SFU Beedie student named to BCBusiness 30 Under 30 for start-up repurposing food waste

A student at SFU’s Beedie School of Business and an entrepreneur supported by SFU’s 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—while 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.

“I wanted to be a product manager, and I thought, what better experience than managing my own product?” 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. “Seeing it go from a club project to something that’s reshaping how we think about waste has been the most meaningful part of my journey.”

Cheung believes his inclusion on the BCBusiness 30 Under 30 list reflects a broader definition of innovation—one rooted in everyday systems like food, sustainability, and education. “Not all innovation is tech or AI,” he explains. “Sometimes it’s about solving practical problems people live with every day.”

Experiencing the reality of building a venture

One of the most formative experiences in Cheung’s entrepreneurial journey came through the Chang Institute’s 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’s 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.

“What started as a 40-hour week quickly turned into 60, 80, and sometimes close to 95 hours,” Cheung says. The experience pushed him to confront the realities of entrepreneurship—time management, prioritization, and the need for balance. “It forced me to understand what sustainability really means, not just for a business, but for myself.”

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

Finding community at SFU Beedie and beyond

Cheung’s path to SFU Beedie wasn’t straightforward. After initially being placed in economics due to narrowly missing the English requirement, he used the setback as motivation—working to improve his grades and eventually transferring into SFU Beedie.

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

“Enactus showed me how supportive this community really is,” Cheung says. Now an upper-year student, he makes a point of mentoring younger peers—including volunteering at local high schools and offering a candid look at what entrepreneurship actually involves. “A lot of young people think it’s easy because of what they see online,” he says. “Setting realistic expectations helps build resilience, which is what really matters when things get hard.”

Advice for future founders

Cheung’s advice to students considering entrepreneurship is simple: don’t do it for the money.

“If that’s your only motivation, you’ll burn out quickly,” he says. “But if you care about the mission, the learning, or your own growth, the rest will come.”

Resource: Beedie News