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Be respectful and act in good faith. Harassment, intimidation, and exclusionary behavior are never tolerated. LAUNCH Build Days are designed to be ambitious, collaborative, and welcoming spaces where people from different universities, backgrounds, and disciplines can build together safely and confidently.

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If you experience or witness behavior that makes you uncomfortable, unsafe, or unwelcome, please contact the organizing team immediately using the reporting procedures below.

This Code applies to everyone at LAUNCH Build Days: participants, mentors, judges, partners, volunteers, organizers, and venue staff. It covers in-person behavior at the venue and conduct in any official event channels (Discord, WhatsApp groups, email threads), before, during, and after the event.

By registering for LAUNCH Build Days, you agree to follow it.

1. General

LAUNCH seeks to provide a respectful, inclusive, and collaborative experience for everyone, regardless of gender, gender identity and expression, sexual orientation, disability, physical appearance, race, ethnicity, nationality, religion, political views, age, economic background, or level of experience.

LAUNCH Build Days bring together students, researchers, mentors, founders, partners, and volunteers from across the Rhein-Main ecosystem. We expect all participants to contribute to an environment built on curiosity, ambition, kindness, and mutual respect.

You don't need prior startup experience, technical skills, or an existing idea to belong here. Everyone should feel comfortable contributing, asking questions, experimenting, and learning.

2. Event & Venue Expectations

Respect the Space

• Treat the venue, equipment, and shared spaces with care.
• Follow instructions from organizers, volunteers, mentors, venue staff, security personnel, and event partners.
• Clean up after yourself before leaving any workspace or common area.
• Dispose of trash immediately and help keep shared areas usable for everyone.
• Put used dishes, cups, and cutlery into the designated dishwashers or collection areas.
• Keep walkways and exits clear of bags, cables, and personal belongings.
• Report damaged equipment or safety issues to the organizing team immediately.

Overnight & Resting Areas

LAUNCH Build Days run overnight, and some participants may choose to rest on-site.

• Keep noise to a minimum in designated resting areas.
• Be respectful of people who are sleeping or taking breaks.
• Do not move mattresses, cushions, or sleeping equipment outside designated areas.
• Keep your belongings organized and avoid blocking walkways or exits.
• Leave your space clean when you leave.
• Respect others' privacy and personal space at all times.

Collaboration & Team Conduct

• Respect your teammates' time, ideas, and contributions.
• Give everyone space to speak and participate.
• Disagreement is normal. Personal attacks are not.
• Do not intentionally exclude or dominate others in group discussions or decision-making.
• Be honest about the work you contributed.

Respect the People Around You

LAUNCH Build Days are only possible because of the people supporting them.

• Treat mentors, judges, speakers, volunteers, organizers, venue staff, and partners with professionalism and respect.
• Respect people's time during mentoring sessions, workshops, and judging.
• Do not argue aggressively with feedback, judging decisions, or event rules.
• Understand that staff and volunteers may be working long hours to make the experience possible for everyone.

Recruiting and Solicitation

Partners, mentors, and sponsors are here because they care about the work and the community. Recruiting and business conversations can happen, but they should stay consensual, never interrupt a team's work, and stop the moment someone signals they're not interested. If a conversation makes you uncomfortable, step away. Let us know afterwards if you'd like us to follow up.

Late-Night & Social Environment

LAUNCH Build Days are high-energy events, but not everyone operates the same way.

• Keep noise levels reasonable in designated quiet or resting areas.
• Be mindful of participants who may need breaks or downtime.
• Alcohol may be available during social activities. Consumption must remain responsible and respectful, and within applicable legal age limits.
• No illegal substances are permitted at the event.

Look After Yourself

LAUNCH Build Days are long, and the energy in the room makes it easy to forget the basics. Eat properly, drink water through the day, and take time to rest when you need it. Pacing yourself across 36 hours beats burning out in the first ten.

3. Anti-Harassment Policy

LAUNCH does not tolerate harassment or discriminatory behavior in any form.

Harassment includes, but is not limited to:

• Offensive verbal comments related to gender, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, disability, neurodiversity, physical appearance, body size, race, ethnicity, nationality, religion, or age
• Intimidation, threats, stalking, or deliberate exclusion
• Sustained disruption of workshops, presentations, judging, or team activities
• Inappropriate physical contact or unwelcome sexual attention
• Sexualized language, imagery, or behavior in shared spaces
• Photography or recording without reasonable consent
• Deliberately undermining or humiliating another participant
• Online harassment in event-related chats, group chats, or social media spaces

If someone asks you to stop a behavior, stop immediately.

Projects, demos, presentations, jokes, and prototypes created during LAUNCH Build Days remain subject to this Code of Conduct.

Mentors, judges, sponsors, speakers, volunteers, organizers, and partners are equally expected to uphold these standards.

4. Intellectual Honesty & Fair Play

LAUNCH Build Days are collaborative learning environments, not zero-sum competitions.

Participants are expected to:

• Present their work honestly.
• Respect confidentiality when challenge providers share sensitive information.
• Avoid plagiarism or misrepresentation.
• Credit teammates and external contributions appropriately.
• Check AI-generated information for accuracy before relying on it.

The goal isn't to win at all costs. It's to explore ideas, validate problems, and build something meaningful together.

Ownership of Your Work

Any intellectual property created by a team during LAUNCH Build Days belongs to the team that built it. Neither LAUNCH Rhein-Main e. V. nor the challenge partners claim ownership over your ideas, designs, code, or prototypes. Confidential information shared by challenge partners must still be treated as such.

5. Community Values

Throughout the event, we encourage everyone to embody the following values:

Be ambitious

Push ideas further than you think you can. Experiment boldly. Build fast, but stay thoughtful.

Be collaborative

The best teams combine different perspectives, backgrounds, and skills. Include others and actively support your teammates.

Be respectful

Treat every participant, volunteer, mentor, organizer, and staff member with professionalism and empathy.

Be curious

Ask questions. Seek to understand different perspectives, industries, and disciplines. Nobody is expected to know everything.

Be constructive

Give feedback that helps others improve. Challenge ideas without attacking people.

Be welcoming

Many participants are exploring entrepreneurship for the first time. Help make this a place where they feel comfortable showing up, even without experience.

6. Photography & Media

We may take photos and film during LAUNCH Build Days for community and promotional use.

Participants should:

• Respect requests not to be photographed or recorded.
• Avoid taking photos in situations where people reasonably expect privacy.
• Ask before recording close-up conversations, workspaces, or team discussions.

If you would prefer not to appear in official event media, please inform the organizing team or indicate it in your registration.

7. Reporting & Enforcement

If you experience, witness, or become aware of behavior that violates this Code of Conduct, please contact the organizing team immediately.

Reports may be made anonymously.

Reports are handled confidentially. We only share details with the people who need to know to act on them.

Nobody who reports a concern in good faith will face retaliation from organizers, partners, mentors, or other participants. Retaliation is itself a violation of this Code.

Reports made knowingly in bad faith, to harm or discredit someone, are themselves a violation. Honest mistakes about what happened are not.