NO PURCHASE NECESSARY TO ENTER OR WIN. VOID WHERE PROHIBITED. VALID IN THE US AND OTHER U.S. TERRITORIES WHERE NAB IS AUTHORIZED TO DO BUSINESS. A SUBMISSION INTO THIS COMPETITION CONSTITUTES YOUR ACCEPTANCE OF THESE OFFICIAL RULES.

The PILOT Pitch Prize Competition (the “Competition”) hosted and administered by the National Association of Broadcasters (“NAB”) is seeking submissions for a pitch competition aimed at early-stage startups that can help solve challenges in the media industry.

  1. AGREEMENT: In order to participate, you must agree to these Rules. Therefore, please read these Rules prior to entering. Your entering constitutes agreement to these Rules. These Rules form a binding legal agreement between you and NAB with respect to the Competition. NAB reserves the right to amend these rules at any time.
  2. ELIGIBILITY: Participation is open to registered startup companies in the US and other U.S. Territories where NAB is authorized to do business. Competition judges and employees of NAB, and their respective subsidiaries, affiliates, agents and their immediate families and people living in their households, are not eligible to participate. NAB, at its sole discretion, shall determine eligibility of any individual or entity, and may disqualify any Participant at any time for any reason. In the event of a conflict or potential conflict between Submissions, NAB, in its sole discretion, may choose to reject or disqualify one or more Submissions.
  3. The person making the Submission on behalf of the company must: (a) certify that he or she has the right to act on behalf of the company and agree to these Rules on behalf of the company, and (b) be a legal resident or citizen of the United States or U.S. Territories.
  4. SUBMISSIONS/REGISTRATION: Between March 6, 2018 10:00 AM Eastern Time April 30, 2018 08:00 PM Eastern Time (the “Competition Term”), you must register and submit your application online at nabpilot.org/pitchprize (the “Competition Website”). Registration and Submissions will be accepted only via the Competition Website. All registrations and Submissions must be in English. You must provide a valid email address, which will be the means to communicate with you. All sections of the registration and/or Submission forms must be completed to create a valid submission into the Competition (“Submission”). Submissions may be made in draft or final mode. If you make a Submission in draft mode, you can make changes to it until the end of the Competition Term. Submissions will be deemed to be in final mode at the end of the Competition Term.

LIMIT: ONE (1) SUBMISSION PER PARTICIPANT. Subsequent Submissions from the same Participant or email address will be disqualified. In the event of a dispute over identity, the Submission will be deemed submitted by the authorized account holder of the e-mail account associated with the Submission. “Authorized account holder” is defined as the natural person who is assigned to an e-mail address by an Internet access provider, on-line service provider, or other organization (e.g., business, educational institution, etc.) that is responsible for assigning e-mail addresses for the domain associated with the submitted e-mail address. In the event two or more Submissions/ideas are substantially similar, only the first one entered will be considered.

Submission Form Requirements:

All Competition Participants must clearly and concisely complete all sixteen (16) sections of the Idea-Submission form:

  1. Please provide a short description of your business in 50 words or less. (50-word limit)
  2. In which of the following categories do your products or services fit? Please elaborate. (Select relevant options, or comment)
    1. Operational Efficiency
    2. Audience Engagement
    3. Audience Measurement
    4. Content Distribution
    5. Enhanced User Experience
    6. Other
  3. What problem or need in the market does your product or service address and for whom? (250-word limit)
  4. Please provide a detailed description of your solution in 500 words or less. (500-word limit)
  5. What is the current status of your product or service? Please elaborate. (Select one option or comment)
    1. Pre-MVP
    2. MVP or Prototype
    3. Limited Availability
    4. Full Availability
    5. Other
  6. Please describe your target market size, geography and current industry trends impacting your market. (250-word limit)
  7. Please describe your current customers, pilots or users. What is your customer acquisition strategy? (250-word limit)
  8. Who are your main competitors or alternatives and how are you differentiated from them? (250-word limit).
  9. Please describe your business model, revenue streams, pricing and margins. (250-word limit)
  10. What are your plans or strategies for sustainable growth? Please include customer acquisition costs and customer lifetime value.  (250-word limit)
  11. Please upload a file with historical financial results and forecasts. (Office or PDF document)
  12. In which U.S. state or territory was your business formed? Where is your company’s operational headquarters?
  13. Who makes up your team and why are you better positioned to succeed than others? (250-word limit)
  14. When are you looking to raise your next round of funding and what will you use it for? What type of funding, how much will you be looking to raise, and at what valuation? (250-word limit)
  15. Please upload an investor pitch deck. (Maximum of 20 slides in PPTX or PDF format)
  16. Please upload a maximum 1-minute video with a short introduction and pitch for your product. (The file can be up to 200mb and does not need to be professional quality and will not be posted online or shared beyond the scope of the evaluation team)

Submissions may not contain advertisements, commercial endorsements, or any material that is indecent, obscene, hateful, discriminatory, defamatory, slanderous, libelous, unlawful or otherwise inappropriate as determined by NAB in its absolute sole discretion. Any inappropriate Submissions or material may be disqualified by NAB in its sole discretion.

