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Summary

Overview

 

HeroX is excited to host a challenge to share the stories of ordinary people creating extraordinary innovations.

Tell us your story or the story of someone you know, who has defied conventional wisdom to create a game-changing breakthrough.

What was the motivation, what was the journey? What made them hang in there?

We’re not looking for the perfect story; we’re looking for the true story. Tell us the reality of the innovation journey - the failures, the ups and downs, and the make-or-break moments.

Using any medium you like - written, audio, visual, multimedia, song – tell us the story behind an extraordinary innovation.  

 

What kind of stories can I submit?

The challenge will award prizes in two categories:

  1. Your Path to the Prize asks you to share the journey behind an innovation that was submitted to an incentive challenge (whether or not you, or the someone you know, won!).
  2. Innovation Heroes asks you to share the journey behind an innovation that was outside the scope of an incentive challenge.

You may submit a story in one or both categories. However, the same story cannot be submitted multiple times.

You may share your own personal story or that of someone who inspires you! Looking for a story tell? Check out our database of over 1600 incentive challenges to get started.

 

What impact will my story have?

"Storytelling is the most powerful way to put ideas into the world today." --Robert McKee  

The Unleash Your Superhero challenge is your opportunity to share your ideas and journey with the world.

All stories will be shared with our community of innovators on the challenge page. Stories may also be shared on the HeroX blog, social media, and to our global community.

 

What can I win?

HeroX will award up to 8 prizes, totaling $5,500 USD. The judging panel will select up to 3 winners in each category, according to the judging criteria listed in the Challenge Guidelines.

In addition, a People’s Choice award of $1000 USD will be awarded in each category, based on popular vote.

Winners Your Path to the Prize Innovation Heroes
1st $1000 $1000
2nd $500 $500
3rd $250 $250
People's Choice $1000 $1000

Guidelines

Submission Categories

The challenge will award prizes in two categories:

  1. Your Path to the Prize: Your innovation, or that of someone you know, was submitted to an incentive challenge (whether or not you, or the someone you know, won!).
  2. Innovation Heroes: Your innovation, or that of someone you know, was outside the scope of an incentive challenge

You may submit a story in one or both categories. However, the same story cannot be submitted multiple times.

 

Story Format

Be creative! Stories can be told using any platform - written, audio, visual, multimedia, song - your options are limitless!

There is no minimum or maximum length for your story. It can be as short or as long as it needs to be for you to share the journey of achieving the innovation. Remember you must keep your audience engaged; quality trumps quantity!

 

Your Audience

The Unleash Your Superhero challenge is your opportunity to share your ideas and journey with the world.

All stories will become public on the challenge page on HeroX.com immediately after they are submitted. Stories may also be shared across our social media platforms, on our blog, on the Unleash Your Superhero challenge page, and in any other future communication by HeroX. HeroX may edit your story for space or clarity.

Only the fields in the submission form marked (public) will be visible to the public and to the judges.

 

Telling Someone Else’s Story?

If you are sharing someone else’s story, you must obtain their written consent or submit the story in partnership by forming a team on HeroX.com.

We’ve made our database of over 1600 incentive challenges freely available to you, so dive in and start digging for your story!

 

Prompting Questions

We encourage you to captivate, inspire, and excite us. Each story will be as unique as its subject. These questions may be used as prompts to get your storytelling juices flowing.

  1. In what ways has your innovation solved a problem or created a breakthrough in the world?
  2. What was the defining moment that most dramatically changed or influenced your innovation?
  3. What weaknesses, failures, and setbacks did you need to overcome? What adversity did you face?
  4. What drove you to strive for audacious goals? What motivated you to participate in the incentive challenge or push the boundaries with an innovation?
  5. What was the journey to your innovation? How did you develop it? Who and what supported you throughout your journey?

 

Storytelling Tips

  • Jump right into the action! The opening of your story captures the audience’s attention and sets the context for the rest of the story. Make it strong to ensure you don’t lose your audience.
  • Make it personal. Stories resonate with an audience when the character is relatable. Weave your goals, dreams, setbacks, ups and downs, and make or break moments into the narrative.
  • Don’t tell the perfect story; tell your story. The failures you faced, the setbacks, the ups and downs - these are what make a great story. Be bold, take the risk, and tell your truth.
  • Invoke a feeling.
  • Choose an angle. A story is most powerful when the audience is left with one or two main ideas to take away.

Additional Storytelling Resources

  • Hatch for Good: The Rockefeller Foundation’s suite of storytelling resources.

 

Submission Requirements

Submissions must be made online (only), via upload to the HeroX.com website. All document uploads must be in PDF format (2 MB maximum).

