Michael Cheng (businessman) explained

Michael Cheng
Birth Place:Hong Kong, China
Nationality:Chinese Canadian
Alma Mater:Simon Fraser University
Occupation:Entrepreneur

Michael Cheng is a Canadian entrepreneur.[1] Cheng co-founded Lumen5,[2] Sniply, Beta Collective, Covr, Needle HR, WittyCookie, TEDxSFU, and 12 other ventures.[3]

Early life and education

Cheng was born an only child in Hong Kong and moved to Vancouver, British Columbia at the age of 7.[1] [4] While in high school Cheng started a business called Auto Quick Trade.[1] Cheng studied Interactive Arts and Technology at Simon Fraser University (SFU) and was "offered a lecturer's position, teaching digital design" during his freshman year.[1]

Career

In 2009, Cheng co-founded International Student Connection, an international student agency that was named "Best New Student Business of the Year".[5]

In 2011, Cheng launched TEDxSFU, an annual TEDx event at Simon Fraser University.[6] That year, Cheng also co-founded WittyCookie which offers website creation and maintenance to small businesses.[7]

In 2012, Cheng was selected by the Surrey Board of Trade as one of the "Top 25 Under 25" entrepreneurs.[4] He was also given the "SFU Entrepreneur of the Year" award[1] [8] and the "Surrey Business Excellence Award".[9]

In 2013, Cheng co-founded Needle HR, an Internet marketplace for web designers and other creative services.[10] Cheng received "The Satchu Prize" and "Outstanding Venture Award" from educational organization, The Next 36.[11] [12] and was selected by Maclean's Magazine as one of the "Future Leaders of Canada".[1] He was also selected by 24 Hours (newspaper) as one of "Top 24 Under 24".[13]

In 2014, Cheng co-founded Covr,[14] a music discovery platform,[15] and was selected by BCBusiness as one of "Top 30 Under 30".[16] That year, Cheng also co-founded Beta Collective,[17] the first Coworking space in Surrey, British Columbia.,[18] as well as Sniply, an online marketing tool[19] which was later acquired in a multi-million dollar deal.[20]

In 2017, Cheng co-founded Lumen5,[21] an online video creator,[22] which was ranked one of "Canada's Top Growing Companies" at #93 by The Globe and Mail in 2020,[23] as well as one of "Canada's 50fastest-growing technology companies" at #34 as ranked by Deloitte in 2021.[24]

Notes and References

  1. MacDonald, Nancy. Canada's Future Leaders Under 25. Maclean's. April 12, 2013.
  2. Hotchkiss, Caitlin. Video Creation Platform Lumen5 Awarded Top Prize at 2019 New Ventures BC Competition. Betakit. April 12, 2013.
  3. Czikk, Joseph. Both Failure and Success Define Entrepreneurs Like Snip.ly's Michael Cheng. Betakit.
  4. Scott, Alec. Where Canada's next billion-dollar idea is being hatched. The Globe and Mail.
  5. Diakiw, Kevin. Surrey's Top 25 Under 25 honoured. Surrey Leader.
  6. http://www.thenownewspaper.com/news/sfu-surrey-student-hosts-local-ted-conference-1.509334 SFU Surrey student hosts local TED Conference
  7. Meadahl, Marianne. WittyCookie founder nets fourth award. SFU.
  8. Toth, Spencer. SFU Entrepreneur of the Year 2012. Enactus.
  9. http://www.thenownewspaper.com/living/sbot-s-surrey-business-excellence-award-winners-1.510181 Surrey Business Excellence Award Winners
  10. Czikk, Joseph. How The Next 36's Needle HR is Changing the Creative Industry. Techvibes.
  11. Maimona, Mashoka. The Next 36 venture day: Program adds 36 new graduates. Financial Post.
  12. Poon, Christopher. Young entrepreneur noticed nationally . The Now (newspaper).
  13. Czikk, Joseph. Next 36 Alum Named Among Top 24 Under 24. Betakit.
  14. Czikk, Joseph. Next 36 Grad Michael Cheng Launches Platform for Discovering the Greatest Musicians You've Never Heard Of. Betakit.
  15. Woods, Ben. If you love cover versions, check out Covr's music discovery platform. The Next Web.
  16. Czikk, Joseph. BC Business Releases Inaugural 30 Under 30 List. Betakit.
  17. Czikk, Joseph. SFU Alumni Launch Surrey Coworking Space, Beta Collective. Betakit.
  18. Bjornson, Leah. Alumni make space for Surrey entrepreneurs. The Peak (newspaper).
  19. Ali, Anwar. Are incubators relevant to all startups? How Snip.ly profited from not making the cut. Financial Post.
  20. https://www.sfu.ca/sfunews/stories/2020/01/sfu-alum-michael-cheng-s-venture-sniply-acquired-in-multi-millio.html SFU alum Michael Cheng's venture Sniply acquired in multi-million dollar deal
  21. Caddell, Nathan. 5 questions with Lumen5 CEO and serial entrepreneur Michael Cheng. BC Business Magazine.
  22. https://creativedestructionlab.com/blog/lumen5-entered-the-cdl-program-with-a-genius-product-and-left-with-a-world-class-business/ Lumen5 entered the CDL program with a genius product and left with a world-class business
  23. https://www.theglobeandmail.com/business/rob-magazine/top-growing-companies/article-canadas-top-growing-companies-2020/ Canada's Top Growing Companies 2020
  24. https://www2.deloitte.com/content/dam/Deloitte/ca/Documents/ca-winner-list-fast50-en.pdf Technology Fast 50 program winners