The Founder Track — Terms and Conditions
These Terms and Conditions ("Terms") govern entry to and participation in "The Founder Track" (the "Competition"), a four-week immersive competition operated by Pioneering People ("the Promoter", "we", "us", "our"). By entering the Competition, you ("the Entrant", "Participant", "you") agree to be bound by these Terms. Please read them carefully and retain a copy for your records. If you do not accept these Terms, you must not enter.
Pioneering People
Venture Space, Bayes Business School, 106 Bunhill Row, London, England, EC1Y 8TZ
1. The Promoter
1.1 The Competition is operated by Pioneering People of 106 Bunhill Row, London, England, EC1Y 8TZ. Any questions about the Competition should be sent to hello@pioneering-people.com
1.2 The Competition is in no way sponsored, endorsed, administered by, or associated with any social media platform or third-party provider through which it may be promoted.
2. Eligibility
2.1 The Competition is open only to individuals who, at the date of entry and throughout the Competition, are aged 18 years or over. Proof of age and identity may be requested at any stage, and we may withhold or refuse a prize until satisfactory proof is provided. Any Entrant who cannot provide satisfactory proof that they are aged 18 or over will be disqualified.
2.2 The Competition is open to residents of the United Kingdom (England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland) only.
2.3 The following persons are not eligible to enter: employees, officers, contractors and agents of the Promoter; their immediate families and household members; and any other person professionally connected with the organisation, administration or judging of the Competition.
2.4 Entry is free of charge, and no purchase is necessary. No payment is required at any stage to enter, to participate, or to claim a prize.
2.5 Each Entrant may submit only one entry. Entries made on behalf of another person, or by an agency, syndicate or third party, will not be accepted.
2.6 We reserve the right to verify the eligibility of all Entrants and to disqualify any Entrant who does not meet these Terms, who tampers with the entry process, or who acts in a manner we reasonably consider to be fraudulent, dishonest, abusive or in breach of these Terms.
3. The Competition
3.1 The Competition is a four-week immersive programme in which Participants have the opportunity to learn and apply skills relevant to building and operating a start-up.
3.2 The opening date for entries is 01/07/2026 at 00:00, and the closing date is 01/08/2026 at 00:00 ("Closing Date"). Entries received after the Closing Date will not be accepted. The Competition itself runs from 3 August 2026 to 28 August 2026. We strongly recommend you do not wait until the last moment to enter.
3.3 The indicative programme schedule, key milestones and any tasks, challenges or submissions required of Participants will be communicated to Participants in writing before or at the start of the Competition. We may make reasonable changes to the schedule and activities where necessary and will give Participants reasonable notice of any material change.
3.4 To remain in the Competition, Participants must complete the activities and submissions set by the Promoter within the deadlines notified to them. Failure to do so may result in disqualification.
4. How to Enter
4.1 To enter, you must submit the application form available at https://forms.gle/HquE9WKj9fD4TztC9 before the Closing Date.
4.2 Entry is deemed to take place when your completed entry is received by us, not when it is sent. We accept no responsibility for entries that are lost, delayed, corrupted, incomplete or not received for any reason. Proof of submission is not proof of receipt.
4.3 By entering, you confirm that all information you provide is true, accurate, current and complete, and that you will keep it up to date.
5. Judging and Selection of Winners
5.1 The Competition is skill-based. Winners are decided objectively by the Scoring System set out in the Schedule, which awards points for verified outcomes and for capped, evidence-based activities. The Participant or team with the highest verified points total wins. There is no element of chance, no random draw, and no judging panel.
5.2 The Scoring System is published to Participants in writing before the Competition begins. It awards points for verified commercial outcomes, such as a business signing up or posting a job through a Participant's unique referral link, and a smaller number of points for capped activities the Participant reports with evidence. Points are awarded mechanically against the published criteria, so skill and effort are what win.
5.3 The Promoter verifies evidence and confirms points against the published criteria. This is a pass or fail check against the stated evidence standard, not a judgement about the quality of anyone's work.
