OFFICIAL RULES & TERMS AND CONDITIONS
FLASH STARTUP PITCH COMPETITION — AUGUST 2026
NO PURCHASE, PAYMENT, DONATION, INVESTMENT, SUBSCRIPTION, OR ENTRY FEE IS NECESSARY TO ENTER OR WIN. A PURCHASE OR PAYMENT WILL NOT INCREASE AN ENTRANT’S CHANCES OF WINNING.
VOID WHERE PROHIBITED OR RESTRICTED BY LAW.
By submitting an entry to the FLASH Startup Pitch Competition, you agree to these Official Rules & Terms and Conditions.
1. SPONSOR AND ADMINISTRATOR
The sponsor and administrator of the FLASH Startup Pitch Competition is:
Unbridled Media LLC, doing business as FLASH Startups
A Kentucky limited liability company
525 Angliana Avenue, Suite 8204B, Lexington, KY, 40508
info@flashentrepreneurship.com
Unbridled Media LLC DBA FLASH Startups is referred to in these Official Rules as the “Sponsor,” “Administrator,” “FLASH,” or “FLASH Startups.”
2. COMPETITION PERIOD
The August 2026 FLASH Startup Pitch Competition begins at:
12:00 a.m. Eastern Time on July 22, 2026
and ends at:
11:59 p.m. Eastern Time on August 31, 2026
This period is referred to as the “Competition Period.”
The Sponsor’s computer systems and submission platform will serve as the official timekeeping devices for the Competition.
Entries received before or after the Competition Period are ineligible unless the Sponsor publicly extends the submission deadline in accordance with these Official Rules.
3. AGREEMENT TO THE OFFICIAL RULES
By submitting an entry, application, pitch, video, or other competition material, each entrant agrees to be fully and unconditionally bound by these Official Rules.
Each entrant represents and warrants that:
The entrant satisfies all eligibility requirements;
The information submitted is accurate and complete;
The entrant has the legal authority to submit the entry;
The entrant agrees to the Sponsor’s decisions regarding eligibility, administration, judging, and verification; and
The entrant has reviewed the Sponsor’s applicable Privacy Policy.
Failure to comply with these Official Rules may result in disqualification.
4. ELIGIBLE ENTRANTS
An entrant must be a natural person who is at least eighteen years old or has reached the legal age of majority in the entrant’s primary jurisdiction of residence, whichever age is greater.
An entrant may submit a pitch on behalf of:
An unincorporated startup project;
A startup team;
A sole proprietorship;
A corporation;
A limited liability company;
A partnership; or
Another legally recognized business entity.
Only one natural person may be designated as the official entrant and primary representative for each entry.
The designated entrant must have authorization from the startup, company, founders, and team members to submit the entry, represent the startup in the Competition, grant the rights described in these Official Rules, and receive or direct payment of the prize.
The Sponsor may require written evidence of this authorization.
5. ELIGIBLE JURISDICTIONS
The Competition is open only to eligible legal residents of the following jurisdictions:
United States of America;
Canada;
United Kingdom, including England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland;
Ireland;
Netherlands;
Australia;
New Zealand;
Israel;
India;
Singapore;
Japan; and
South Korea.
Residents of jurisdictions not expressly listed above are not eligible.
The Sponsor may exclude any country, state, province, territory, locality, person, or entity where offering the Competition, accepting an entry, or paying the prize would:
Violate applicable law;
Require a registration, permit, bond, license, or approval that the Sponsor has not obtained;
Violate sanctions or financial-services restrictions;
Prevent the Sponsor from lawfully verifying the entrant;
Prevent the Sponsor from lawfully transferring the prize; or
Subject the Sponsor to requirements it cannot reasonably satisfy.
The Competition is void where prohibited or restricted by law.
6. STARTUP FUNDING AND REVENUE REQUIREMENTS
To be eligible, the startup or project represented in the entry must satisfy the following requirements as of 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time on August 31, 2026:
6.1 External-funding limit
The startup must not have received more than US$250,000 in total lifetime External Funding.
“External Funding” includes cash or cash-equivalent financing received from persons or entities other than the startup’s founders, including:
Venture-capital investments;
Angel investments;
Equity investments;
Simple agreements for future equity;
Convertible notes;
Business loans;
Crowdfunding proceeds;
Accelerator or incubator investments;
Grants;
Awards; and
Previous cash competition prizes.
Unless the Sponsor determines that an arrangement was structured to evade the eligibility requirements, External Funding does not include:
Capital contributed personally by the startup’s founders;
Ordinary business credit-card balances;
Ordinary trade credit from vendors;
Non-cash professional services;
Cloud-computing credits;
Discounts;
Free software access; or
Other non-cash promotional benefits.
.
