Frequently Asked Questions
GeneralApplication, Fees and Judging Process
Prizes
Eligibility and Rules
Judging Criteria
Intellectual Property and Inventions
Sponsorship
Accounts and Profiles
General
Q: Who is behind the competition?
A: The competition was started by a group of individuals who would like to accelerate the creation of clean tech companies in California. The group quickly realized that this organization should be taken to the national level, and 2009 marked the beginning of the national Cleantech Open. The entire organization is supported by a large number of generous sponsors. Click here for a complete list of our sponsors.
Q: What is the mission of the competition?
A: The mission of the Cleantech Open is to encourage the development of clean technology companies that foster a healthy natural environment - companies that provide environmental benefits in the areas of renewable energy, energy efficiency, pollution reduction and resource protection and conservation. The competition also serves as a platform to educate the public as well as the participants about the environmental challenges we face and new technologies that can provide solutions to those challenges.
Q: How does the competition work?
A: People interested in starting a cleantech company submit an application which includes an Executive Summary describing their business concept. From these Executive Summaries, a small group of semifinalist teams are selected. These semifinalist teams are provided free access to seminars and mentoring services over the summer. Near the end of the summer, all semifinalist teams submit a full business plan and present their concept to a judging panel. The top team in each category is named a Finalist and goes on to the National Awards Gala where the national winners are announced. The top teams receive a prize package of cash and services to help build their companies.
Application, Fees and Judging Process
Q: Who can enter the competition?
A: Anyone looking to turn their clean tech idea into a thriving business can apply. Teams must consist of one Team Leader and at least one other team member (two people total).
Q: Can I participate with more than one team?
A: Yes. Contestants may enter with multiple teams and may compete with multiple teams throughout the competition. However, judges reserve the right to consider whether the commitment level of the team to a particular submission is affected by the multiple entries. A contestant may only be the Team Leader of one team during a competition cycle.
Q: Can I enter my team into more than one category?
A: No. A team may only compete in one category. However, the same team members may form a different team and enter to compete in a different category, as long as the Team Leaders are different for each team.
Q: How do I enter the competition?
A: Click here for complete details.
Q: What does it cost to enter the competition?
A: Regular Registration Fees (before 11:59pm Pacific Time on May 22, 2010):
No refunds will be provided. Student teams must have at least one full-time student on the team to qualify for the student rate. All applications must be received by May 22, 2010 (11:59pm Pacific Time).
The fee is for one team to enter one category. Each individual team entered into the competition must pay the full entry fee.Q: How do I pay my application fee?
A: You can pay your application fee by credit card through our online payment system.
To pay by, you must first register on our website and create a team. Once this is done, login, select the "Please Pay Entry Fee" option, and follow the instructions.
Q: What happens to my application fee?
A: The competition is a nonprofit endeavor. The is a small full-time staff supported by over 500 volunteers. Many sponsor and partner organizations have donated cash, time, services and materials to make the competition possible. In addition to the cash needed for this year's competition prizes, we need to raise funds to cover all other expenses. Generous sponsors and donors have donated the prize money, while application fees go towards covering other expenses.
Q: What does the $249 participation payment go towards?
A: Each member of a semifinalist team is required to pay a $249 participation fee upon the announcement of the semifinalists on June 15, 2010. This fee goes to cover the costs of the Training Program, including, but not limited to, educational materials, venue fees, printed collateral, speaker fees and more. The tuition fee does not cover any travel and incurred expenses by the semifinalist team members.
Q: How do I submit my executive summary?
A: Executive Summaries are submitted online by uploading them to the competition website. To upload your executive summary, you must first register on our website and have created your team. Once this is done, log in, select the "Please Upload Executive Summary" option, and follow the instructions. Please do not send us your executive summary by e-mail or the postal service.
Q: Can I change my executive summary after it is already submitted?
A: Yes, you can change your executive summary as many times as you like before 11:59pm Pacific Time on May 22, 2010.
Q: Will I receive feedback on my application?
A: Yes, you will receive limited feedback on the sections of the executive summary that need improvement. In addition, events organized by the Cleantech Open are good opportunities to receive informal feedback from experts in the field.
Q: I can't log into my Cleantech Open account.
A: Make sure you are currently logged out by clicking the "Logout" link next to the banner at the top. If it says "Log In", you are already logged out, so you can ignore this step. Close all of your browser windows. Open your browser again and try to log in on our site. If this does not work, delete the cookies in your browser and log in again.
Q: What services and benefits will finalists receive?
A: Click here for all the benefits and services teams receive.
Q: Assuming my entry is competitive, what are my chances of being a finalist and then winning a prize?
A: Each region is looking to recruit a different number of contestants, though the ratio of semifinalists to original contestants will be even to maintain consistency and fairness.
Prizes
Q: How many prizes and what is included?
A: Each regional finalize will receive a prize package worth $30,000 in cash and services. One national winner will receive a prize package worth $250,000 in investment and additional services.
Q: Are there any restrictions on how the cash prizes are used?
A: Yes. The cash must be used to pursue the business as described in your business plan.
Q: The in-kind service provides are not located in the same city I am. How do I benefit from winning these prizes if I am not located near these companies?
