York students bring winning ideas to entrepreneurial competition

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• Historic Fort York David Spittal courtesy murmur.com
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Two York University business students competed in a national entrepreneur competition last month in Toronto, with the hope of winning $10,000 and representing Canada at the international level. One came back with the grand prize.

Joseph Moncada was named the 2008 National Student Entrepreneur Competition Champion and took home the grand prize handed out by Advancing Canadian Entrepreneurship - ACE - a national charitable organization aiming to teach young Canadians to create successful futures for themselves and their communities.

His Sweet Tooth Candy Emporium has only been open for two years, but Moncada has already expanded his locations to three permanent spots at Centerpoint Mall, Scarborough Town Centre and in Wasaga Beach, along with seasonal kiosks.

"For me, this competition was not solely about winning money but rather about introducing Sweet Tooth to a new community," Moncada said. "It has further facilitated my growth and introduced me to new connections that will hopefully last a lifetime."

Moncada and Lawrence Krimker, both 2008 grads of York's Schulich School of Business, had been crowned the 2008 Ontario Student Entrepreneur champions. The duo then went on to claim the top spots in the 2008 Regional Student Entrepreneur Competition, along with a $1,000 cash prize each and a chance to compete at the national level.

"We specialize in rare, unique stuff you can't buy anywhere else," Moncada said in a phone interview while driving to Wasaga Beach to open his store in time for the tourist season last month. "We don't have high-end Belgium chocolate, but retro candy you wouldn't be able to find for 20 or 30 years."

The Scarborough resident said when he started his company he wanted "something fun and something for myself" and chose Wasaga Beach for the first location because the seasonal hours worked well with his school schedule.

"I would work hard for two or three months and then go back to school," Moncada said, adding he got into the candy business because he wanted something "fun and on the beach."

Moncada will now represent Canada at the Global Student Entrepreneur Awards to be held in Chicago, Illinois this fall.

Krimker founded his modelling company, CG Media Inc., just over a year ago after his girlfriend had difficulty pursuing a modelling career and balancing her full-time biochemistry course load at York.

CG Media Inc. caters to full-time students trying to break into the modelling business, Krimker said.

Krimker's company provides aspiring models with the contacts, industry knowledge and exposure necessary to be competitive. The company held an online competition for 12 models to represent 12 national brands in a calendar. Some 600 applications from across Canada competed for the dozen spots in the first calendar for 2008, which was distributed to 60,000 students nationally.

CG Media Inc. has also secured long-term advertising deals with Labatt, Pepsi and Apple, Krimker said.

"It's a great feeling," the Richmond Hill resident said of his 2008 Ontario Student Entrepreneur win. "The best part is being recognized by the same people in the same place you are in (business) and all the hard work you've put into it."