7. INELIGIBLE PERSONS
The following persons are not eligible to enter or win:
Owners, officers, employees, contractors, or agents of the Sponsor who are directly involved in administering the Competition;
Competition judges;
Immediate family members or household members of Competition judges;
Immediate family members or household members of Sponsor personnel directly involved in administering or judging the Competition;
Anyone who participated in creating or administering the Competition in a manner that would provide an unfair advantage;
Persons or entities subject to applicable economic sanctions or appearing on an applicable restricted-party list;
Persons located in a jurisdiction in which payment is prohibited; and
Anyone prohibited from participating under applicable law.
“Immediate family” includes a spouse, domestic partner, parent, child, sibling, grandparent, and grandchild, including step-relations.
8. HOW TO ENTER
To enter, an eligible entrant must:
Complete the official FLASH Startup Pitch Competition application;
Provide all required information;
Submit the required pitch video, pitch materials, or other requested content;
Submit the entry during the Competition Period; and
Accept these Official Rules and acknowledge the applicable Privacy Policy.
There is no entry fee.
Unless the Sponsor expressly states otherwise, only one entry may be submitted for each substantially identical startup or business concept during the Competition Period.
Multiple founders may not submit separate entries for the same startup.
Entries generated through fraud, scripts, bots, automated systems, mass-submission tools, multiple identities, misleading information, or other improper methods are prohibited.
The Sponsor is not responsible for submissions that are late, incomplete, corrupted, misdirected, unreadable, inaccessible, technically defective, or not successfully received.
9. ENTRY REQUIREMENTS
Each entry must:
Be submitted by an eligible entrant;
Accurately represent the startup or project;
Be the entrant’s original work or be used with all necessary permissions;
Comply with the submission instructions;
Comply with applicable law;
Not infringe any intellectual-property, privacy, publicity, confidentiality, contractual, or other right;
Not contain defamatory, fraudulent, threatening, discriminatory, obscene, unlawful, or misleading material;
Not impersonate another person or entity;
Not contain malicious software or harmful code;
Not disclose confidential information belonging to another person or entity without authorization; and
Not contain claims the entrant knows to be false or materially misleading.
The Sponsor may reject or disqualify an entry that it reasonably believes violates these requirements.
10. PROHIBITED INDUSTRIES AND ACTIVITIES
The Sponsor may reject entries involving activities that are illegal, fraudulent, deceptive, unsafe, exploitative, or inconsistent with the Sponsor’s financial-service, advertising, or platform obligations.
Prohibited entries include startups primarily engaged in:
Illegal gambling;
Unlicensed lotteries;
Fraud or deceptive financial schemes;
Money laundering;
Sanctions evasion;
Trafficking in illegal drugs;
Illegal weapons;
Terrorist financing;
Human exploitation;
Malware, ransomware, or unauthorized computer access;
Counterfeit goods;
Unlawful financial services; or
Any activity prohibited by applicable law.
The Sponsor may request additional information before determining whether an entry is eligible.
11. JUDGING PROCESS
All eligible entries will be evaluated based on skill and merit.
Chance, random selection, drawings, lotteries, and wagering will play no part in selecting the winner.
Eligible entries will be evaluated using the following criteria:
Market need and customer understanding — 25%
The extent to which the entrant identifies a meaningful customer problem, understands the intended customer, and demonstrates credible demand.
Business model and commercial viability — 25%
The clarity, sustainability, scalability, and practical viability of the startup’s business model.
Evidence, validation, or traction — 20%
The quality of evidence supporting the concept, which may include customer interviews, users, revenue, pilots, partnerships, prototypes, letters of intent, or other validation.
Innovation or competitive advantage — 15%
The extent to which the startup is differentiated and possesses a credible advantage over existing or potential alternatives.
Pitch clarity and founder execution — 15%
The clarity and persuasiveness of the pitch and the entrant’s demonstrated ability to execute the proposed business.
The maximum available score is 100 points.
Judges may review submissions independently or as a panel. The Sponsor may appoint, remove, or replace judges when reasonably necessary, provided that replacement judges use the published criteria.
Judges must disclose material conflicts of interest and may be required to recuse themselves from evaluating affected entries.
12. TIE-BREAKING PROCEDURE
If two or more entries receive the same total score, the tied entry with the higher Business Model and Commercial Viability score will rank higher.
If the entries remain tied, the entry with the higher Market Need and Customer Understanding score will rank higher.
If the entries remain tied after both tie-breakers, an additional qualified judge who did not previously score the tied entries will evaluate the tied entries using the same published criteria.
No random tie-breaking method will be used.
13. NUMBER OF PRIZES AND APPROXIMATE VALUE
One verified winner will receive one gross cash prize of:
US$2,500
The total approximate retail value of all prizes offered in the Competition is US$2,500.
An entrant’s chance of winning depends on:
The number of eligible entries received;
The quality of the entrant’s submission;
The entrant’s score under the published judging criteria; and
The scores received by other eligible entrants.
Because the winner is selected based on skill, numerical odds of winning cannot be calculated in advance.
