Award Ts & Cs

Introduction:

Startup Awards North East (“The Awards”) are open to anyone over 16 years who are based within the North East who is ambitious and wants to be connected to the region's business community. There are 3 categories depending on your status and goals:

1. SkillUP- If you are curious about starting up a business but have not registered with Companies House or as a sole trader with HMRC.
2. StartUP- If you are a registered sole trader of business with Companies House and have been incorporated for less than 4 years at the date of the applicant submission and have a turnover of less than £15,000.
3. ScaleUP - If you are a registered sole trader of business with Companies House and have been incorporated for less than 4 years at the date of the applicant submission and have a turnover of more than £15,000.

Eligibility:

1. We will not accept applications from business owners that are involved with Multi-Level Marketing Schemes (MLMs). We define this as 'the sale of products or services in which the revenue of the MLM company is derived from a non-salaried sole trader, selling the company's products or services and for signing up new distributors.' 
2. Registered businesses and sole trader's date of incorporation must be within 4 years of the date of application submission.
3. For the purposes of The Awards ‘incorporation’ is defined as the date in which the business was registered at Companies House or registered with HMRC if a sole trader.
4. Persons who are not currently resident in the North East of England may enter the Awards if the primary business activity is registered, established and based within this region. The organiser of the competition, FIRST Face to Face ltd – trading as FIRST (“Organiser”), reserves the right to withhold prizes until this condition is met.
5. The North East of England is defined by these counties and unitary districts: 

• County Durham
• Darlington
• Hartlepool
• Middlesbrough
• Newcastle
• Northumberland
• North Tyneside
• Redcar and Cleveland
• Stockton-on-Tees
• South Tyneside
• Sunderland

Applications: 

1. Startup Awards North East, registered on www.startupawardsne.co.uk is administered by the organiser, FIRST: www.youarefirst.co.uk. 
2. Employees of FIRST, or anyone else connected with the competition, may not enter the competition. 
3. Startup businesses must be less than four years old. 
4. Entries will only be accepted via Startup Awards North East (www.startupawardsne.co.uk) website unless otherwise specified. 
5. We will only accept one entry per person. 
6. Multiple entries from the same user will only be entered once. 
7. We will accept (and encourage) previous applicants to apply however, if the applicant was shortlisted in a previous year in the same category they are applying for this year, this will void the application.  
8. All entries must be received in the requested format and within the specified time. 
9. Late or incomplete entries will not be allowed. 
10. No responsibility can be accepted for lost entries and proof of transmission will not be accepted as proof of receipt.

Data handling:

1. We will handle your data in accordance with our privacy policy. 
2. We will share your contact details with campaign partners only if you consent when submitting your competition entry online. 
3. By submitting an entry, you agree that we may use the data you submit in accordance with our privacy policy.

The finals:

1. The winners will be announced during the live finals event via a public vote.
2. Shortlisted finalists must be available to attend events face to face.
3. Notice will be given for the exact time of the event, but failure to attend will mean their place will be given to another, available finalist. 
4. Where a prize is offered it is subject to availability, non-transferable and there is no cash alternative.

Publicity:

1. By entering the Awards, the winners and finalists agree to the possible inclusion of their business idea in any media coverage by the Organiser and the Sponsors, such as press releases or publications. 
2. Approval of content will be sought before publication. 
3. The Organiser reserves the right to publicise the Awards through normal media channels, in all forms, for the duration of the Awards and for a period of 3 years after. 
4. No confidential details shall be used in publicity material without the permission of entrants or shared with third parties mentioned therein.