Idea Prize 2026: How an SFU Beedie alumnus’s legacy is helping students turn ideas into ventures

A family’s gift, made in memory of SFU Beedie alumnus, environmentalist, and tech entrepreneur Tom Kineshanko, is helping sustain the university’s earliest stage of entrepreneurship—and the students taking their first leap into it.

Kineshanko passed away in Squamish, B.C., on March 15, 2023. He was 37.  

In his memory, Kineshanko’s family established the Thomas Kineshanko Memorial Entrepreneurial Prize, a fund that supports SFU’s annual Idea Prize competition—and from there, a $2,500 award that recognizes a participate whose venture reflects the values he brought to his own work: creativity, curiosity, persistence, and the potential for impact beyond commercial outcomes.

Where ideas begin 

The Idea Prize, hosted by the Charles Chang Institute for Entrepreneurship, is SFU’s early‑stage pitch competition. Open to students, alumni, staff, and faculty from across the university, the program is designed for founders just starting out—often before their ideas are fully formed.

Participants move through workshops, mentorship sessions, and multiple rounds of pitching, refining and pressure‑testing their ideas before presenting to panels of judges from industry, community leadership, and the venture ecosystem. For many, it is their first experience defending a business idea outside the classroom. 

The 2026 competition drew 39 teams from seven SFU faculties, with ventures spanning artificial intelligence, consumer products, health and wellbeing, aerospace and robotics, and social impact. 15 volunteer judges evaluated pitches across preliminary rounds, narrowing the field to 9 finalists who presented in person at SFU VentureLabs on March 31.

The final jury included Trish Mandewo, Coquitlam city councillor; Thealzel Lee, founder of E‑Fund; Jason Lindstrom, founder of Bucketlist Rewards; long‑time Chang Institute mentor‑in‑residence Dave Thomas; and Dr. Marvin Washington, dean of SFU’s Beedie School of Business. 

Celebrating the 2026 winners

Five prizes were awarded following the final pitch presentations, each recognizing a different form of entrepreneurial promise. 

The Top Idea Prize (1st place) and a $5,000 award went to GrowEasy Solutions, founded by SFU Beedie Management of Technology MBA alumnus Saboor Meherzzad. GrowEasy provides AI‑assisted tools and hands‑on support to help immigrant‑owned small businesses improve visibility, consistency, and growth—without requiring in‑house technical expertise. As the overall winner, GrowEasy also received direct entry into the Chang Institute’s startup incubator.

“The Idea Prize process helped us clearly articulate why many small businesses struggle with operational execution and how GrowEasy can provide the structured systems that large organizations rely on,” said Meherzzad. “The mentorship, feedback from judges, and the experience of presenting in front of experienced entrepreneurs helped us refine our vision, strengthen our product direction, and build confidence in the path we’re taking.” 

Second place, with a $2,500 award, went to Nourish Candy, founded by SFU Beedie undergraduate student Anthony Perera. The venture transforms upcycled fruit into high‑protein, low‑sugar gummies, addressing food waste in the produce industry while meeting demand for nutritious, active‑lifestyle snacks.

Third place, earning $1,250, was awarded to Zenji, co‑founded by undergraduate students from Manish Madishetty (Computing Science) and Aakarshita Prabhakar (Biological Sciences). Zenji offers a zero‑sugar fermented beverage with beneficial bacteria, aimed at wellness‑focused consumers seeking more from what they drink. 

The Patrick Lougheed SFU Alumni Founder Award, which recognizes alumni founders who demonstrate entrepreneurial potential alongside continued engagement with the SFU community, was shared between Tope Daodu of Women Reconnect Global (Faculty of Health Sciences 2024) and Daisy Chen of Mobius AI (Faculty of Applied Sciences 2025).

The Thomas Kineshanko Memorial Entrepreneurial Prize, valued at $2,500, was awarded to WLF Gardens. Assessed on entrepreneurial merit rather than academic standing, the prize is not necessarily awarded to the most polished venture, but to one that best reflects its guiding values at a formative stage. 

Founded by Avry Krywolt, Jacob Fu, and Shawn Bhatti—students in SFU’s Sustainable Energy Engineering program—and later expanded into an interdisciplinary team, WLF Gardens designs custom indoor hydroponic growing systems for schools, food banks, and community organizations across Metro Vancouver, helping make locally grown food more accessible where it is needed most.

Supporting ideas before they take shape 

Beyond the named award, the Kineshanko family’s gift helps sustain the Idea Prize itself—supporting the workshops, mentorship, and judging rounds that give participants their first real experience turning an idea into something defensible and actionable.

For many founders, this early stage—when there is little to show beyond curiosity and commitment—is also the hardest point to find support. It is where encouragement can have the greatest long‑term impact. 

For the 39 teams who participated in the 2026 Idea Prize, and for those who will follow, the Thomas Kineshanko Memorial Entrepreneurial Prize helps ensure that early experimentation, thoughtful risk‑taking, and unconventional thinking continue to have space to grow at SFU.

In doing so, it carries forward a belief that defined Tom Kineshanko’s life and work: meaningful change begins with new ways of thinking—and the patience to grow them.

To learn more about the Thomas Kineshanko Memorial Entrepreneurial Prize or donate to the fund, please click below.

Thomas Kineshanko Memorial Entrepreneurial Prize

We would also like to extend our thanks to sponsors SFU Alumni and the John Dobson Foundation for their generous support of the Idea Prize.