14. POTENTIAL-WINNER NOTIFICATION
The highest-scoring eligible entrant will be identified as the potential winner.
The potential winner is expected to be notified within seven calendar days of contest closure.
Notification may be sent through email, telephone, social media, the submission platform, or another contact method provided by the entrant.
The potential winner must respond within seven calendar days after the Sponsor sends the notification unless the Sponsor provides a different deadline in writing.
A potential winner is not an official winner until the Sponsor has completed verification and confirmed the winner in writing.
15. WINNER VERIFICATION
Before being confirmed or receiving the prize, the potential winner may be required to provide:
Government-issued identification;
Proof of age;
Proof of legal residence;
Contact information;
Startup-ownership or team-authorization documents;
Evidence supporting the funding and revenue requirements;
Tax forms;
Banking information;
A declaration or affidavit of eligibility;
A liability and publicity release where lawful;
Information required for sanctions or restricted-party screening; and
Any other documentation reasonably required to verify eligibility and lawfully administer the Competition.
A potential winner may be disqualified for:
Failing to respond by the stated deadline;
Failing to provide requested documents;
Providing false, misleading, inconsistent, or incomplete information;
Failing eligibility verification;
Being unable to lawfully receive the prize;
Being subject to applicable sanctions;
Violating these Official Rules; or
Refusing to complete reasonably required tax or payment documentation.
Disqualified entrants will be notified by the Sponsor.
If the potential winner is disqualified, forfeits the prize, or cannot receive the prize, the Sponsor may select the next-highest-scoring eligible entrant.
16. PAYMENT OF THE PRIZE
The verified winner will receive a gross cash prize of US$2,500.
The prize is expected to be initiated within fifteen business days after the winner:
Completes verification;
Provides all requested tax and payment information;
Signs any required documents; and
Receives written confirmation as the official winner.
Payment may be made through:
The Sponsor currently expects to initiate payment through its Mercury business-banking account, but it does not guarantee the use or availability of any specific bank, platform, payment rail, or transfer method.
The winner must maintain an account capable of lawfully receiving the payment method selected by the Sponsor. The Sponsor may, in its discretion, pay the prize to the verified entrant personally or to an eligible business entity represented by the entrant after receiving satisfactory payment and ownership documentation.
The winner may not demand payment through cryptocurrency, cash, gift cards, or any particular financial platform.
The Sponsor’s obligation is satisfied when it properly initiates the payment for the amount due after any legally required withholding.
17. TAXES, WITHHOLDING, AND BANK FEES
The prize is stated as a gross prize amount, not a guaranteed net payment.
The prize may be subject to:
Federal, state, provincial, territorial, local, or international taxes;
Legally required tax withholding;
Currency-conversion charges;
Recipient-bank fees;
Intermediary-bank fees;
SWIFT fees;
Transfer fees; and
Other processing charges outside the Sponsor’s control.
The Sponsor may deduct or withhold amounts when required by applicable law.
The Sponsor does not guarantee that the winner will receive exactly US$2,500 after required withholding, bank deductions, or currency conversion.
The winner is responsible for reporting the prize and paying all taxes for which the winner is legally responsible.
A United States winner may be required to complete IRS Form W-9 and may receive IRS Form 1099-MISC or another applicable tax form. IRS guidance identifies prizes and awards as reportable on Form 1099-MISC in applicable circumstances.
A non-US winner may be required to complete IRS Form W-8BEN, Form W-8BEN-E, or other applicable tax documentation.
The Sponsor does not provide entrants or winners with tax, financial, immigration, or legal advice.
18. INTELLECTUAL-PROPERTY OWNERSHIP
Entrants retain ownership of the original intellectual property contained in their submissions.
Participation does not transfer ownership of an entrant’s:
Entrants are responsible for protecting their intellectual property before submitting an entry.
The Sponsor does not provide patent, trademark, copyright, trade-secret, or other intellectual-property protection.
19. NON-CONFIDENTIAL SUBMISSIONS
Entries and pitch materials will be reviewed on a non-confidential basis.
Entrants should not submit trade secrets, confidential information, source code, protected customer data, or other information that cannot safely be disclosed to the Sponsor, its staff, contractors, administrators, or judges.
Unless the Sponsor enters into a separate written agreement expressly providing otherwise:
The Sponsor is not accepting an entry in confidence;
Judges and administrators are not subject to confidentiality obligations;
Submission does not create a fiduciary, advisory, partnership, employment, or confidential relationship; and
The Sponsor may already be aware of or independently develop concepts similar to an entrant’s submission.
20. LICENSE TO ADMINISTER AND PROMOTE THE COMPETITION
By entering, each entrant grants the Sponsor a non-exclusive, worldwide, royalty-free license to access, host, store, reproduce, format, review, and share the submission with Sponsor personnel, contractors, and judges solely as reasonably necessary to administer, evaluate, document, and operate the Competition.
