WittyCookie founder Michael Cheng has won SFU’s 2012 Student Entrepreneur of the Year (SEY) and People’s Choice awards, two weeks after netting the Surrey board of trade’s top student entrepreneur award.

He also won a City of Surrey Top 25 Under 25 award earlier this year.

Cheng, 23, created the Vancouver web design company WittyCookie with a view to making web services more affordable and streamlined for small businesses.

“We’ve worked to build amazing websites for hundreds of small business owners who would never have otherwise been able to afford a great site,” says Cheng.

While web designers traditionally charge one large sum, often with a large deposit, WittyCookie provides low, monthly micro-payment options, explains Cheng, who plans to introduce WittyCookie to international markets after graduation.

Cheng is a School of Interactive Arts and Technology (SIAT) student and a client of SFU’s Venture Connection.

Another of Venture Connection client, CKM Sports, founded by undergrad Cliff Mander, a former inline hockey goalie, took second place at the SEY awards. The sports management firm provides development services for high school, amateur and junior hockey players.

The SEY competition targets established businesses from within the SFU community. Prior to the competition, applicants complete two rounds of preliminary judging. In the semi-final round, 10 businesses present 20-minute Dragon's Den-style pitches.

Four finalists compete for access to funding, office space, mentorship, in-kind resources, exposure and the SEY title.

The judging panel comprises well-known individuals in the local business community and makes its choice based on a number of evaluation criteria, including team background, innovation of the product or service, competitive analysis, financial road map, and overall presentation.