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![\"MIKAELA](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/4178679_web1_260428-Venture-Championships-00094.jpg\")
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MIKAELA MACKENZIE \/ FREE PRESS<\/p>\n
U of M students Cieran O\u2019Hara (left) and Daniel Belokurov will present their holistic supplement Amani at the Stu Clark Venture Championships this week.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
\u201cPeople are coming back to nature and back to themselves, and at the end of the day, I think what\u2019s so important is being able to improve your general health, and I think that\u2019s why we do it,\u201d O\u2019Hara, 25, said Tuesday.<\/p>\n
Judges will hear their pitch, along with 31 other student teams from across North America set to compete for more than $72,000 in cash prizes, awarded by a team of 45 judges, including leadership from Manitoba businesses, economic organizations and Crown corporations. Those judges will also give feedback and offer suggestions.<\/p>\n
That face-to-face time, especially for a new company that focuses on community involvement through hosting events and taking part in farmers markets, is crucial, said Belokurov.<\/p>\n
\u201cWinnipeg does have an incredible community that already exists here, so we try to get attention and meet people in-person, understand what they need,\u201d said Belokurov, 20.<\/p>\n
\u201cWinnipeg does have an incredible community that already exists here, so we try to get attention and meet people in-person, understand what they need.\u201d<\/p>\n
The competition has been a mainstay of the Asper School of Business\u2019s Stu Clark Centre for Entrepreneurship for more than 20 years and has grown to one of the largest of its kind in North America. The 32 teams were chosen from more than 150 applications.<\/p>\n
What students bring to the table often finds creative ways to engage with new, growing tech trends, said Amy Jones, the event\u2019s manager.<\/p>\n
\u201cI remember when software started to be the thing and all of a sudden it was software as a service and then it went into apps and now it\u2019s a lot more heavily AI-focused,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t MIKAELA MACKENZIE \/ FREE PRESS<\/p>\n Cieran O\u2019Hara and Daniel Belokurov\u2019s holistic supplement, Amani.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n \u201cNot all of them, there\u2019s still a few products and services, old-school ones, I guess you could say, but absolutely, you see the trend.\u201d<\/p>\n The list of pitches this year range from everyday products (a Red River College Polytechnic team is presenting a tech platform that presents targeted ads to customers in real time) to medical marvels such as an AI-driven tool a team at Washington University in St. Louis says can detect Parkinson\u2019s disease in its early stages.<\/p>\n This weekend is a chance for students with life-changing ideas to build the skills needed to move them forward, said Stu Clark Centre for Entrepreneurship director Debra Jonasson-Young<\/p>\n \u201cThey really learn the process of business development from the planning perspective, coupled with the fact that many students never get the chance to really practice public speaking skills, the competencies that you require to stand in front of experts and talk about your product, to be resilient, to be able to take their key questions and answers. Those are real life-competency skill sets,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n The championships will be held at the Fairmont Winnipeg hotel. Winners will be announced Saturday.<\/p>\n malak.abas@freepress.mb.ca<\/p>\n \n\t\tWinnipeg Free Press | Newsletter\n\t<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t \t\t\t\t Malak Abas Malak Abas is a city reporter at the Free Press. Born and raised in Winnipeg\u2019s North End, she led the campus paper at the University of Manitoba before joining the Free Press in 2020. Read more about Malak<\/a>.<\/p>\n Every piece of reporting Malak produces is reviewed by an editing team before it is posted online or published in print \u2014 part of the Free Press\u2018s tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press\u2019s history and mandate<\/a>, and learn how our newsroom operates<\/a>.<\/p>\n
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