To the extent an entrant submits materials that are identified at the time of submission as public-facing pitch materials, the entrant also grants the Sponsor a non-exclusive, worldwide, royalty-free license to display, reproduce, edit for length or formatting, and promote the following:
The Sponsor may use these materials on its website, newsletter, social-media accounts, email marketing, competition recaps, and other FLASH promotional channels.
The Sponsor will not knowingly publish materials clearly designated as private unless publication is separately authorized or reasonably required by law.
This license does not transfer ownership of the underlying submission.
21. NAME, LIKENESS, AND PUBLICITY
Where permitted by law, the verified winner grants the Sponsor permission to publish the winner’s:
Name;
Photograph;
Image;
Voice;
City, state, province, or country;
Startup name;
Startup logo;
Pitch;
Biographical information; and
Statements concerning the Competition.
These materials may be used for Competition-related publicity without additional compensation.
Where local law requires separate consent, the Sponsor will request that consent before using the materials.
22. PRIVACY
The Sponsor may collect and process personal information to:
Receive and evaluate entries;
Communicate with entrants;
Confirm eligibility;
Prevent fraud;
Conduct judging;
Verify the winner;
Screen for sanctions and financial restrictions;
Issue tax documents;
Transfer the prize;
Publish authorized Competition materials;
Maintain Competition records; and
Comply with legal obligations.
Personal information may be shared with service providers, judges, professional advisers, financial institutions, payment processors, tax providers, technology vendors, regulators, and government authorities when reasonably necessary.
International entrants acknowledge that their information may be transferred to and processed in the United States.
The Sponsor’s separate Privacy Policy must describe the categories of information collected, purposes of processing, retention practices, international transfers, individual rights, and contact procedures.
Entrants must be provided privacy information when their personal information is collected. UK privacy guidance expressly treats notice at the time of collection as a transparency requirement.
Acceptance of these Official Rules does not constitute consent to unrelated promotional email marketing. Any newsletter or promotional-marketing enrollment must be presented separately where required by law.
23. DISQUALIFICATION AND ENFORCEMENT
The Sponsor may disqualify an entrant who:
Violates these Official Rules;
Attempts to manipulate judging or voting;
Harasses, threatens, bribes, or improperly contacts judges;
Submits false information;
Misrepresents funding, revenue, ownership, residence, or age;
Uses multiple identities or unauthorized entries;
Infringes another party’s rights;
Interferes with the Competition platform;
Engages in fraud or misconduct;
Obtains an unfair advantage;
Attempts to evade sanctions or payment controls; or
Acts in a manner that materially undermines the Competition’s integrity.
The Sponsor may preserve records and refer suspected unlawful conduct to appropriate authorities.
24. ADMINISTRATIVE DECISIONS
The Sponsor’s decisions concerning routine administration, eligibility verification, compliance with these Official Rules, and application of the published judging criteria are final to the fullest extent permitted by law.
Nothing in this section eliminates rights or remedies that cannot lawfully be waived.
The Sponsor will not retroactively alter scores merely because it disagrees with a judge’s good-faith evaluation.
25. TECHNICAL FAILURES
The Sponsor is not responsible for:
Internet outages;
Platform failures;
File corruption;
Failed uploads;
Email filtering;
Incorrect contact information;
Device incompatibility;
Telecommunications failures;
Cyberattacks;
Unauthorized interference;
Lost or delayed transmissions; or
Other technical problems outside its reasonable control.
An entrant is responsible for confirming that the entry was successfully submitted.
26. SUSPENSION, MODIFICATION, OR CANCELLATION
The Sponsor may suspend, modify, postpone, or cancel the Competition when fraud, technical failure, cyberattack, sanctions, legal restrictions, force majeure, platform failure, or circumstances beyond the Sponsor’s reasonable control materially impair the Competition’s integrity, security, feasibility, or lawful operation.
The Sponsor will not materially reduce the announced prize or change the published judging criteria after eligible entries have been received unless:
When reasonably practical, the Sponsor will publish notice of a material change.
27. RELEASE AND LIMITATION OF LIABILITY
To the fullest extent permitted by applicable law, entrants release the Sponsor and its owners, officers, employees, contractors, judges, representatives, and agents from claims arising directly from participation in the Competition or acceptance and use of the prize.
This release does not apply to:
Fraud;
Willful misconduct;
Gross negligence;
Death or personal injury caused by negligence where liability cannot be excluded;
Violations of mandatory consumer rights; or
Any liability that cannot legally be excluded or limited.
To the fullest extent permitted by law, the Sponsor will not be responsible for indirect, incidental, special, exemplary, punitive, or consequential damages arising from participation in the Competition.
28. INDEMNIFICATION
To the fullest extent permitted by applicable law, each entrant agrees to indemnify and hold harmless the Sponsor from third-party claims arising from:
The entrant’s breach of these Official Rules;
False representations made by the entrant;
The entrant’s lack of authority to submit the entry;
The entry’s infringement of another party’s rights;
The entrant’s unlawful conduct; or
The entrant’s unauthorized disclosure of confidential or personal information.
