further participation in the Event if Contestant is unable to resolve discrepancies.

  5. All personal details and information requested by and supplied to the Organiser by each Contestant must be truthful, accurate and in no way misleading. The Organiser reserves the right to disqualify any Contestant(s) from the Event or Audition in its sole discretion, should the Contestant(s) at any stage supply untruthful, inaccurate or misleading personal details and/or information.

  6. If at any time, including after disbursement of the prize, any information submitted by the Contestant(s) is found to be incorrect, false, or otherwise misrepresented or misleading, the Contestant(s) shall be liable to refund all amounts received from the Organiser.

  7. The Contestants by providing the aforesaid information hereby agree that the Organiser shall have the right to share the information so collected with such other third party as required for the purpose of the Event and hereby consent that they shall not file any claim against the Organiser for sharing for such information.

 

Speaking to the media and third persons

  1. None of the Contestants shall, without the prior written approval of the Organiser, speak to the press or any other media or any third person, nor give any interviews or comments relating to any aspect of the Event or write blogs, post messages on social media. The Contestant(s) shall not disclose any information whatsoever relating to the Organiser to any other party. Violation of this clause shall immediately disqualify the Contestant's prospects of further participation.

  2. The Contestant(s) shall at all times keep confidential the selection process and all tails regarding the Event including Boot Camp.

Boot Camp / Training Program

  1. If a Contestant is unable to appear for the Boot Camp / Training Program at the stipulated time, he/she shall be disqualified from further participation.

  2. The organizer shall not entertain any request by the Contestant for change in the dates and schedule of Boot Camp.

  3. Notwithstanding any other provisions in this Agreement, the Organiser may, at its sole and absolute discretion, cancel or reschedule the Boot Camp, or hold additional Boot Camp on such other dates and at such places as it may determine and the Contestant(s) shall adhere to and abide by any and all instructions, requirements and timing stipulations as determined by the Organiser and shall attend at any and all such additional Boot Camp.

 

Shortlisting

  1. Even after final selection for the Event, the Organiser shall have the right to replace any of the Contestant as per their discretion and creative requirement, for the betterment of the Event.

  2. The Organiser also reserves the right to increase or decrease the number of the Contestants.

  3. At no point in time will the Organiser be obliged to notify unsuccessful Contestants of its decision.

  4. Whilst the Organiser shall make all reasonable endeavors to (i) enable Contestants to participate in the contest (ii) to contact all Contestants at each relevant juncture of the Event, the Organiser can make no guarantee thereof and the Organiser shall in its sole discretion be entitled to proceed with the next entitled Contestant, in case it is unable to successfully contact and communicate with Contestants.

  5. In the event there is a tie between two (or more) Contestants, the Organiser shall be entitled to determine in its absolute discretion which Contestant is eliminated and/or which Contestant goes through to the next round and for this purpose it shall be entitled to make such arrangements or request such further rounds from the Contestants, as it in its absolute discretion, deems necessary.

  6. All attempts will be made to protect Application data from loss and corruption, but in the event, such data loss happens, and because of the intricate timelines of the Participant selection process, the Organiser may have to continue with whatever data is available, or in any other manner as it may deem reasonable.

 

Intellectual property rights and access to personal information

  1. On request of the Organiser, the Contestant(s) shall also make arrangements for the Organiser to have access to his/her residence, workplace, favourite hangouts, pets, etc. and obtain necessary permissions from his/her parents, siblings, friends, colleagues to be photographed, interviewed and to record or click their photographs, videos etc.

  2. The Winner(s) of the Event agrees that he/she shall make himself/herself available from time to time and co-operate with the Organiser and participate in any activity and/or campaign ("Promotional Activity") of any nature whatsoever without any money payable to the Winner(s). Further, the Winner(s)/Contestant(s) shall at no point in time refuse or disagree to participate in any such Promotional Activity for any reason whatsoever if required by the Organiser. The Winner(s)/Contestant(s) agrees that the footage of any nature shall vest with the Organiser, including but not limited to all intellectual property rights and any other rights for worldwide and in perpetuity.

  3. Any photographs, videos etc. submitted to the Organiser shall on submission/creation become the property of the Organiser and shall be available to the Organiser for exploitation throughout the world in perpetuity. The Contestant(s) shall ensure that the photos or videos submitted by them in any public domain or their performances shall not be obscene, vulgar, defaming, denigrating women, or children, hurting religious sentiments, depicting violence or shall not infringe the rights of a third person. In the event of any violation to the aforementioned, the Contestant(s) shall immediately be disqualified from taking part in the Event or any further rounds of participation and such Contestant(s) shall solely remain liable for any action (criminal/civil) arising therefrom.

  4. Acceptance of these Rules and Regulations by the Participants constitutes permission for the Organiser its affiliates to click photographs, record videos of the Contestant(s) and use the Contestant(s) name, photographs, likeness, voice and comments for advertising and promotional purposes in any media worldwide for purposes of advertising and trade without any additional compensation whatsoever.

