A Semiahmoo Secondary alumnus has won the 8th Annual Enactus BCIT Lion's Lair business competition.
Chris Ku, a professional sales student at BCIT who graduated from Semi in 2008, earned the win on Feb. 24.
Lion's Lair is modeled on the TV show Dragon's Den. This year, it put 13 established Lower Mainland businesses through a six-week workshop before pitching to a panel of judges. Each had 10 minutes with the "Lions" to sell their business.
Ku mentored Sunberry Fitness owner Julia Zu for the competition; she won a $4,000 investment from the Lions; funds earmarked to help boost customers' experience at the women-only fitness centre in Richmond.
Zu said in a news release that Ku was "extremely helpful."
"He is a go-getter. He would find help for us before we even ask for it. It was great working with him,” she said.
Ku said that is exactly why he joined Enactus.
"For me, joining Enactus was all about creating opportunities to support our local business community and I was blessed to work with talented peers to farther build the success of an entrepreneurial business in Vancouver," he said.
The international organization connects students, academics and business leaders through entrepreneurial-based projects. Participating students apply business concepts to develop outreach projects that improve the quality of life and standard of living for people in need.
Ku sits on the Lion’a Lair Mentor and Sponsorship Committee at Enactus BCIT and, last year, received the Ricoh Canada Inc. Award for his achievement at BCIT.