5.4 The Promoter's determination of points and rankings is final. We will, on request, explain how points were awarded and how winners were determined.
5.5 If there is a tie, the tied Participants or teams are ranked by, in order: (a) the higher total of Outcome Points; (b) the earlier time they reached their final total; (c) the higher total of Effort Points.
6. Prizes
6.1 The prize for the winning team is a cash prize of £500, together with access to exclusive networking opportunities with the Promoter's founder and invited entrepreneurs, and one-to-one mentoring. The number of cash prizes available is 1.
6.2 The networking and mentoring elements of the prize are made available on condition that the winner has met the engagement requirements notified to Participants before or at the start of the Competition, and continues to meet any reasonable participation conditions attached to those elements. The Promoter will state any such conditions clearly in advance. The cash element is paid in accordance with clause 7.3.
6.3 The prize is as stated and is non-transferable and non-negotiable. There is no cash alternative, except that we reserve the right to substitute a prize of equal or greater value if circumstances beyond our reasonable control make this necessary.
6.4 The prize does not include any costs, taxes or expenses not expressly stated. Winners are responsible for any personal tax liability arising from receipt of a prize and should seek independent advice. The Promoter is not a financial, legal or tax adviser and nothing in these Terms or in the Competition constitutes financial, investment, legal or tax advice.
7. Notification and Claiming the Prize
7.1 Winners will be notified using the contact details provided at entry, within 14 days of the winners being determined.
7.2 We will make reasonable attempts to contact each winner. If a winner cannot be contacted, is not available, or has not claimed the prize within 14 days of our first attempt to notify them, or is found to be ineligible or in breach of these Terms, we reserve the right to withdraw the prize and award it to an alternative Participant or team selected on the same basis.
7.3 Prizes will be awarded within 30 days of the winner being confirmed, unless a longer period is stated and explained at the point of entry.
8. Publicity
8.1 Winners may be required to participate in reasonable post-Competition publicity. By entering, each Entrant agrees that the Promoter may publish the winner's name and county (and, where the winner consents, their image and a short statement) for the purpose of announcing and promoting the Competition and its results.
8.2 The surname and county of winners, and (on request) confirmation that a valid award took place, will be made available to anyone who writes to rita.kastrati@pioneering-people.com within the period required by applicable advertising rules, unless the winner has objected in advance or we have agreed to provide more limited information.
9. Intellectual Property
9.1 You retain ownership of the original ideas, creative materials and work product you personally create and submit as part of the Competition ("Your Materials"). Your Materials do not include, and you acquire no rights in, any commercial benefit generated for the Promoter through your participation. All business sign-ups, customer and client relationships, leads, listings, contact data, goodwill and any other commercial value created for or accruing to the Promoter in the course of the Competition belong solely and exclusively to the Promoter, and you assign to the Promoter all rights you may have in them.
9.2 By entering, you grant the Promoter a non-exclusive, royalty-free licence to use, store, reproduce and display Your Materials to the extent reasonably necessary to administer, judge, run and promote the Competition.
9.3 You warrant that Your Materials are your own original work, do not infringe the rights of any third party, and do not contain anything unlawful, defamatory or offensive.
10. Data Protection
10.1 The Promoter is the data controller for personal data collected in connection with the Competition. We will process your personal data in accordance with applicable data protection law, including the UK GDPR and the Data Protection Act 2018, and in accordance with our privacy notice available at Privacy Policy.
10.2 We will use your personal data to administer the Competition, verify eligibility, notify and announce winners, and award prizes. We will not use your data for unrelated marketing without your consent. Further details on how we handle your data and your rights are set out in our privacy notice.
11. Liability
11.1 Nothing in these Terms excludes or limits the Promoter's liability for death or personal injury caused by its negligence, for fraud or fraudulent misrepresentation, or for any other liability that cannot lawfully be excluded or limited.
11.2 Subject to clause 11.1, the Promoter will not be liable for any loss or damage arising from your entry to or participation in the Competition, your inability to enter or participate, or your acceptance, use or inability to use any prize, except where such loss or damage is a reasonably foreseeable result of our breach of these Terms or our negligence.
