Chamber Challenge winners full of confidence

The winners of the second annual Chamber Challenge in Steinbach have a few things in common: they were all confident that they would win, they come from entrepreneurial families, and they had business ideas that they were already implementing or planning to implement.

There were 160 applicants this year, 60 more than last year and the range of applicants was broader as well according to executive director Tessa Masi.

“Our youngest applicant was eight years old, he was very professional in a little tuxedo, it was so cute…He was absolutely so entertaining to watch, just a little extrovert and our oldest ones were 15. I feel the age range was really great because we got to see that entrepreneurship is not something that kids think about in high school, it’s something that they’re already considering in middle school as well, and they have something to offer,” she said.

There were three winners each winning a cash prize. Masi said what made the winners stand out was that they had great presentations where they knew all the facts about their business such as numbers and customers and they had viable business ideas.

Winning the $1,000 prize was eleven-year-old Seth Friesen whose company, Stay Fresh, has him come to your home and replace the water softener salts and furnace filter every month as a subscription.

“I think his presentation was a really unique idea that maybe there was a gap in the market that no one had addressed before…and doing a job that nobody really enjoys doing. He found a gap in the market that way plus he was very charismatic. He did a great presentation. He was fun to watch,” said Masi.

Seth came up with the idea of Stay Fresh with his parents sitting at the kitchen table.

“I was pretty confident. It was a problem that some people have, it could work,” he said about his chances of winning Chamber Challenge.

“This is my first business idea. I’d mowed a couple of lawns, but I wouldn’t really count that,” he added.

Seth plans on making his business a family venture and will launch his website in the next few months. He charges $13.33 for a visit and the cost of materials at retail, which he gets at wholesale. He plans on starting his customer base in Steinbach and expanding from there.

The money he won will be used to invest into his company and to buy a snowmobile from his grandfather.

“It’s a great opportunity for the community and for these kids to think through these ideas and dream about what their futures could look like…,” said Seth’s father Landon Friesen.

Winning second place and $750 was Cooper Trinh who’s 3D printing business, Cooper’s Creations, printed everything from fidgets to toys to replacement parts for broken household items.

“It started in Grade 6 when a teacher asked me to print things for her. And then she offered to pay me and I said, ‘Sure,’ and it started off with that,” said Cooper.

The 14-year-old has created quite a business for himself with fidgets starting at $5 and large dragons at $25. It takes him between one hour and 20 hours to make a creation depending on size and complexity.

He said when he started printing things he never imagined that he would have a business where he would have a booth at a craft sale. All the money he earns selling his creations he reinvests into his company. Right now, he is looking to buy a third printer at a cost of $3,500.

“This one will be more efficient and save on materials and it’ll let me print more things because now I’ll have three printers instead of two.”

What keeps Cooper’s entrepreneurial spirit going is the motivation he gets from events which keep him printing.

He said he was confident he was going to win the Chamber Challenge because he was prepared for his presentation and his business is well developed.

“I was pretty confident (I would win). I was excited of course but I thought I would win so it wasn’t a surprise.”

To purchase some of Cooper’s creations he will have a booth set up at Summer in the City and at Clearspring Centre on May 2 and 3. He also displays his work on his Instagram page @Cooper_s_Creations.

In third place was sister and brother team of Stephanie and Bradley Vaags and their company SB Farms, which delivered fresh farm eggs and chicks to homes in the Southeast. They won $500.

“We thought we had a good shot. For one thing our business was actually going and a lot of them they were just ideas,” said Stephanie, 14, about their chances to win.

“We’ve had chickens before and we liked to have businesses and make money,” she said about how they came up with the idea of SB Farms. They’ve had their business since May 2024.

The siblings’ chickens lay a colourful clutch of Easter inspired eggs. They sell their eggs for $6.50 a dozen and their chicks for $5 to $8 per chick. So far they’ve sold five chicks and more than 200 dozen eggs collected from their 37 hens.

Bradley, 12, said what makes their eggs and chickens special is that the hens and chicks are not raised in commercial barns and that they have space to roam. The hens are also fed a diet of local feed and straw.

For now, Stephanie and Bradley are considering expanding their chicken run but not the flock. As for their future careers, Bradley wants to be an electrician and Stephanie wants to be with children so she’s interested in being a nanny.

The siblings have their own YouTube channel, SB Farms.