This provision does not require an entrant to indemnify the Sponsor for the Sponsor’s fraud, willful misconduct, gross negligence, or liability that cannot legally be limited.
29. NO EMPLOYMENT, INVESTMENT, OR PARTNERSHIP RELATIONSHIP
Participation does not create:
An employment relationship;
A partnership;
A joint venture;
An agency relationship;
An advisory relationship;
An investment commitment;
A funding obligation;
A fiduciary relationship; or
A promise of future business opportunities.
The Sponsor is not obligated to invest in, acquire, promote, employ, advise, or continue communicating with any entrant.
30. GOVERNING LAW
Except where prohibited by mandatory local law, these Official Rules and disputes arising from the Competition will be governed by the laws of the Commonwealth of Kentucky, United States, without regard to conflict-of-law principles. Any legal proceedings arising from this contest shall be brought exclusively in the courts located in Fayette County, Kentucky.
Nothing in these Official Rules deprives an entrant of mandatory consumer protections or other legal rights that cannot be waived under the laws of the entrant’s jurisdiction.
31. SEVERABILITY
If any provision of these Official Rules is held invalid, unlawful, or unenforceable, that provision will be enforced to the maximum extent permitted or severed if necessary.
The remaining provisions will remain in effect.
32. NO WAIVER
The Sponsor’s failure to enforce a provision of these Official Rules does not waive its right to enforce that provision or any other provision later.
33. WINNER INFORMATION
After the winner has been verified and publicly announced, the Sponsor may publish the winner’s name, startup name, country, and winning pitch through FLASH Startups’ website, newsletter, or social-media channels, subject to applicable law.
Requests regarding winner information may be submitted to:
info@flashentrepreneurship.com
34. CONTACT
Questions concerning the Competition or these Official Rules may be directed to:
Unbridled Media LLC DBA FLASH Startups
525 Angliana Avenue, Suite 8204B, Lexington, KY, 40508
info@flashentrepreneurship.com
Please include "August 2026 Contest" in the subject line of your email.
FLASH STARTUPS PRIVACY POLICY
Effective date: July 22, 2026
Last updated: July 22, 2026
Unbridled Media LLC, doing business as FLASH Startups (“FLASH,” “FLASH Startups,” “we,” “us,” or “our”), respects your privacy and is committed to explaining how we collect, use, disclose, store, and protect personal information.
This Privacy Policy applies to:
The FLASH Startups website;
FLASH Startup Pitch Competitions;
Competition applications and pitch submissions;
Newsletters and other communications;
Sponsor, investor, judge, mentor, and community programs;
Social-media and other FLASH media channels; and
Other services that link to this Privacy Policy.
By using our website or submitting information to FLASH Startups, you acknowledge the practices described in this Privacy Policy.
1. WHO CONTROLS YOUR INFORMATION
The organization responsible for the personal information covered by this Privacy Policy is:
Unbridled Media LLC DBA FLASH Startups
A Kentucky limited liability company
Kentucky, United States
For purposes of applicable privacy laws, Unbridled Media LLC generally acts as the controller or business responsible for determining why and how personal information is processed.
2. INFORMATION WE COLLECT
The information we collect depends on how you interact with FLASH Startups.
2.1 Contact and identity information
We may collect:
Full name;
Email address;
Telephone number;
Country, state, province, or region;
City;
Age or confirmation that you meet the applicable age requirement;
Social-media profiles;
Professional profile links;
Photograph, image, voice, or likeness; and
Other information you provide about yourself.
2.2 Startup and pitch information
When you enter a competition or communicate with FLASH, we may collect:
Startup or project name;
Website and social-media links;
Startup logo;
Founder and team-member information;
Business description;
Industry or market category;
Customer problem and proposed solution;
Product information;
Business model;
Target market;
Funding history;
Revenue information;
User, customer, or traction information;
Accelerator, grant, award, or investment history;
Pitch deck;
Pitch video;
Product screenshots or demonstrations;
Supporting documents;
Competition responses;
Judge scores and feedback; and
Other information included in your submission.
You should not submit confidential trade secrets, source code, sensitive customer information, protected health information, financial-account credentials, government identification numbers, or information that you are not authorized to disclose.
Competition submissions are reviewed on a non-confidential basis unless FLASH expressly agrees otherwise in a separate written agreement.
2.3 Verification and prize-payment information
Potential winners may be asked to provide:
Government-issued identification;
Proof of age or residence;
Tax forms or tax-identification information;
Bank-account or payment information;
Business-ownership or authorization documents;
Financial records supporting eligibility;
Signed eligibility declarations or releases; and
Information required for fraud, sanctions, legal, or compliance screening.
We collect this information only when reasonably necessary to verify eligibility, administer the competition, comply with law, or transfer a prize.
