Selling Bee Rules and Eligibility

Note: Selling Bee and Young Entrepreneur Institute reserve the right to update these rules at any time. Every attempt will be made to notify participants of any modification to this document; however it is ultimately the responsibility of Selling Bee participants to stay current with Selling Bee Rules and Regulations by visiting SellingBee.buzz.

 

1.    Eligibility

A.   Applicant must be enrolled in school, grade K-8 in the spring of 2016, be home schooled or enrolled in online schools.

B.   Applicant must reside in one of the 21 counties of Northeast Ohio (Ashland, Ashtabula, Carroll, Columbiana, Crawford, Cuyahoga, Erie, Geauga, Holmes, Huron, Lake, Lorain, Mahoning, Medina, Portage, Richland, Stark, Summit, Tuscarawas, Trumbull, Wayne).

C.   Applicant’s parent or guardian must complete the electronic permission section of the Selling Bee entry form on our website. Entries will be disqualified if parent/guardian permission form is not submitted by May 1, 11:59 p.m.

D.   Video entries must be no longer than 45 seconds. It is recommended that entries be 30 seconds and not less than 15 seconds.  File types accepted include mp4, mov, avi, mpg, 3gp, flv, webm, wmv and mkv.

E.   Applicant and his/her parent/guardian must give consent to all photographs, audio recordings and video recordings taken of him/her, and all Selling Bee work presented in association with the Young Entrepreneur Institute. All media recordings become the property of the Young Entrepreneur Institute and may be used by the Young Entrepreneur Institute for educational, instructional or promotional purposes in print, broadcast or electronic media formats now existing or in the future created. This includes but is not limited to the video entry submission.  There will be no compensation for the use of any photographs, audio or video recordings or any other media.  

F.    Applicants may not work in teams. Only single applicant entries will be accepted.

G.   Applicant may not be related to any employee of the Young Entrepreneur Institute.

H.   The deadline for submission is May 1, at SellingBee.buzz at 11:59 p.m.

 

2.    Business Idea Entry Criteria

    1. Students formulate a business idea that can feasibly be executed by them with minimal adult supervision. Business ideas may include such things as dog walking, sports coaching, jewelry making, lemonade stands, babysitting, and any other age appropriate business models.

    2. Students submit a 30 second video entry (commercial). In the commercial, students should:

·         Think up a business idea and compete to make the best business pitch. A pitch is the  short, catchy thing you say to people to explain your business and persuade them to become your customer.

·         First you’ll make up a business idea, something you’re excited about, something you do really well, that people would want. 

·         Then you’ll develop your pitch and make a video of you presenting it. Remember, a pitch is short and catchy, so the video should be no longer than 45 seconds or you will be disqualified--thirty seconds is ideal. 

·         Upload your video at SellingBee.buzz by May 1st to enter for a chance to win cash and great prizes.

·         Your business idea might be selling lemonade, cookies or hand-made jewelry, running a dog walking or babysitting service, or anything else you can think of. Be creative and have fun! 

    1. Students will compete on one of two tracks of competition:

      • Kindergarten through 4th Grade

      • 5th- 8th Grade

    2. Applications will be judged on quality of the thinking, overall creativity, and quality of the presentation.

    3. Entries longer than 45:59 seconds will be disqualified.

  1. Prizes

Finalists and winners will receive “in-kind” prizes. There is no cash value to “in-kind” prizes and no exchanges or refunds will be offered.  Prizes are non transferrable.  Only 12 winners will receive a $100 monetary reward.

    1. Forty finalists (Twenty from each competition track) will receive a prize package including:

      • Selling Bee T-Shirt

      • McDonald’s gift card

    2. Twelve Winners (Five judged from each competition track and one popular vote winner from each competition track) will receive a prize package including:

      • Four pack of Cleveland Indian’s baseball tickets for July 7, 2016 (Cleveland Indians vs. New York Yankees)
      •  Microsoft Surface 3 Tablet 

      • $100 Cash

      • Trophy

      • Mitchell’s Ice Cream gift card

 

The Competition Consists of Two Rounds

A.   Round One—Applicant must submit a short form and video, ideally 30 seconds and no longer than 45 seconds, to SellingBee.buzz. Applicants who do not meet the requirements under the Eligibility section or submit incomplete applications will automatically be disqualified. Forty finalists (Twenty from each track) will be selected from all eligible entries meeting the Selling Bee contest rules and requirements.

      • All applicants must enter using the registration form on SellingBee.buzz. Applicant will receive a confirmation email from SellingBee.buzz. The contest window opens April 8, 2016.

      • Electronic submission: Selling Bee entries must be submitted via the submission link on the website by 11:59 p.m. on May 1, 2016 at SellingBee.buzz.

      • Entries will be disqualified if Parent/Guardian Permission Form is not submitted by May 1, 2016 at SellingBee.buzz at 11:59 p.m.

      • Title and description of idea must be submitted in the form provided on our website.

·         Each first round submission will be reviewed and judged according to:

          1. Quality of thinking

          2. Quality of presentation

          3. Overall creativity

      • Forty finalists (Twenty from each track) will be selected by the judges to participate in the final round.  Notification will be provided by May 12, 2016.

B.   Final Round

      • Forty finalists (Twenty from each track) will be showcased on SellingBee.buzz from May 12 through May 20, 2016.  Ten winners (Five from each track) will be determined by an expert panel of judges from the youth entrepreneurship ecosystem in Northeast Ohio.  Two additional winners (one per track) will be determined by the highest popular vote. The public may register to vote at www.SellingBee.buzz. The public may vote only once for each candidate, but may vote for as many candidates as they like on both tracks between May 12 and May 20, 2016. All decisions are final.

      • All finalists will be notified on May 24, 2016 whether they have been selected as one of twelve winners (five judged and one popular vote per two tracks).

      • All twelve winners will be acknowledged on www.SellingBee.buzz.  Prize packages will be awarded at a location/time to be announced in June or July of 2016.