This page explains the rules of the New Venture competition. Please read them carefully before you choose to participate. Questions or remarks can be sent to info@newventure.nl.

Article 1: Contestants

• Contestants must be individuals or a team of individuals.
• At least one member of a participating team must be a resident of the Netherlands.
• Contestants are obliged to draw up their own entries. Cooperation with an existing company or another contest organization is allowed.

Article 2: Entries

• Submissions may be in either English or Dutch. You will receive feedback from the jury in your chosen language.
• For the first round, the entry should briefly describe the concept. In the second round the concept will be developed further by means of a feasibility study. In the third round a complete business plan will be submitted in accordance with the table of contents of the handbook ‘Starting Up - Achieving Success with Professional Business Planning'. The specific requirements for each round, will be supplied to the contestants at the start of each round. The requirements will also be published on our website, under 'Businessplan Competition' in the main menu. 
• The number of pages of the entry text should be: 1 to 2 pages in the first round, 5 to 7 pages in the second round and a maximum of 20 pages in the third round.
• Entries must have an innovative value. An innovative concept provides a solution for a new need, or statisfies a new way of fulfilling an existing need. The concept provides a clear added value to existing products, services or technologies. A professional jury will decide on the innovative value. Round 1 entries that are sufficiently innovative and promising (as decided by the jury and the competition organization) will be allowed to participate in the second and third round.
• The business plan describes the way in which the contestant will organize the company, or has already organized the company.
• Contestants who do not have a liaison with a participating university or institute must be the intellectual owner of the concept. That is to say the knowledge and/or the essential quality of the existing company must remain with the individual (or the company that will be started up). Liaison institutes must have the consent of the owner(s) for the exploitation of the concept.
• When entering the third round, contestants that have a liaison with a participating university or institute, are required to submit a statement from the university or institute regarding the intellectual property of their business plan. We encourage the use of intellectual property of universities or research institutes, as long as they comply with the competition rules.
• Contestants should name the persons or organizations who have contributed directly to the implementation of the business plan in the appendix, and should briefly explain the nature of their contribution.
• The submitted business plan may have won a prize before and contestants are allowed to take part in other contests or initiatives during the course of New Venture.

Article 3: Registration

• There is no registration fee for the first round of the competition. For the second and third round together, each team is required to order at least one copy of our handbook ‘Starting Up - Achieving Success with Professional Business Planning'.
• Contestants who missed the deadline of the first round, are still allowed to participate if they meet our requirements. The organization reserves the right to limit the number of contestants in subsequent rounds, should there be too many entries.
• All entries must be submitted through My Account on the New Venture website. Participants will receive their feedback online as well. It is not possible to participate in another way.

Article 4: Privacy

• The jury, coaches, coordinators and competition organization will handle the entries with utmost care, and will guarantee confidentiality. However, the organizers do not accept liability for misuse, theft or the loss of the entries, except in the case of gross negligence. The declaration of confidentiality signed by all members of the jury, the coaches, the coordinators and the contest organisation can be viewed on the website.
• Every contestant must agree with the rules of the competition and must agree to accept the declaration of confidentiality.
• Entries remain the property of the legal owner. Contestants agree to accept that their declaration of participation and other entries will not be returned to them, and accept that their personal data will be available for statistical purposes. The contest organisation will destroy all entries for the 2011-2012 competition no later than October 1, 2013.
• Winners commit themselves to cooperate with the organization for the purpose of a press conference regarding the award ceremony. Every contestant will be asked to write a short summary (maximum of 50 words) on the 'sign up' page in the community for public purposes.

Article 5: Organization and Jury

• The New Venture business plan competition is an initiative of McKinsey&Company. The competition is organised under the authority of the New Venture Foundation. The Foundation consists of one member of McKinsey & Company, de Baak, the Advisory Board, the Jury and the Ministry of Economic Affairs. The competition is organised by de Baak, Management Centre VNO-NCW.
• The jury will be chosen by the New Venture Foundation from representatives of financial institutes and private investors.
• The organization will pre-screen all entries before the jury evaluation. The organization reserves the right to exclude entries that do not meet the terms of the particular round. The jury will assess the entries on uniqueness, growth potential, completeness, and practicality.

Article 6: Prizes and Award Ceremony

• Winning contestants must appear in person at award ceremony. They will be notified in due time.
• After a final evaluation, the winners of the third round will be announced on the day of the final award ceremony.

Article 7: Arbitration Board

• After an initial attempt at reconciliation, all disputes regarding the contest will be submitted to the New Venture Foundation arbitration board.
• The arbitration board will consist of 3 persons; a representative of the jury, a representative of the competition organization and a representative of the universities. The New Venture Foundation reserves the authority over the appointments to the board.
• A judgement of the board of arbitration is not binding. If the dispute is not settled by the judgement of the board of arbitration, the dispute will be dealt with in accordance with the Rules of Arbitration of the Netherlands Arbitration Institute. The board will consist of one arbitrator. The place of arbitration will be Amsterdam.

Article 8: Final articles

• The withholding of information or the giving of false or misleading information which results in a misrepresentation of facts regarding your participation in New Venture will result in disqualification.

With compliments to Thinktank/de Baak for their permission to use the rules and regulations of the contest "Starter of the year 1997".