AWS Start-Up Challenge FAQs

AWS Start-Up Challenge

Who is eligible to enter and win this contest?

The Contest is open to: (a) individuals or sole proprietors who are legal residents of the 50 United States or the District of Columbia, the United Kingdom, Germany, or Israel who have reached the age of majority in their state of residence at time of entry; or (b) privately held businesses that are legally domiciled in the 50 United States or the District of Columbia, the United Kingdom, Germany, or Israel and that have not generated more than $5 million USD in annual revenues.

What is the judging criteria?

Contest applications will be judged on the following criteria: originality and creativity of the idea, likelihood of long-term success and scalability, how well it addresses a need in the marketplace, implementation of payments functionality, quality of presentation, and implementation of AWS infrastructure services and/or other paid services.

Can I submit more than one entry?

Yes, but only one entry per individual or business may be selected as a finalist.

Do I need to register for Amazon Web Services in order to be eligible?

Yes, part of the judging criteria is the use and implementation of any paid service from Amazon Web Services in your business proposition. In order to use Amazon Web Services, you must first register at aws.amazon.com.

Does my application need to include a new idea or business?

No, you can submit an existing business as long as it is an original idea or business proposition created by you or your team.

I am concerned about the confidentiality of my submission. Will it be made public?

No, your application will only be reviewed by the AWS Start-Up Challenge Judges Panel for the purposes of the contest. Your information will not be made public without your consent. All finalists will be notified to give their consent prior to announcing of the finalists.

What services can I use to enter the contest?

Applicable services include all paid services, such as Amazon S3, Amazon EC2, Amazon SimpleDB, Amazon SQS, Amazon FPS, Amazon Simple Pay, DevPay, Amazon Mechanical Turk, Amazon CloudFront, Amazon Elastic Map Reduce or Alexa Web Services.

Who is eligible for the Bonus Prize for Use of Amazon Payments?

Only US based applicants are eligible for the Amazon Payments prize.

What is the criteria for winning the Bonus Prize for Use of Amazon Payments?

The Amazon Payments prize winner will be chosen from one of the finalists using Amazon Payments solutions — Amazon Flexible Payments Service or Amazon Simple Pay. The winner will be chosen based on implementation and integration of Amazon Payments solutions, creativity of the revenue model, customer experience of the payment implementation.

Do I need to register for Amazon Payments in order to be eligible for the Amazon Payments prize?

Yes, part of the judging criteria for the Amazon Payments prize is the use and implementation of Amazon Payments solutions. For more information on Amazon Payments, including which currencies are supported, visit https://payments.amazon.com/sdui/sdui/startupchallenge

Why is residency in the United States, the United Kingdom, Germany or Israel required?

Due to country-specific laws and regulations regarding contests, we are only able to accept entities from the United States, the United Kingdom, Germany, and Israel in the 2009 AWS Start-Up Challenge. We are currently planning an extended international version of the competition for 2010.

I live outside the U.S. but my company has a U.S. presence. Am I eligible?

Yes, as long as the company you are representing is headquartered in the U.S. or is a U.S.-based subsidiary of a foreign company, you are eligible to enter.

If I experience technical problems using Amazon Web Services, whom should I contact?

Please post your technical questions to the Amazon developer forums (http://developer.amazonwebservices.com/forums) where AWS staff and the community are best equipped to help you.

If I have questions about the application or the rules, whom should I contact?

Please email your questions to aws-challenge @ amazon.com.

When will finalists be notified?

The judging process begins September 26, 2009. We will notify the finalists via email by October 30, 2009.

If I am chosen as a finalist, can I bring someone with me?

If you are chosen as a finalist, Amazon will pay airfare and hotel for one to San Jose, CA, USA but you are welcome to bring along your business partner to present your business proposition to the judges panel.

What are the other rules that apply to the contest?

All contest applications are subject to the Official Rules.

How do I get my $25 AWS credit?

At the end of the application process on September 25, 2009, AWS will provide credits information via email to all eligible entrants completing the application form.