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A student at 天美mv天美鈥檚 Beedie School of Business and an entrepreneur supported by 天美mv天美鈥檚 Charles Chang Institute for Entrepreneurship, Cheung is the founder of Second Savour, a venture transforming rescued food ingredients into new consumer products. What began as a personal learning exercise has grown into an emerging business that recently launched in retail grocery store Save-On-Foods鈥攚hile Cheung is still finishing up his undergraduate studies.

Cheung never set out with the goal of starting a company. Instead, he saw entrepreneurship as the most practical way to prepare for a future career as a product manager.

鈥淚 wanted to be a product manager, and I thought, what better experience than managing my own product?鈥� he says. One project quickly led to another, and over time, Second Savour evolved from a student initiative into a real startup with tangible impact. 鈥淪eeing it go from a club project to something that鈥檚 reshaping how we think about waste has been the most meaningful part of my journey.鈥�

Cheung believes his inclusion on the BCBusiness 30 Under 30 list reflects a broader definition of innovation鈥攐ne rooted in everyday systems like food, sustainability, and education. 鈥淣ot all innovation is tech or AI,鈥� he explains. 鈥淪ometimes it鈥檚 about solving practical problems people live with every day.鈥�

Experiencing the reality of building a venture

One of the most formative experiences in Cheung鈥檚 entrepreneurial journey came through the Chang Institute鈥檚 entrepreneurship co-op (eCo-op) program in Fall 2024, which provides students with a salaried term to advance and validate their own ventures through structured mentorship and market testing. Initially approaching Second Savour as a student project, he quickly discovered the true intensity of building a venture.

While the Chang Institute鈥檚 eCo-op program is structured as a full-time, salaried work term so students are not having to balance a full academic course load, Cheung still found himself working long hours in the pursuit of start-up success.

鈥淲hat started as a 40-hour week quickly turned into 60, 80, and sometimes close to 95 hours,鈥� Cheung says. The experience pushed him to confront the realities of entrepreneurship鈥攖ime management, prioritization, and the need for balance. 鈥淚t forced me to understand what sustainability really means, not just for a business, but for myself.鈥�

The Chang Institute鈥檚 mentorship and community also helped shape Cheung鈥檚 mindset, surrounding him with peers and advisors who challenged him while offering practical guidance.

Finding community at 天美mv天美 Beedie and beyond

Cheung鈥檚 path to 天美mv天美 Beedie wasn鈥檛 straightforward. After initially being placed in economics due to narrowly missing the English requirement, he used the setback as motivation鈥攚orking to improve his grades and eventually transferring into 天美mv天美 Beedie.

He chose to concentrate in Management Information Systems and Finance to combine technical problem-solving with financial literacy鈥攕kills that now underpin his entrepreneurial work. He also credits much of his growth to student involvement, particularly through Enactus 天美mv天美.

鈥淓nactus showed me how supportive this community really is,鈥� Cheung says. Now an upper-year student, he makes a point of mentoring younger peers鈥攊ncluding volunteering at local high schools and offering a candid look at what entrepreneurship actually involves. 鈥淎 lot of young people think it鈥檚 easy because of what they see online,鈥� he says. 鈥淪etting realistic expectations helps build resilience, which is what really matters when things get hard.鈥�

Advice for future founders

Cheung鈥檚 advice to students considering entrepreneurship is simple: don鈥檛 do it for the money.

鈥淚f that鈥檚 your only motivation, you鈥檒l burn out quickly,鈥� he says. 鈥淏ut if you care about the mission, the learning, or your own growth, the rest will come.鈥�

Resource: Beedie News