Any video submissions must first be uploaded to YouTube, Vimeo, or other video sharing site. Double-check that all of your links are working and that they are set to Public.

All sections marked required on the submission form must be completed. Once the challenge moves into Enter mode, please click “Start Here” to begin your submission and view the fields required in addition to your story.

 

Prizes

HeroX will award up to eight prizes, totaling $5,500 USD. The judging panel will select up to three winners in each category, according to the judging criteria listed below.

In addition, a People’s Choice award of $1000 USD will be awarded in each category, based on popular vote.

Winners

Your Path to the Prize

Innovation Heroes

1st

$1000

$1000

2nd

$500

$500

3rd

$250

$250

People’s Choice

$1000

$1000

 

 

Judging Criteria

The judging panel will evaluate submissions based on the criteria below. With a tie, the winner(s) will be selected based on the highest votes from the Judges.

Criteria

Description

Score

The Wow Factor

Does the story capture something and someone exceptional, memorable, or surprising?

25

Engaging, compelling

Does the story amaze or inspire? Does it leave the audience touched or moved?

25

The journey

Does the story capture the journey behind the innovation?

15

Spoken from the heart

Does the story tell the innovator’s truth? Their fears, trials, and tribulations? Their goals and dreams? (relevant to the story)

15

Invoke emotions

Does the story invoke powerful emotions that resonate with the audience?

10

Well-crafted story

Does the story engage the audience through effective delivery?

Does the story have a beginning, middle, and end? Correct spelling and grammar? Appropriate tone and sound?

See the storytelling tips above for more on what makes a well-crafted story.

10

Total Points

 

100

 

Voting

All submissions will become public on the challenge page, as soon as they are submitted. Only the fields in the submission form marked (public) will be visible to the public. Please see the timeline for when voting will open and close.

One story will be selected in each category for a people’s choice award, based on popular vote. All votes are subject to review. Any competitor using unfair methods to solicit votes will be automatically disqualified from the challenge. The final selection of the people’s choice award will be at the sole discretion of HeroX.  

 

Additional Rules

Participation Eligibility:

The challenge is open to all individuals and teams. Innovators may originate from any country. Submissions must be made in English. Video submissions may be in other languages provided they have English subtitles. All challenge-related communication will be in English.

No specific qualifications or expertise is required. HeroX encourages outside individuals and non-expert teams to compete.

To be eligible to compete, you must comply with all the terms of the challenge, as defined in the Challenge-Specific Agreement, which will be provided upon registration.

 

Registration and Submissions:

All innovators must be registered prior to submitting an entry. Final submissions must be received on or before the submission deadline. No late submissions will be accepted.

Any submissions containing nudity, profanity, offensive language or other objectionable material will be disqualified at the sole discretion of HeroX.  

 

Selection of Winners:

Prizes will be awarded per the Judging Criteria section above. With a tie, the winner(s) will be selected, based on the highest votes from the Judges. One prize will be awarded in each category, based on popular vote. The final selection of all winners is at the sole discretion of HeroX.

 

Judging Panel:

The determination of the winners will be made by a group of people, including thought leaders, influencers, and HeroX team members.

 

Additional Information

  • By participating in the challenge, each competitor agrees to submit only their original work. Any indication of "copying" amongst competitors is grounds for disqualification.
  • All submitted work must be your own original creation and be free of any copyright material.
  • All applications will go through a process of due diligence; any application found to be misrepresentative, plagiarized, or sharing an idea not their own will be automatically disqualified.
  • All ineligible applicants will be automatically removed from the competition with no recourse or reimbursement.
  • No purchase or payment is necessary to enter or win the competition.
  • Void wherever restricted or prohibited by law.
Timeline
Updates12

Challenge Updates

TODAY is the Last Day to Submit!

Jan. 15, 2017, 7 a.m. PST by Catherine Huang

Here it is, folks, the final day for Unleash your Superhero submissions.

At exactly 8:59 pm Pacific Time (US/California), the challenge will be closed for new entries. If you missed it, yesterday's update details the full checklist for ensuring your best possible submission. Check it out and be sure to cover all of your bases! 

Huge thanks to everyone who has participated, and best of luck to all of you submitting today. 


Tomorrow is the Final Day for Submissions: Check Out These Tips

Jan. 14, 2017, 9 a.m. PST by Catherine Huang

We are quickly approaching the final hours open for submission to the Unleash your Superhero Challenge. The deadline is tomorrow - Jan. 15, 2017 at exactly 8:59 p.m. Pacific Time (US/California)

Here are a couple of last-minute tips for a smooth entry process:

1. Your submission will not be reviewed until you click the orange "Submit Final Entry" button at the top of the final review page. Please remember to do this! 

