Frequently Asked Questions

Eligible to participate

(a) Individuals (or teams), existing business owners, students, researchers, or anyone with a

sustainable business or concept.

(b) Sustainability of the business or concept will be determined in the absolute and sole unfettered

discretion of the Committee and/or Judges.

(i) must have one or more member living, working or attending school in the Challenge Region;

(ii) must have one member designated as the Team Leader

(d) Existing business:

(i) must have between one and twenty employees (including the business owner);

(ii) annual revenues between $5,000 to $500,000 and $10,000 to $500,000 in capitalization;

(iii) must be expanding their service or developing a new product line. The Participant must

certify this information to be true on May 29, 2008 and again on July 18, 2008.

(e) The proposed business must be located in the Challenge Region.

(f) All business plans must be submitted no later than 4:00 pm on May 29, 2008 for the

team or individual to be eligible.

Ineligible to participate

A Participant is ineligible to participate in the Challenge if he or she:

(a) does not meet all the eligibility requirements;

(b) has won cash and/or prizes as a finalist in a similar Entrepreneur Challenge;

or any partner or business associate of a judge, staff member (or staff equivalent), or any of the

immediate family of the above that are on a team, is a Mentor in the current competition year or

operates with some formal business relationship with a Participant;

(d) solicits Mentors and/or judges directly in which case the Participant will be disqualified;

(e) has won first place in the Challenge in the past five years;

(f) exhibits conduct which is unlawful, would reflect poorly on the reputation of the Challenge, is harmful

with malicious intent to any of the sponsors in any way, or for any other reason at the discretion of the

Organizing Committee;

(g) submits a plan that:

(i) does not meet the minimum submission guidelines as published above and on the website.

(ii) exceeds the maximum length for any section outlined in this handbook.

(iii) uses a font, heading, line length, or margins in such a way that the amount of text on any given page exceeds the limit available using the recommended page setup and font specifications;

(iv) does not have a signed Participant Agreement, Nondisclosure Agreement and

Plan Submission Checklist.

(v) Does not agree to the terms and conditions outlined in this handbook.

Participants and Contestants. Teams are a group of individuals who are intending to submit

a business plan (note: only one concept per team). They will be able to attend seminars (limit

of up to four team members), contact mentors (team captain only) and submit a plan.

Individual Participants are those individuals who have registered and are not on a team, but

MAY wish to join a team. Individual Participants are participants who do not have additional

team members but are able to attend seminars, have access to mentors (provided they have

a business concept), and submit a plan. Contestants are those individuals intending to

submit a business plan on May 9, 2008 but who are not interested in participating in

any other aspect of the Chinook Entrepreneur Challenge process. Contestants do not receive

access to mentorship and are not permitted to attend the business plan seminar series

All groups must be registered before August 10 to be eligible to submit a business plan for judging.

Program, Chinook Entrepreneur Challenge has compiled useful business links under the

team. However, you should ensure that all applicable skill areas have been filled prior to plan

submission to ensure that you are submitting the best possible plan. Mentors are also

concept/business plan through the Chinook Entrepreneur Challenge process. If you are an

interested individual without a concept who is serious about attending the seminars, please

13. How do I choose a mentor?
Mentors will be involved in the program to help Participants develop their business plans. Mentors provide

advice and consultation, drawing on their own business expertise. Mentors will represent a broad range of

industries and therefore provide a variety of expertise and experience relating to their specific background.

As a result, the Mentor and the Participant must discuss the value that is desired from the relationship

before they agree to work together. The Organizing Committee is in no way responsible for guaranteeing,

monitoring, or in any way facilitating the meetings, relationship building, or value that is being offered by any

parties involved in Mentor relationships. The Organizing Committee cannot guarantee that all Participants

will be paired with a Mentor. Mentors decide whether they will work with the Participants.

The Mentor’s only obligation is to provide feedback to the Participant regarding their business concept and business plan. Participants must not request or expect any time beyond the amount that a Mentor is willing to provide. The Mentor is not required to work according to the Participant’s schedule. The Mentor is under no obligation to the Participant upon the conclusion of the Challenge.

Participants interested in the Mentor program must sign up at one of the first three seminars. The Committee will then match a mentor with the participant. A Mentor is under NO obligation to agree to work with anyone. The Participants must ensure that their potential Mentor’s skill set, time availability, and past experience are appropriate to assist them with their business plan. Provided the Mentor is in agreement the relationship is expected to continue for the duration of the current year’s Challenge until Business Plan Submission Deadline.

Once a Mentor and individual decide to work together, they must inform the Organizing Committee