With the kickoff of registration for the 2026 Enterprize Challenge, we wanted to share two  ‘bite-sized’ Success Stories with you from former Enterprize Challenge finalists!

Your Friendly Dev – Finalist, 2025 Enteprize Challenge

Amber was about half-way through the Self-Employment program with WorkBC Vernon in late 2024 when a fellow participant shared that he was entering the Enterprize Challenge. It’s a competition that sees emerging entrepreneurs develop a viable business plan and presentation, then pitch to judges like Dragon’s Den to compete for prizes.

Amber’s friend suggested she do it with him. “That was way out of my comfort zone, but I thought, OK, I am going to do this.”

As a software developer, Amber was great supporting clients one-to-one. Talking up her business in front of dozens of strangers, though?

“ I went from not even being able to read my pitch in front of my kids to being up on stage in front of all those people,” she says.

Along with some incredible support from her Enterprize Challenge mentor, Amber made it through the first round. On the big night, her three kids were in the audience wearing Your Friendly Dev t-shirts and cheering her on.

Amber was not one of the top three winners, but she was thrilled with all the other results.

“I got so much out of it. The day after, my inbox was full of queries and my discovery chats were booked solid for a month. It was such great exposure.”

Chef Lauren Vincent – 3rd Place, 2023 Enterprize Challenge

In the spring of 2023, Lauren Vincent took third place in the Enterprize Challenge hosted by Community Futures North Okanagan. Her business preparing hearty, healthy fresh meals families could simply warm and serve was just getting off the ground, and Enterprize changed everything.

Lauren and her husband, who served with the military, and her young son had recently moved to Vernon from Victoria. Four years earlier, back on Vancouver Island, Lauren was on maternity leave with her son, the pandemic changed everything for young families, and a friend with two young children whose husband was away serving called Lauren and said, “I’m drowning. I need help with meals.”

“That’s how it all started,” says Lauren. “I feel like so much has happened between then and now.”

Not long after moving to the North Okanagan, Lauren saw a social post for Enterprize Challenge, which offers thousands of dollars in prizes to three winners after a Dragon’s Den-style pitch to judges.

“I thought, best case, I would place and maybe win prizes to help me accelerate the growth and opening. Worst case scenario, I would meet a network of people in the community.” So, she signed up.

Over the next several weeks, she took the workshops, she met with her mentor, and practiced her pitch. She made it through the first round and would go on to the final pitch at the Vernon and District Performing Arts Centre.

“I was very excited and motivated to polish my presentation, take on the judge’s feedback and really nail it down,” she says.

Those words, “And third place of the 2023 Enterprize Challenge goes to…” still ring in her mind. It took a minute, she says, for everything to sink in.

“I was really proud and just happy to have had the opportunity to do my pitch in front of 200 people and talk about what I’m doing one-to-one during the vendor expo in the lobby. That exposure was amazing.”

Before the end of the night, Lauren had a handful of clients. And after those clients tried and loved her meals, they told their friends and neighbours, who told their friends and neighbours. Chef Lauren Vincent was on its way. Soon she had more than 20 client families receiving between two and four meals every week.

Feeling inspired?

Are you inspired by the success stories of these past Enterprize Challenge participants? Their achievements underscore the tangible benefits and proven framework this program provides.

If you have a business idea burning within you, or a startup ready to accelerate, now is the time to act.

Enterprize Challenge is more than a competition; it is a comprehensive, hands-on program designed to transform ambitious concepts into viable, sustainable businesses. We provide you with the structure, mentorship, and resources necessary to navigate the complexities of the early startup phase.

Don’t just dream of success—build it.

Register today by clicking here.