 

Expenses of participation & logistics

  1. All costs as informed by Organiser shall be borne solely by the selected Auditionees and the Organiser or its sub-contractors shall not be liable for the same.

  2. The Organiser or any of the affiliates connected with the Event shall not be liable for any cancellations and/or delays in the train/flights/cars arranged for the Contestant(s) due to any reason including but not limited to force majeure, logistical problems at the airports/railway stations/roads etc. and the Contestant(s) shall not have any claim against the Organiser and/or any of its affiliates connected with the Event for the same. The Organiser or any of the affiliates connected with the Event shall not be responsible for any such eventuality and the Contestant(s) undertakes not to claim any compensation from the Organiser for the same.

 

Prize and Contract with the Organiser

  1. It is not necessary that the winning Contestant wins the maximum prize money.

  2. Participant(s) hereby agrees that the first preference for mentoring and incubation support on their startup idea, if won, will rest with Lemon Ideas and then the other partners.

  3. The vouchers given to the winners of mentoring and incubation is mandatory to be redeemed up to at least 50%. If not so, then the cash prizes would be reduced based on the situation and will of the organizer.

  4. Any and all taxes and/or levies applicable on the prize money won by the Participant(s), under the laws of India shall be borne by the Participant(s) in relation to the prize. Payment of prize money to the Winner(s) shall be after deduction of all applicable taxes and levies and subject to providing the relevant documents as intimated by the Organiser and will be paid within the time stipulated by the Organiser. A duly attested copy of the PAN card is compulsory to claim the prize money by the Contestant.

  5. There would be a standard tax deduction and other deduction as applicable to the prize money.

 

Other Terms

  1. The procedures for registration and participation in the Event are subject to the Rules and Regulations stated herein and subsequent amendments. Non-conformance by any Contestant(s) to the rules of the Event will disqualify him/her from participation or winnings, immediately, as the case may be.

  2. In the event of any fault, misunderstanding or dispute concerning any part of the Event, and/or the operation of the telephone system, Call-backs, the selection of Contestant(s) at any stage, the decision of the Organiser shall be final and binding on all Contestant(s). The Organiser of the Event is empowered to take a decision on any case or instances not covered by the present Rules and Regulations.

  3. The Organiser reserves the right to amend (add, delete or modify) the Rules & Regulations governing the Event and/or the Participant selection process prospectively or retrospectively, at its discretion and without prior notice, in order to improve the Event or remedy any issues that occur.

  4. The Organiser has the right at any time to terminate the Event without any prior intimation or notice to the public and also the Organiser is not obligated in any manner whatsoever to compensate any person or persons who have participated in the Event and/or accommodate any person or persons who have been selected in the Event.

  5. Registration to the Event does not guarantee the selection of the Applicant(s) to proceed with the Event. Registration also does not entitle any Contestant(s) to a prize or award.

  6. Taking part in the registration process shall be deemed to be acceptance by the Applicant(s) to receive promotional messages from the Organiser or any third party so authorized by the Organiser.

  7. Notwithstanding a Contestant's participation in the Event, there is no obligation on the part of the Organiser to broadcast any show in which he/she has taken part or any or all of his/her contribution as recorded by the Organiser.

  8. The Organiser reserves the right to re-schedule the date(s) of registration, call-backs, Boot Camp etc. of the Event at its discretion.

  9. In case the Winner(s) is found to be in violation of any and all rules/process of the Event, the Organiser reserves the right to initiate legal proceedings against such person(s) including but not limited to having the concerned winner to refund the prize money won together with penalty interest as deemed fit by the Organiser.

  10. The Organiser reserves the right to change the structure of the Event as it sees fit including without limitation by adding/reducing/altering Auditions/rounds to the Event.

  11. It is a condition of entry and participation in the Event that Contestant(s) make themselves available to participate in the Event, agree and sign up the Contestant Release Form and any other documents as requested by the Organiser and abide by terms and conditions of such Participant Release Form and the Rules, Regulations as devised from time to time by the Organiser including but not by way of limitation these Rules & Regulations.

  12. The Organiser's decision is final and the Contestant(s) acknowledge that the interests of the Event shall override those of any Contestant(s).

  13. There may be respective terms and conditions by the separate incubation and funding partners. The participants entering into the competition must abide by the respective terms and conditions of separate incubation and funding partners.

  14. The Contestant(s) must at all times behave appropriately when taking part in the Event and observe these Rules & Regulations and any other Rules & Regulations in force at the Auditions and/or studio. The Organiser reserves the right in its absolute discretion to remove from the Event, any Contestant(s) who breaks such rules and/or fails to behave appropriately and to disqualify such Contestant(s).

  15. These Rules & Regulations supersede any and all release forms signed by the Contestant(s) and in the event of any conflict, these Rules & Regulations will prevail.

  16. If any provision of these Rules & Regulations is held by any court or other competent authority to be void or unenforceable in whole or part, the other provisions of these Rules & Regulations and the remainder of the affected provisions shall continue to be valid.

  17. These Rules & Regulations and the Event shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of India and the Contestant(s) submit irrevocably to the jurisdiction of the Courts in Nagpur.