COMPETITION PERIOD/JUDGING:

  1. The dates are subject to change.
  2. Evaluation of Submissions will occur in three (3) rounds. The decisions of the judges will be final in all instances.
  3. Judging will begin after Submissions close, on or about April 30, 2018. Submissions will be narrowed down to 20 and then evaluated by the Dingman Center Angels after which time the best 5 Submissions will be selected and move on to the mentoring phase.
  4. The selected 5 will pitch at NAB Show New York on or about October 17-18, 2018 to a panel of industry experts who will determine the Competition winners.
  5. On or about October 18, 2018, the top 3 Competition winners will be announced publicly.

Judging will be based on the following screening criteria:

Dingman Angels (Maryland based angel investment group) – Score 0 to 10 (0=Worst, 10=Best), Comments.

  • Compelling Value Proposition (10%) – Have they effectively communicated a significant problem and how their business is poised to solve that problem?
  • Customer/Target Market (10%) – Do they have a well-identified and sizable target market that is growing? Do they understand how to effectively reach their target market?
  • Competitive Advantage (10%) – Are they differentiated from competitors based on IP, proprietary processes, or another type of competitive advantage? How many and how strong are their competitors or alternatives?
  • Mitigation of Market Risk (10%) – Have they identified, and planned for or mitigated, any risk related to changing regulations, legal requirements, or barriers to entry?
  • Team (10%) – Is the team qualified and committed? Does the team have relevant industry experience? Does the leadership have a plan to fill any gaps in the team?
  • Current Traction (10%) – Does the team have a product or service that is ready for sale? Has the product or service generated meaningful revenue?
  • Scalability (10%) – How extensive is the customer pipeline? Have they outlined a feasible strategy for scaling? Will they be able to maintain or improve margins? Are customer acquisition costs likely to be supported by lifetime value?
  • Credible Financials (10%) – Does the company have realistic financial projections? Have they made reasonable assumptions?
  • Deal/Valuation (10%) – Is the proposed valuation reasonable? Are there compelling exit strategies and will the projected financials allow for an acceptable return?
  • Use of Funds (10%) – Do they have a clearly defined use for the funds and will it help to propel the growth of the company?

NAB accepts no responsibility for Submissions that are either lost, delayed, corrupted, damaged, defaced, misdirected or mislaid, howsoever caused.

  1. PRIZES Three prizes will be awarded:
    • SAFE (Simple Agreement for Future Equity) contract
      • $50K with no interest and no expiration date
      • Valuation cap of $6M at the time of conversion to equity
      • No discount if the money is converted into equity within 6 months of winning PILOT Prize
      • 80% discount rate if the money is converted into equity after 6 months
    • Brand recognition as member of NAB’s portfolio
      • Announcement of the winners at the show
      • NAB will highlight winners to its members through its marketing channels
    • Opportunity to demo to the senior level executives from NAB member companies as well as the PILOT committee.
    • Opportunity to present at NAB Show in Las Vegas (April 2019)
      • Exhibit space at NAB Show

Less than three Submissions may receive awards or be recognized at any designated level if an insufficient number of qualified Submissions are received, as determined by the judges in their discretion. Each of the recipients of rewards is solely responsible for the payment of any taxes that may arise as a result of acceptance of this award. Each award will be in the form of a single payment to the Participant (person or company/organization), regardless whether the Participant is an individual, group of individuals, company or other form of organization. All other Team awards will be made in the name of the Captain. Awards cannot be transferred or substituted. Limit one award per Participant regardless of the number or quality of Submissions from that Participant. NAB reserves the right to alter/increase/decrease the type and award amounts and the number of rewards.

ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS OF WINNERS

  1. LEGAL RIGHTS IN YOUR SUBMISSION :
    Participant Certification of Rights in Submission:
    By entering a Submission, you represent and warrant that: (i) you are able to comply with these terms and conditions and your Submission is not subject to any conflicting obligations that would prevent or interfere with your compliance with these terms and conditions; (ii) your Submission does not make unauthorized use of or violate in any way any rights of any 3rd party, including but not limited to copyright, trademark, patent, trade secret, or rights of publicity; and (iii) no one else’s permission is required for you to make your Submission in this Competition or to use your idea as contemplated under these terms and conditions. Without limiting the foregoing, you represent and warrant that you have complied with any requirements of your employer, if any, to allow your participation in the Competition, including but not limited to making your Submission and accepting any recognition award you may receive.
  1. TAXES : TO THE EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW, ALL TAXES IMPOSED ON PRIZES ARE THE SOLE RESPONSIBILITY OF THE WINNERS. Winners are responsible for ensuring that they comply with all the applicable tax laws and filing requirements.
  2. GENERAL CONDITIONS : Except as otherwise required by law, the Participant agrees that Competition, its operation and these terms and conditions are to be construed under the laws of the District of Columbia. Notwithstanding the jurisdiction of any other court, the Participant expressly submits and consents in advance to the exclusive jurisdiction of the Superior Court of the District of Columbia and the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia for all claims or disputes pertaining directly or indirectly to the Competition.
  3. INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS : As a condition of entering into the Competition, Participant agrees that all intellectual property (“IP”) rights (including copyright, patent, and any other rights) in Participant’s submission shall be owned by the Participant.  Participant’s involvement in the Competition shall not limit any rights with respect to Participant’s Submission or other material provided by Participant that NAB, Judges and contractors assisting in the Competition may have as a member of the general public.
  4. PRIVACY : Participants agree that personal data submitted with the Submission, including name, mailing address, phone number, and email address and other information may be collected, processed, stored and otherwise used by NAB and its affiliates for the purposes of conducting and administering the Competition. By entering the Competition, Participants agree to the transmission, processing, disclosing and storage of this personal data by NAB and its affiliates.
  5. PUBLICITY : By entering the Competition, Participants agree to participate in any media or promotional activity resulting from the Competition as reasonably requested by NAB at NAB’s expense and agree and consent to use of their name and/or likeness by NAB. NAB shall contact Participants in advance of any NAB request for interviews.

The Submission may also be used for press and media purposes (including events and activities related to this Competition) and Participant agrees to waive any rights and not assert any intellectual property rights that Participant has or may have in the Submission. NAB reserves the right to publish the name and likeness of the Participants on the Competition Website or through other media for publicity purposes.

  1. WARRANTY AND INDEMNITY: Participant warrants that their Submissions are their own original work and, as such, they are the sole and exclusive owner and rights holder of the submitted Submission and that they have the right to submit the Submission in the Competition and grant all required licenses. Participant agrees not to submit any Submission that: (a) infringes any third party proprietary rights, intellectual property rights, industrial property rights, personal or moral rights or any other rights, including without limitation, copyright, trademark, trade names, industrial designs, patent, trade secret, privacy, publicity or confidentiality obligations; or (b) otherwise violates applicable state, federal, or local law.

To the maximum extent permitted by law, Participant agrees to defend, indemnify and hold harmless NAB (as well as the Judges and contractors assisting in this competition) from and against any and all claims, actions, suits or proceedings, as well as any and all losses, liabilities, damages, costs and expenses (including reasonable attorneys’ fees) arising out of or accruing from; (i) any Submission or other material uploaded or otherwise provided by Participant that infringes any copyright, trademark, trade secret, trade dress, patent or other intellectual property right of any person or defames any person or violates their rights of publicity or privacy; (ii) breach of any warranty set forth herein; (iii) any misrepresentation made by Participant in connection with the Competition; (iv) any non-compliance by Participant with these Rules; (v) claims brought by Participants, or persons or entities other than the parties to these Rules arising from or related to Participant’s involvement with the Competition; (vi) acceptance, possession, misuse or use of any prize or participation in any Competition-related activity or participation in the Competition; (vii) any malfunction or other problem with the Competition Website in relation to the Submission and participation in the Competition by Participant; (viii) any error in the collection, processing, or retention of Submission or voting information in relation to the Submission and participation in the Competition by Participant and in the voting process; or (ix)  any typographical or other error in the printing, offering or announcement of any prize or winners in relation to the Submission and participation in the Competition.

  1. INTERNET AND DISCLAIMER : NAB is not responsible for any malfunction of the entire Competition Website or any late, lost, damaged, misdirected, incomplete, illegible, undeliverable, or destroyed Submission (or votes) due to system errors, failed, incomplete or garbled computer or other telecommunication transmission malfunctions, hardware or software failures of any kind, lost or unavailable network connections, typographical or system/human errors and failures, technical malfunction(s) of any telephone network or lines, cable connections, satellite transmissions, servers or providers, or computer equipment, traffic congestion on the Internet or at the Competition Website, or any combination thereof, including other telecommunication, cable, digital or satellite malfunctions which may limit the ability to participate. NAB is not responsible for the policies, actions, or inactions of others, which might prevent anyone from entering, participating, and/or claiming a prize in this Competition. NAB’s failure to enforce any term of these Rules shall not constitute a waiver of that or any other provision. NAB reserves the right to disqualify those who violate the rules or interfere with this Competition in any manner.
  2. RIGHT TO CANCEL OR MODIFY : If for any reason the Competition is not capable of running as planned, including but not limited to, infection by computer virus, bugs, tampering, unauthorized intervention, fraud, technical failures, or any other causes which corrupt or affect the administration, security, fairness, integrity, or proper conduct of the Competition, NAB reserves the right at its sole discretion to cancel, terminate, modify or suspend the Competition.