11.3 The Promoter accepts no responsibility for any technical failure, malfunction, or any other problem with any network, system, server, provider or otherwise that may result in any entry being lost or not properly registered or recorded.
12. General
12.1 We reserve the right to cancel, suspend or amend the Competition, or these Terms, where necessary for reasons beyond our reasonable control or where the Competition cannot be conducted as anticipated. We will not do so other than in exceptional circumstances, and where we do, we will take reasonable steps to notify Participants and to act fairly.
12.2 We reserve the right to disqualify any Entrant in breach of these Terms and to recover the value of any prize awarded to a disqualified Entrant.
12.3 If any provision of these Terms is found to be invalid or unenforceable, the remaining provisions will continue in full force and effect.
12.4 No failure or delay by the Promoter in enforcing any provision of these Terms will be a waiver of its rights.
12.5 These Terms do not create any partnership, employment, agency or joint-venture relationship between the Promoter and any Participant, and confer no rights on any person who is not a party to them, except that a Participant may enforce these Terms.
12.6 These Terms and any dispute or claim arising out of or in connection with them or the Competition (including non-contractual disputes or claims) are governed by the laws of England and Wales, and the parties submit to the exclusive jurisdiction of the courts of England and Wales. This clause does not deprive a consumer of the protection of the mandatory laws of their country of residence.
12.7 These Terms are the entire agreement between you and the Promoter in relation to the Competition.
Version: Draft 2
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Schedule — The Scoring System
This Schedule sets out the Scoring System referred to in clauses 5.1 and 5.2. It is notified to Participants in writing before the Competition begins and forms part of these Terms.
The Scoring System operates on two tiers.
Outcome Points (high value, auto-verified, no weekly cap)
These are the primary competitive currencies. Each Participant is issued a unique referral link. Points are attributed automatically when a business signs up or a job is listed through that link and are verified on the platform.
| Action | Points | Verification |
|---|---|---|
| Standard business sign-up | 25 | Unique referral URL |
| Hero business sign-up | 50 | Unique referral URL |
| First job listed by a signed business | 50 | Verified on platform |
| Each further job listed by a standard business (max 4 further listings per business) | 10 each | Verified on platform |
| First job listed by a Hero business | 100 | Verified on platform |
| Each further job listed by a Hero business (max 4 further listings per business) | 20 each | Verified on platform |
Effort Points (lower value, self-reported with evidence, subject to the weekly cap)
These reward genuine activity and learning. They are capped to prevent gaming.
| Action | Points | Evidence |
|---|---|---|
| Cold call | 5 | Screenshot of call log |
| In-person cold approach | 7 | Photo or geotagged check-in |
| Booking a business pitch | 15 | Screenshot of confirmed booking |
| 500+ impressions on a post | 20 | Screenshot showing the impression count |
Scoring Rules
- Weekly effort cap. Effort Points are capped at 100 per Participant per week. The cap resets each Monday at 00:00 and unused allowance does not roll over.
- Evidence standard. Evidence for any Effort Point must clearly show the business name and the date. Evidence that is cropped, undated or unreadable scores zero. Verification is a yes or no check against this standard and does not involve any assessment of the quality of a Participant's work.
- Hero business definition. A "Hero" business is one with three or more locations, or a nationally recognised brand. The Promoter maintains the authoritative list of Hero businesses, and its classification is final.
- Anti-gaming and clawback. Points are void, and repeat breaches may result in disqualification, where: evidence is fabricated or duplicated; a business signed up is owned or controlled by the Participant or a teammate; a referral is self-generated; or a business sign-up is reversed, refunded, or the business ceases to use the platform within 14 days of signing (in which case the associated points are clawed back). The Promoter's decision on matters of integrity is final.
- Week 4 bonus. In the final week, Hero business sign-ups score double points. No other task is doubled.
- Blind finish. The leaderboard is hidden for the final 48 hours of the Competition.