  18. The application does not guarantee the selection or participation of the Contestant(s) and such selection shall be as per the sole discretion of the Organiser or its affiliates.

  19. The Organiser of the Event is empowered to take a decision on any case not covered by the present Rules and Regulations.

  20. The Organiser reserves the right to mention the founders' name and the startup name for any marketing and promotional activity in future.

  21. Success fee of 3% on funding above ticket size of 25lac

  22. Success fee of 5% on funding on or  below ticket size of 25 lac 

  23. 10% revenue share on revenue generated through Lemon's connects or demo days 

  24. 20% of cost savings on service provider or vendor acquired through Lemon connects and Demo days 

  25. These terms would be valid for two years of duration from date of registration with lemon ideas /Innopreneurs/LSE 

  26. These are standard terms of engagement for startups at Lemon Ideas and would be superimposed with specific terms as agreed upon as part of other engagement at training/mentoring , acceleration or demo days models.

  27. If the startup team or individual will raise the funds within 180 days of the conduction of Grand Finale directly or indirectly from Innopreneurs platform, they are liable to pay 3% of the total amount raised as the contribution for the platform further.

  28. The participants agree to pay ₹999 (Indian Entries) and $15 USD (Outside India Entries) towards the pitching fee for Innopreneurs Startup Contest and ₹999 (Indian Entries) and $15 USD (Outside India Entries) towards the pitching fee for Innopreneurs Idea Contest.

  29. The selection in the ambassador program 'Community Corps' solely rest with the organizer only. 

  30. All participants for the contest as well as boot camps shall be treated as Lemon Alumni (Innopreneurs) for further reference. 

 

Liability

  1. The Organiser and is in no manner whatsoever responsible and/or shall not be held liable in any manner whatsoever, for any physical injury, death, mental trauma caused to any Contestant(s) and/or the Winner (s) in any manner whatsoever, in relation to the Event and/or prize.

  2. The Organiser, its affiliates and the service providers used by Organiser for the Event, and any person or entity connected with the production (including the format owners) administration or judging of the contest, the Event or thermoformed (the "Relevant Parties") shall be under no liability whatsoever to the Contestant(s) or the Contributors, in respect of any loss, damage suffered by the Contestant(s) or Contributors arising from or pursuant to the Event or for any and all loss, damage, cost, expense or injury to life or property sustained by the Contestant(s) at any stage of the Event thereof whether or not caused by (1) the administration (including scheduling) of the Event including any failure of transportation or inability for any reason to appear for the pitching/before the Judges; (2) the Contestant's or any third party's participation in the pitching, or being selected or disqualified; (3) as a result of the decisions of the Judges or Organiser; (4) as a result of any comment, remark, judgment, view, criticism, critique, opinion and/or observation made and/or passed by the Host and/or Organiser; and/or (5) any printing, typographical or technological errors in any materials associated with the Event. Notwithstanding the generality of the foregoing, the Relevant Parties expressly exclude liability for all direct, indirect and consequential loss or damage, including but not limited to loss or damage to property or for loss of profit, business, revenue, goodwill or anticipated savings pursuant to the Event. In no event will the measure of damages include, nor will the relevant parties be liable for, any amounts for indirect, incidental, consequential, or punitive damages of any party, including third parties or for damages attributable to the Contestant(s); or circumstances beyond the relevant parties including the Organiser’s reasonable control.

  3. The Applicant/Contestant of the Event agree that he/she shall hold harmless the Organiser, its employees, officers, sub-contractors or any other person in connection with the prize won by him/her and/or in relation to the Event including but not limited to the procedure in the Event and shall also not file in person/through any family member and/or third party any applications, criminal and/or civil proceedings in any courts or forum in India against sponsor and/or the Organiser to claim any damages or relief's.

  4. The Organiser will not be responsible for any loss/theft of belongings of the Contestant(s) on the sets of the Event.

  5. The Organiser or any of its affiliates will not be liable for any loss of any loss of earnings, employment or otherwise caused to the Contestant(s) and arising as a result of his/her participation in the Event if selected.

  6. Organiser and its sub-contractors cannot and shall not be held accountable/liable for any disruptions/stoppages/interruptions or cancellation of the pitching or Event on account of any factors beyond their control.

  7. The Contestant(s) agree to release, discharge, and covenant, not to sue the Organiser or any of its associated agencies and each of their respective officers, interns, representatives, and employees, and/or any other agencies or individuals connected with the Event in any manner, from any and all claims, actions, damages, liabilities, losses, costs and expenses, in any way arising out of or resulting from the Contestant(s) involvement in the selection process.

  8. The Contestant(s) hereby agree to indemnify the Organiser or its affiliates against any claims that might arise from their actions or omissions while participating in the Event.

  9. The only way to enter the Event is through the online application process as described in these rules and regulations. There is no other way of entering the Event. This entire process is transparent and monitored by an independent Auditor. Any person claiming that he/she can help any Applicant or Participant would be indulging in an act of fraud and in no way can represent the Organiser or any of its official partners. Applicants and Contestants should report any such person or incident to the Organiser immediately.

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