2. Check out the Unleash your Superhero Forum for answers to questions or clarification on a range of challenge-related topics. 

3. Make sure you review the full challenge guidelines to ensure you are adressing every aspect of the challenge. Pay particular attention to the judging criteria as this is how you will be scored.

3. Take a look at the incredible entries already submitted. Ensure you upload an image to your entry as it will help it stand out during public voting.

Thanks so much, and good luck to all! 


Only one week left to submit!

Jan. 7, 2017, 10 a.m. PST by Catherine Huang

Yes, you read that correctly! There is only one week left to submit your entry for the Unleash your Superhero Challenge. Your absolute last chance will be at 8:59 pm Pacific Time (US/California) on January 15, 2017.

That's next Sunday, folks! 

Also, feel free to reach out to us by commenting on this post. We love your questions and feedback! 


Blog Feature: 3 Heroes Unleash Their Stories

Jan. 5, 2017, 11:17 a.m. PST by Maureen Murtha

When it comes to HeroX, one thing is for sure: we're more than just talk. So confident are we that crowdsourcing is the way of the future, we've put together our own challenge. What are we in the market for? Your humblebrags, basically. 

It's called the Unleash Your Superhero Challenge, and there are 10 days remaining for you to submit your remarkable story about a brilliant creation or breakthrough in which you have played a role. There are prizes for the most compelling stories!

In the meantime, we wanted to show off three of the current competitors, and share their incredible accomplishments they've been so kind as to share with us! 

Marianne Angelo's BC Pre-vis

After enduring treatment for breast cancer, Marianne used her first-hand experience to found BC Pre-vis, a service to help educate patients and their families prior to breast reconstruction surgery. The service consists of an app that borrows a technique used in filmmaking called "pre-viz," short for pre-visualization. Pre-visualization is a critical step in the collaborative creative process that allows for a client to gain a full understanding of what their finished visual product will actually look like - everything from lighting to framing and all other aesthetic decisions. ​

Marianne imported this artful technique directly from her industry into the world of surgical reconstruction, BC Pre-Vis ensures that patients undergoing bodily reconstruction have a visual reference for what to expect for their own body prior to the procedure.

In her own words: "When I started working with women who were contemplating reconstruction, they didn't know what to ask for. They just wanted to get back to normal. They were still in shock about an amputation and would just default to the surgeon and hope for the best. But when I show patients what they can expect for their own body prior to surgery - and not photos of a stranger's body demonstrating a perfect before and after - they are wowed."

UT Dallas

At the University of Texas at Dallas' Institute for Innovation and Entrepreneurship, they have reinvented entrepreneurship in higher education. Specifically, they've reinvented the pathway and process for students to gain entrepreneurial knowledge, skills, and support by providing a platform that identifies the brightest ideas. Once selected product development, and customer interaction are applied through a "lean startup" approach. They have also developed a launched student-led seed fund that supports successful startups. Through networking within the Dallas-Fort Worth startup community, the most successful ideas are able to pivot into small companies upon hitting critical mass during their growth stage. 

According to Jeremy Vickers, representative for the program: "In the past year since we initiated this change we've seen top-down support from the university, increased program participation by 2x, and doubled the number of startups coming out of the university every year. Additionally, we raised a $1M grant from the Blackstone Foundation, over $500,000 from corporate partners, and a $500,000 investment for our initial seed fund."

ProjectMQ

ProjectMQ is a global social community for indie game studios and their fans. Gamers excited to support small studios use ProjectMQ to discover the best new indie games. As life-long game enthusiasts and (aspiring) indie game developers, themselves, the founders came to this idea through their own admitted passion for independent game developers.

Watch the trailer above.

As one cofounder, Marcus Howard puts it: "Indie devs have it tough, so we volunteer what resources we have to make them successful. In recent years, with the addition of low/no cost game dev tools and accessible distribution channels, it’s never been easier for anyone to learn game development. It’s clear to us that the future of gaming is indie, and we intend to support that future however we can."

 


Have You Reviewed the Submission Form Yet?

Dec. 30, 2016, 10 a.m. PST by Catherine Huang

Happy Friday, folks! 

A fresh new year is once again upon us. Hope you're all looking forward to a great New Year's Eve. If you have some spare time, it may be the best time to start reviewing the submission form, if you haven't already. 

In order to fully formulate your submission, it's critical to thoroughly understand the individual questions being asked on the form. After all, misunderstanding or neglecting certain parts of the form could potentially disqualify your solution. That's no good for anyone! 

Remember, it's just over two weeks before Unleash your Superhero submissions are due! As a result, we strongly recommend you be as prepared as possible before, you know, life gets in the way. 

See you next week! 


Forum13
Teams222
Entries