A good referral is a favor. A bad one is spam with your name on it. Here's how to make sure yours are the good kind.
The ground rules
Only invite people you actually know
Think of owners you've talked to, worked with, or bought from, who you believe are struggling and would want to hear about this. Don't paste in a purchased list, a scraped list, or a group chat's worth of strangers.
Ask first when you can
The best invite starts with a quick conversation: "Hey, I applied for this AI contest for small businesses that are going through it. Want me to send you the link?" If they say yes, send it. If they say no, drop it.
Use the application invite form for people who'd welcome it
When you enter someone's email in the application form, we send them one invitation email that mentions your name. By entering an address, you're telling us that person would reasonably expect to hear from you about this. Please only enter people who fit that description.
Be upfront about the bonus
If a business you refer wins, you receive $25,000 in AI services. Say so. Something as simple as "Full disclosure: if you win through my link, I get a bonus" keeps you honest, and it's what advertising rules generally expect when you're promoting something you could benefit from. On social media, put the disclosure in the post itself, not buried in a comment.
Describe the contest accurately
Point people to the Official Rules rather than paraphrasing from memory. Don't promise they'll win, don't overstate the prize, and don't suggest that referrals improve anyone's odds. They don't.
Respect a no
If someone isn't interested, don't follow up repeatedly. One mention is a tip. Five is pressure.
Things not to do
- Don't post your link in forums, groups, or comment sections where self-promotion isn't allowed
- Don't send mass emails or texts with your link
- Don't create fake applications or pay people to apply
- Don't pretend to be from AI Business Rescue or AI Venture Holdings
- Don't share anyone's private information to make the case for why they should apply
Our Terms of Service prohibit attempts to manipulate referral attribution, and we review referral activity.
If someone got an invite they didn't want
People who receive an invitation email can ignore it; we won't keep emailing them because of your invite. If they want to make sure they don't hear from us at all, they can use the unsubscribe link or email hello@aiventureholdings.com. See the Communications and Consent Policy.
A simple script
"I applied for AI Business Rescue. It's a free contest where one struggling small business wins up to $50,000 in AI services. Thought of you because of what you said about [the specific problem]. Full disclosure, I get a bonus if someone I refer wins. Here's the link if you want to look: [your link]. The official rules are on their site."
Short, honest, specific. That's the right way.