A billionaire offered USC students a shot at $500
The terms demand lasting rights to participants’ work and personal identity—even if they receive nothing.
Issue 019 · November 5, 2026
Ronnen Harary is the billionaire co-founder of Spin Master, the company behind PAW Patrol, Rubik’s Cube and Kinetic Sand. On November 2, he offered USC students a shot at $500.
His No Experience Necessary (NEN) Challenge gave students a minute to pitch a business idea. Those selected received the money and seven days to put it to work, with a chance at $25,000 later. USC event coverage · Challenge overview
But the fine print asks for a lot in return.
The USC signup listing explains the money and deadlines, then says participants must agree to the rules. NEN’s own summary tells students, “Pitches are filmed.” Neither explains that the organizers get lasting permission to use your work and identity even if you receive nothing. Those details are in the linked full rules, which run roughly 3,400 words. No experience necessary—but a law degree wouldn’t hurt. USC listing · NEN’s summary
You agree to the rules when you register. By participating, you give the organizers permission to edit and redistribute your pitch and anything else you submit, and combine it with other content.
They can use your materials and personal identity—including your name, face, voice, biography and quotes—for advertising, other commercial uses and their own internal purposes. That permission applies worldwide, in any medium, forever—“except where prohibited by law.”
They can transfer or license those permissions to others, including for money. They don’t have to tell you, get your approval or pay you for any of these uses.
On November 3, I asked the NEN team why it chose $500, whether students could pitch without granting those rights, how many USC students received money, and whether it had used footage of students it didn’t fund. I asked for a response by 5 p.m. Pacific on November 4. NEN hadn’t replied by publication. Students got a minute to explain their businesses; apparently, two days wasn’t enough for NEN to explain its own terms.
The contract also demands that you waive seeking a court order to stop use of your submitted materials, limiting you instead to claims for damages, if any. The permission is irrevocable. You cannot simply take it back. Official rules
I’ve heard there’s no such thing as a free lunch. Here, you still pay even if you don’t eat.
Sources
- Spin Master corporate overview — the company and its brands, including PAW Patrol, Rubik’s Cube, and Kinetic Sand.
- USC Annenberg Media, November 2, 2026 — coverage of Harary’s USC visit and the student pitch competition.
- NEN Challenge overview and summary — the one-minute pitch, filming disclosure, funding, and later competition stages.
- USC event registration listing — the event’s advertised funding, deadlines, and requirement to agree to the rules.
- NEN Challenge official contest rules — permissions over submitted materials and personal identity, transfer and licensing, duration, and the demanded court-order waiver. Reviewed November 5, 2026.
- Original reporting: Anthony Shen’s November 3, 2026 media inquiry to the NEN team, with a November 4, 5 p.m. Pacific response deadline; response status checked before publication.