2012 Competition

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The Villanova Student Entrepreneurship Competition (VSEC) is a student competition for currently enrolled Villanova University undergraduate and graduate students. The competition spans one semester and allows students to create the very first parts of a product/service/idea and develop it through two stages of entrepreneurship within the competition. The top three student teams will be awarded prize money (cash) and other prizes (see Prize Information section) will be awarded to categorical winners. Rules for entry into the VSEC are given below.

Rules (VSEC):

1. All team members must be Villanova University students. Both undergraduates and graduate students are allowed to participate as long as they are enrolled in at least one class at the university.
2. The team must consist of at least 2 students and is allowed a maximum of 8 students, no exceptions.
3. Any idea submitted to the competition must be a unique and original idea. Sub-rules include:
   1. No idea can have any external funding from any agency, company, etc., regardless of whether the company or agency is for profit, non-profit, government or otherwise. No exceptions.
   2. Self- funded businesses are allowed to compete.
   3. Any idea that is a derivative of ongoing research at the university must be different from the proposed research of the faculty member for which the students work (or different from the students own work if funding is grant, fellowship or scholarship-based). Any idea found to be similar to a faculty member’s work which is funded will be disqualified from the competition. All conflicts of this nature will be handled on a case-to-case basis.
       
      1. A supplemental form (form S-1) must be filled out BEFORE abstracts are posted and sent to VSEC@villanova.edu if the work is a derivation of a faculty member’s research and approved by the VSEC/Beyond Ideas Committee.
   4. Senior projects are allowed.
4. All deadlines must be met by the date and times listed in the Student Deadlines section. All submissions after the final deadline will be disqualified, regardless of round or circumstance. No exceptions will be made for deadlines.
5. No contact with internal or external judges can be made through the entirety of the competition. Any contact with judges about the competition will be considered a violation of ethics and the team will be disqualified from the competition.
6. All submissions must adhere to the limits provided. For instance, no video pitch can be over 2 minutes. However, you may go under these limits. This applies to the final presentation as well.
7. At least two team members must be present for the final presentation and networking reception on Tuesday, April 24th.
8. The team must abide by the Villanova University Code of Ethics. Any team found in violation of this code will be disqualified from the competition.

Prize Details

• First Place: $5,000 Cash
• Second Place: $3,000 Cash
• Third Place: $2,000 Cash
• Categorical Prizes TBD (Known already: The Halloran Prize for Best Social Entrepreneurship Venture - $1,000). More to come.

Note: Teams can place in the top 3 and still win categorical prizes for the opportunity to win more prize money.