2.4 Website and device information
When you visit our website, we and our service providers may automatically collect:
Internet Protocol address;
Browser type;
Device type;
Operating system;
Approximate geographic location;
Pages viewed;
Referring website;
Visit dates and times;
Links clicked;
Cookie identifiers;
Session information; and
Other information about how the website is accessed and used.
Squarespace may use necessary, functional, security, analytics, and performance cookies in connection with hosting and operating our website. Squarespace explains that certain analytics cookies support measurements such as visitor traffic and traffic sources.
2.5 Communications and newsletter information
We may collect information when you:
Subscribe to a newsletter;
Contact FLASH;
Respond to a survey;
Attend an event;
Interact with an email;
Submit a question;
Communicate through social media; or
Request information about sponsorships, judging, investing, or partnerships.
This information may include your contact details, message contents, communication preferences, email-delivery status, opens, and link clicks.
3. HOW WE COLLECT INFORMATION
We may collect information:
Directly from you;
Through Tally forms;
Through Google products such as Google Forms, Google Drive, Google Sheets, Gmail, or Google Workspace;
Through our Squarespace website;
From your startup teammates or authorized representatives;
From judges, sponsors, mentors, and investors;
From public websites and professional social-media profiles;
Through cookies and similar technologies; and
From other service providers used to administer FLASH programs.
Tally, Google, and Squarespace process information according to their own contractual and privacy terms. Tally states that it is based in Belgium and provides data-processing terms for customers using its form services.
4. HOW WE USE INFORMATION
We may use personal information to:
4.1 Operate competitions
This includes:
Receiving and organizing entries;
Determining eligibility;
Communicating with participants;
Reviewing and judging pitches;
Preventing duplicate or fraudulent entries;
Managing judges and conflicts of interest;
Selecting and verifying potential winners;
Paying prizes;
Publishing competition results; and
Maintaining competition records.
4.2 Share startup opportunities
We may use and share pitch information to:
Introduce startups to investors;
Introduce startups to sponsors;
Present startups to judges, mentors, accelerators, service providers, and ecosystem partners;
Identify potential funding, customer, partnership, or promotional opportunities;
Prepare startup directories or competition summaries; and
Support the FLASH founder community.
Participation does not guarantee investment, sponsorship, introductions, publicity, customers, partnerships, or other business opportunities.
4.3 Operate and improve FLASH
We may use information to:
Administer our website and forms;
Improve competition design;
Measure participation and engagement;
Analyze audience demographics;
Develop new programs;
Protect our systems;
Detect abuse or security incidents;
Respond to inquiries;
Enforce our agreements;
Maintain records; and
Comply with legal obligations.
4.4 Communicate with you
We may send:
Submission confirmations;
Competition updates;
Requests for additional information;
Eligibility notices;
Judging or winner notifications;
Administrative messages;
Sponsor or investor opportunity notices;
Event information; and
Other service-related communications.
Where required, promotional newsletters and marketing messages will be sent only after you separately choose to receive them. You may unsubscribe from marketing emails at any time through the unsubscribe link included in the message.
Unsubscribing from marketing does not prevent us from sending necessary competition or transaction-related communications.
5. LEGAL BASES FOR PROCESSING
Where the laws of the European Economic Area, United Kingdom, or another jurisdiction require us to identify a legal basis, we may process information under one or more of the following bases:
Performance of a contract
We process information when necessary to:
Accept and administer an entry;
Evaluate a submission;
Communicate about the competition;
Verify a winner; or
Award and transfer a prize.
Legitimate interests
We may process information to pursue legitimate business interests such as:
Operating a fair and secure competition;
Promoting entrepreneurship;
Sharing relevant startup opportunities;
Connecting founders with investors and sponsors;
Preventing fraud;
Improving our programs;
Protecting our legal rights; and
Measuring program performance.
We consider the nature of the information and the reasonable expectations of participants before relying on legitimate interests.
Consent
We may rely on consent for activities such as:
Publishing a pitch video;
Sending optional marketing communications;
Using nonessential cookies where required;
Publishing materials beyond the permissions included in the competition rules; or
Other uses for which applicable law requires consent.
You may withdraw consent for future processing by contacting us. Withdrawal does not make processing conducted before withdrawal unlawful and may not require us to remove materials already lawfully published or incorporated into completed media.
Legal obligations
We may process information to satisfy tax, accounting, sanctions, fraud-prevention, regulatory, court-order, or other legal requirements.
6. PUBLICITY AND MEDIA USE
By entering a FLASH competition and accepting its Official Rules, participants authorize FLASH, where permitted by law, to identify and promote their participation using specified public-facing information.
Subject to the applicable competition rules, we may publish:
Founder name;
Startup name;
Startup logo;
Founder biography;
City, state, province, or country;
Website and public social-media links;
Public startup description;
Public product screenshots;
Competition status;
Finalist or winner status;
Approved quotations;
Approved photographs; and
Other materials designated as public-facing.
