Competition rules
These rules govern the Gatekeep founder competition. Entering means you accept them.
1. Eligibility
Open to founders aged 18 or older with a Gatekeep account. You must complete at least 3 pitches against at least 3 distinct claimed investor personas during the entry period, with a base score of at least 6.5. Employees, contractors, and related parties of Gatekeep are not eligible. One entry per person and per company; duplicate accounts are disqualified. No purchase is necessary to enter or win: free pitches count.
2. Entry period
The entry period is published on the competition page. Pitches completed outside the window do not count.
3. How you are scored
Composite score = base + improvement + breadth + persistence.
- Base: the average of your best score against each claimed persona, top three personas.
- Improvement: up to +1.5 from your score trajectory across attempts.
- Breadth: +0.3 per additional claimed persona beyond the first, capped at +1.2.
- Persistence: +0.2 per completed pitch beyond three, capped at +1.0.
Ties break by improvement, then breadth, then the earliest qualifying entry. Scores come from Gatekeep's AI evaluation; top entries are reviewed by a human before the winner is confirmed.
4. Prize
A $10k angel investment commitment from Justin, subject to due diligence, eligibility, and standard documents. Terms are negotiated privately with the winner.
The winner must be able to accept the investment within 60 days, including forming or maintaining a legal entity able to issue a SAFE and signing standard documents. If the winner cannot do so within 60 days, the prize passes to the next eligible entrant. The prize is not cash, is not transferable, and may require tax reporting; winners are responsible for their own tax advice. This is a commitment, not an offer of securities, and any investment is made only after due diligence and definitive documents.
5. Integrity and disqualification
Entries using AI-generated answers, evasive or fabricated claims, plagiarized material, shared accounts, or attempts to game scoring are disqualified. Gatekeep may review transcripts for the top entries and may void any entry that violates these rules.
6. Publicity
By entering, you agree that Gatekeep may list your name and score on the competition leaderboard. If you win, you agree to a reasonable announcement and interview unless you ask us not to.
7. Changes
Gatekeep may update these rules or cancel the competition where required by law. Material changes will be posted on this page.
These rules are a plain-language summary and will be reviewed by counsel before the competition opens. Where they conflict with formal terms, the formal terms prevail.