Eligibility

• Applicant must be enrolled in high school (grades 9-12) in the fall of 2015. Applicant may be home schooled or enrolled in online schools.
• Applicant must reside in one of the 21 counties of Northeast Ohio (Ashland, Ashtabula, Carroll, Columbiana, Crawford, Cuyahoga, Erie, Geauga, Holmes, Huron, Lake, Lorain, Mahoning, Medina, Portage, Richland, Stark, Summit, Tuscarawas, Trumbull, Wayne).
• Applicant’s parent or guardian must complete the electronic permission section of the Teen Tech Tank entry form on our website. Entries will be disqualified if parent/guardian permission form is not submitted by October 5, 11:59 p.m.
• Video entries must be no longer than 60 seconds. It is recommended that entries be not less than 45 seconds. File types accepted include mp4, mov, avi, mpg, 3gp, flv, webm, wmv and mkv.
• Applicant and his/her parent/guardian must give consent to all photographs, audio recordings and video recordings taken of him/her, and all Teen Tech Tank work presented in association with the Young Entrepreneur Institute. All media recordings become the property of the Young Entrepreneur Institute and may be used by the Young Entrepreneur Institute for educational, instructional or promotional purposes in print, broadcast or electronic media formats now existing or in the future created. This includes but is not limited to the video entry submission. There will be no compensation for the use of any photographs, audio or video recordings or any other media.
• Applicants may not work in teams. Only single applicant entries will be accepted.
• Applicant may not be related to any employee of the Young Entrepreneur Institute.
• The deadline for submission is October 5, 2015 at 11:59 p.m.

Technology Pitch Criteria

• The proposed idea should be formulated around a technology specific idea. Business ideas may include applications, software, games, websites and other feasible technology business models.
• Applications will be judged on the originality, real world potential, as well as the quality of the presentation.

Prizes

Semi-finalists and finalists will receive both monetary and “in-kind” prizes. There is no cash value to “in-kind” prizes and no exchanges or refunds will be offered.  Prizes are non transferrable.

1. 20 Semi-finalists will receive $100 and a Teen Tech Tank T- shirt
2. Five finalists will receive a prize package including:
   • All of the above plus
   • An opportunity to present to Daymond John at Enspire 2015
   • Chromebook laptop
   • And an additional $150
   • Trophy
   • One year supply of Coca Cola sparkling beverages (two cases per month, your choice of beverage)
   • Ahuja Business Leadership Scholarship, contingent on meeting specific additional criteria, including but not limited to: the finalist must be an incoming freshman admitted directly from high school into the Monte Ahuja College of Business and Cleveland State University; the finalist must accept admission to CSU and the Monte Ahuja College of Business by March 1 of the spring prior to the fall semester that the recipient plans to enroll; and the finalist must have a minimum ACT composite score of 26 or a combined 1190 SAT score; have a minimum 3.4 high school GPA, and complete an essay to demonstrate leadership abilities.
     The scholarship award is intended to encourage students to remain in the program and graduate in four years.  Recipients will receive a scholarship for their freshman year of $1,000 – $2,000, which may be renewed annually for even greater awards during their sophomore through senior years.  Recipients are eligible to receive up to eight semesters of scholarship funding provided they remain in the Monte Ahuja College of Business, remain on pace to graduate in four years, and maintain a minimum cumulative GPA of 3.0.  Certain additional eligibility criteria and requirements apply.

The Competition Consists of Two Rounds

• Round One—Applicant will complete a short form and submit a video, up to 60 seconds, to TeenTechTank.com. Applicants who do not meet the requirements under the rules section or submit incomplete applications will automatically be disqualified. Twenty semi-finalists will be selected from all eligible entries meeting the Teen Tech Tank contest rules and requirements.
  • All applicants must enter using the registration form on TeenTechTank.com. Applicant will receive a confirmation email from Teen Tech Tank.
  • Electronic submission: Teen Tech Tank entries must be submitted via the submission link on the website by 11:59 p.m. on October 5, 2015.
  • Entries will be disqualified if Parent/Guardian Permission Form is not submitted by October 5, 2015 at 11:59 p.m.
  • Title and description of idea must be submitted in the form provided on our website.
  • Each first round submission will be reviewed and judged according to:
    1. Originality of the idea
    2. Real world potential of the idea
    3. Quality of the presentation
  • Twenty semi-finalists will be selected by the judges to participate in the final round.  Notification will be provided by October 16, 2015.
• Final Round
  • Twenty semi-finalists will be showcased on TeenTechTank.com from October 16 through October 28, 2015.  Five finalists will be determined by a combination of public voting and an expert panel of judges from the youth entrepreneurship ecosystem in Northeast Ohio.  The public may vote for multiple contestants each day, but just one vote per contestant per day between October 16 through October 28, 2015. The public vote will count for one half of finalist selection criteria, with the expert judges comprising the other half of the finalist selection criteria.  All decisions are final.
  • All semi-finalists will be notified on November 1, 2015 whether they have been selected as one of five finalists.
  • The five finalists will have up to 60 seconds to present their technology business idea to Daymond John of Shark Tank on November 7, 2015 at Enspire 2015, located at University School, 2785 SOM Center Drive, Hunting Valley, Ohio.
  • Finalists must be present on November 7, 2015 at Enspire 2015 to receive their prize packages.