A: All service providers are willing to provide their services via telephone and e-mail. A complete list of service sponsors will be announced soon.
Eligibility and Rules
Q: Is my company eligible for the competition?
A: Click here for complete details.
Q: I am not located in any state included in a current region. Can I still enter a regional competition?
A: Yes, contestants from anywhere may apply to one regional competition. There is no required for semifinalists or winners to relocate to the competition location.
Q: Can I enter in any region?
A: Yes, but you may only enter in one regional competition per year. Teams found to be competing in multiple competitions may not be eligible to continue competing in either region. If you live in a state that has a regional competition, you are encouraged to apply to that regional competition, to better connect with the local network, receive in-person mentoring, and more easily travel to events.
Q: Do I have to give anything back to Cleantech Open, such as equity, if I win?
A: No. The Cleantech Open competition awards prizes in cash and services, without requiring any payback or investment. The only rules that pertain to winners deal with direct use of services, which must be used within one year of winning, and cash, which must be applied directly to the winning business.
Judging Criteria
Q: Our team has a breakthrough idea/technology, but we do not have a working prototype. Do we have a fair chance to win?
A: The Cleantech Open Business Competition is for business and not ideas. If you are still in the idea stage, please check out our Ideas Competition. In the Business Competition, your team must demonstrate that your technology and/or idea are feasible and that they can be made commercially available in the short-term regardless of whether or not a prototype currently exists. Proven feasibility is a requirement to have a high chance to win the competition. From the pool of teams that demonstrated a convincing case of feasibility, our judges will choose the team with the most innovative and with the highest economic and environmental/social impact as the winner for each category. If your team feels that your technology/idea is ripe for commercial application but you are experiencing trouble demonstrating feasibility, please consult with our organizers in one of our workshops.
Q: Although my team has not received any VC funding and do not plan to fundraise heavily before the end of the competition cycle, we have been approached by some investors already and we believe that there is high likelihood of us having access to large investments in the near future. Do we have to prove that we "need" the competition to increase our likelihood of winning?
A: Our judges evaluate entries based on their merit. We want your team to tell us how you plan to take advantage of our prizes, but our decision will be affected mainly by your performance in the competition.
Q: Our startup will have tremendous environmental impact but our projected financial results are not too strong. Are we at disadvantage in comparison to other teams that have higher returns in the short-term?
A: Ideally, our winners will have the highest overall potential in terms of combined environmental and financial impact. In order to win the competition, your team needs to demonstrate financial sustainability. At this time, we discourage nonprofits from applying, but we hope in the future to have a category to address those types of startups. Please note that a number of teams that participated in the competition in the past underestimated the potential market for their business. We encourage entrants to give some thought to all of the potential applications of their business and to address their market in an expansive way. Please attend our workshops to learn how you might improve your financials to increase your chances to win the competition.
Q: We incorporated our startup a few years ago. Although we are still in startup mode, we have existed for a while. Is the fact that we are an old startup and/or that we have participated in/won other business competitions going to hurt our chances to win the Cleantech Open Competition?
A: Our judges will want to understand why your company has not been able to make substantial progress since you started. You will need to prove that you understand what the problems were, and that you have a convincing plan and the ability to fix these issues in the near future. If appropriate, you may state how the competition will help you address any obstacles. Based on this information, our judges will evaluate your entry relative to other submissions. Whether your team has or has not won any prior business competitions is irrelevant to the judging panels. The most innovative team with the highest combined environmental and financial potential will win.
Q: Our team is addressing an environmental problem that requires more than five years to scale up and to become financially attractive. Do we have a chance to win the competition?
A: We're looking at startups that have solid financial and technical scale-up plans within a five year horizon. If your current solution does not meet this time frame, we encourage your team to focus on an aspect of the problem that will render a commercially viable product or service in less than five years for our competition.
Intellectual Property and Inventions
Q: How will contestants be assured that their technologies, concepts, and inventions will not be stolen during the contest?
A: We appreciate your concern regarding this very sensitive matter. Our judges will handle the executive summaries and business plans that we receive with caution. However, the judges, sponsors, partners and Cleantech Open organizers will not enter into a non-disclosure agreement with any entrant and by entering the competition, each entrant will acknowledge that information provided by such entrant is at risk of disclosure. The disclosure of any information regarding your intellectual property may constitute a "public disclosure" that adversely impacts your potential rights. If you have valuable intellectual property, please seek legal advice prior to submitting your application. Practically, we expect that most entrants will be able to present a compelling business case without divulging unprotected proprietary information.
Sponsorship
Q: How can I learn more about becoming a sponsor?
A: Click here to learn more about sponsor opportunities.
Account Questions
Q: I already registered last year. Do I need to register again?
A: You do not need to register again, but please login to your account to update your profile and let us know if you intend to compete in this year's competition. If you did not create a password last year, you can still use the password reset function to obtain a password.
Q: I did not receive a confirmation email after registration.
A: Check your spam/junk folder. If the email is not there, please contact our webmaster.
In addition, please be sure to add
notifications@cleantechopen.com
to your address book to ensure that you continue to receive email communications
from the Cleantech Open.
Q: What if I have other problems?
A: Contact our webmaster. Please be specific in your message, and describe any error messages you see.