These materials may appear on:
Pitch-video restriction
FLASH will not publicly post, publish, distribute, or use a participant’s submitted pitch video for promotional or media purposes without that participant’s express permission.
Submitting a pitch video allows FLASH personnel, contractors, judges, and authorized competition reviewers to access the video for administration and judging. This internal competition use is separate from permission to publish the video publicly.
Permission to publish a pitch video should be obtained through a separate, affirmative choice, such as:
I give FLASH Startups permission to publicly post and promote my submitted pitch video on its website, newsletter, social-media channels, and other media assets.
This permission should not be preselected.
A participant who declines public pitch-video permission remains eligible for the competition.
7. SHARING WITH INVESTORS, SPONSORS, AND THE STARTUP NETWORK
FLASH is designed in part to increase exposure and opportunities for participating startups.
By entering, participants acknowledge and agree that FLASH may share relevant pitch and startup information with members of its investor, sponsor, judge, mentor, accelerator, and entrepreneurship network.
Information shared may include:
Founder name and professional contact information;
Startup name;
Startup website;
Founder or startup social-media profiles;
Business description;
Industry;
Target customer;
Business model;
Traction;
Funding and revenue ranges;
Public pitch materials;
Pitch deck;
Product information;
Competition application responses; and
Other non-sensitive information reasonably relevant to evaluating the startup.
FLASH will not intentionally share:
Bank-account details;
Government identification documents;
Tax forms;
Passwords;
Payment credentials;
Sensitive identity-verification records; or
Information clearly unrelated to evaluating or contacting the startup.
Pitch videos will not be shared outside the judges, administrators, and authorized reviewers unless the participant has expressly consented to that additional sharing.
Recipients may use shared pitch information to evaluate possible:
Investments;
Sponsorships;
Partnerships;
Customer relationships;
Accelerator opportunities;
Mentorship;
Professional services; or
Other startup opportunities.
Investors, sponsors, and other independent recipients may be separate controllers of information they receive. Their subsequent processing may be governed by their own privacy policies and legal obligations.
FLASH does not control and cannot guarantee the confidentiality, investment decisions, business practices, or data-security practices of independent network recipients. Participants should disclose only information they are comfortable sharing for business-evaluation purposes.
8. OTHER PARTIES WITH WHOM WE SHARE INFORMATION
We may also disclose information to:
Website and technology providers
Including Squarespace, Tally, Google, email providers, cloud-storage providers, analytics providers, and other vendors that help us operate our services.
Competition personnel
Including judges, contractors, advisers, volunteers, and administrators who require access to evaluate or operate the competition.
Financial and compliance providers
Including banks, payment processors, tax advisers, accountants, identity-verification providers, and sanctions-screening providers.
Professional advisers
Including lawyers, insurers, consultants, and auditors.
Government and legal authorities
We may disclose information when reasonably necessary to:
Comply with law;
Respond to a subpoena, court order, or lawful request;
Protect safety or legal rights;
Investigate fraud;
Enforce our agreements; or
Prevent unlawful activity.
Business transactions
Information may be disclosed or transferred in connection with a merger, acquisition, financing, restructuring, bankruptcy, sale of assets, or transfer of all or part of FLASH or Unbridled Media LLC.
Any successor would be required to handle personal information consistently with applicable law and the commitments in effect at the time of transfer.
9. SALE OF PERSONAL INFORMATION
FLASH does not sell personal information for money.
FLASH may share startup and pitch information with investors, sponsors, and ecosystem partners for the purposes described in this Privacy Policy. Depending on the definitions contained in a particular jurisdiction’s privacy law, some forms of business-related disclosure may be characterized as “sharing” or a “sale” even when no personal information is sold for money.
Where applicable law provides a right to opt out of a legally defined sale or sharing activity, you may submit a request using the contact information in Section 18.
We do not knowingly sell or share the personal information of individuals under 18 for targeted advertising.
10. COOKIES AND ANALYTICS
Our website may use cookies and similar technologies for:
Essential website operation;
Security;
Fraud prevention;
Remembering preferences;
Form functionality;
Website analytics;
Performance measurement; and
Understanding traffic sources and visitor activity.
Where required by law, nonessential cookies will not be activated until a visitor provides the appropriate consent.
Visitors may manage cookies through:
Blocking cookies may affect website functionality.
Squarespace provides website owners with settings for displaying cookie-consent options and notes that laws may require visitors to be given control over certain cookies.
11. INTERNATIONAL DATA TRANSFERS
FLASH is based in the United States and operates an international competition.
Your information may be collected, accessed, processed, or stored in:
These countries may have privacy laws that differ from the laws where you live.
Where required, we may rely on safeguards such as:
Standard contractual clauses;
UK international-data-transfer mechanisms;
Adequacy decisions;
Data Privacy Framework participation;
Contractual protections;
Your explicit consent where appropriate; or
Another transfer mechanism permitted by law.
The UK Information Commissioner’s Office explains that transfers to separate organizations outside the United Kingdom may be restricted transfers requiring an appropriate legal mechanism.
Google states that it participates in the EU-U.S. Data Privacy Framework, the UK Extension, and the Swiss-U.S. framework for covered transfers.
12. DATA RETENTION
We retain information only for as long as reasonably necessary for the purposes described in this Privacy Policy.
Unless a longer period is required by law or justified by a dispute, investigation, or legitimate business need, our intended retention periods are:
InformationIntended retention periodUnsuccessful competition applicationsUp to 3 years after the applicable competitionFinalist and winner recordsUp to 7 yearsJudging records and scoresUp to 3 yearsPrize, banking, tax, and verification recordsUp to 7 years or the legally required periodGeneral inquiriesUp to 2 years after the last communicationNewsletter subscriber informationUntil unsubscribe, deletion request, or prolonged inactivityPublic competition contentFor as long as it remains relevant to FLASH’s media archiveSecurity and technical recordsNormally up to 2 yearsExpress pitch-video publication consentFor as long as the video is used, plus a reasonable recordkeeping period
We may retain information for longer when necessary to:
Meet tax or accounting requirements;
Resolve a dispute;
Enforce our agreements;
Establish or defend legal claims;
Prevent fraud;
Honor suppression or opt-out requests; or
Comply with a legal hold.
When information is no longer needed, we may delete, de-identify, or aggregate it.
13. YOUR PRIVACY RIGHTS
Depending on where you live, you may have the right to:
Request access to your personal information;
Request correction of inaccurate information;
Request deletion;
Request restriction of processing;
Object to certain processing;
Withdraw consent;
Request a portable copy of certain information;
Opt out of certain sales, sharing, or targeted advertising;
Appeal a decision concerning a privacy request;
Lodge a complaint with a privacy regulator; and
Receive information about the categories of data collected and recipients.
These rights are not absolute. We may deny or limit a request where permitted by law, including when retention is necessary to comply with law, maintain competition integrity, prevent fraud, resolve disputes, or protect another person’s rights.
To exercise a privacy right, contact us at:
info@flashentrepreneurship.com
Please include:
Your name;
The email address used with FLASH;
The competition or service involved;
The right you wish to exercise; and
Enough information for us to locate the relevant records.
We may request reasonable information to verify your identity. Authorized agents may submit requests where permitted by law, but we may require evidence of their authority.
We will not unlawfully discriminate against an individual for exercising a privacy right.
14. EUROPEAN ECONOMIC AREA AND UNITED KINGDOM RIGHTS
Residents of the EEA and UK may have rights under the GDPR or UK GDPR, including access, rectification, erasure, restriction, portability, objection, and withdrawal of consent.
You may also complain to the data-protection authority in the country where you live or work.
Where processing is based on legitimate interests, you may object by explaining your particular circumstances. We will stop the relevant processing unless we have compelling legitimate grounds or need the information for legal claims.
Information about your startup may still be processed where necessary to administer an entry, maintain competition records, protect competition integrity, or comply with legal obligations.
15. SECURITY
We use reasonable administrative, organizational, and technical safeguards designed to protect personal information, which may include:
Access controls;
Account authentication;
Restricted staff access;
Cloud-service security tools;
Encryption provided by our service providers;
Secure transfer methods;
Data-minimization practices;
Vendor review; and
Record-retention controls.
Tally states that form data is encrypted in transit and at rest.
No online service, email system, cloud platform, or storage method can be guaranteed to be completely secure. Participants submit information at their own risk and should avoid including unnecessary confidential or sensitive information.
If we identify a personal-data breach, we will investigate and provide legally required notifications.
16. CHILDREN
FLASH competitions are intended for individuals who are at least 18 years old or the legal age of majority in their jurisdiction.
We do not knowingly collect competition applications from children. A parent or guardian who believes that a child has provided personal information may contact us to request review and deletion.
17. THIRD-PARTY WEBSITES
Our website, emails, and competition materials may link to third-party websites, investor sites, sponsor sites, social-media platforms, or other services.
We do not control those third parties and are not responsible for their privacy, security, content, or business practices. Review the third party’s privacy policy before providing information.
18. CONTACTING FLASH
Questions, privacy requests, objections, or complaints may be sent to:
Unbridled Media LLC DBA FLASH Startups
Attn: Privacy
Kentucky, United States info@flashentrepreneurship.com
We will respond within the period required by applicable law.
19. CHANGES TO THIS PRIVACY POLICY
We may update this Privacy Policy to reflect:
Changes to our services;
New vendors;
New competitions;
Changes to information-sharing practices;
Legal or regulatory developments; or
Security and operational improvements.
The revised policy will be posted with an updated “Last updated” date.
When required by law, we will provide additional notice or obtain consent before applying a materially different use to information previously collected.
