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Fung, a third-year come puter engineering student at the University of Waterloo. is the co-founder of a young Waterloo company that spe- cializes in creating web sites and software that are user friendly. He co-founded the small company with his friend, Jeff Lewis. in late 2001. Currently, their most popular product is named WebAdmin. which allows the owners at web sites to log-in and make changes or updates when they need to. He explains that this includes database driven web sites and web sites where there is a content management system already built in. IfIll[C(rit5lg UW computer student named entrepreneur of the year t's gumg to be a wild ride. I‘I'haI's how 24-year-old Joseph Fung describes the. future of his growing weh development company. Lewis Media. "We build web sites that anyone can update." he explained about his busi- nests. "Our software is a little unique in the industry. in that it specifically targets users who want a very friendly intuitive, easy inter, face." said Fung. "Very often these packages are a little more intimidating. Ours was designed for the novices in mind." He said this in turn saves businesses money. because now they don't have to hire a webmaster to control and update their web site. In March. Fung was named the CIBC regional champion from Central Canada and was given $l.000. but more important- ly it allowed him the oppor- tunity to be nominated at the national level, On May 3. Fung was named the 2005 CIBC stu- dent entrepreneur of the year at an awards ceremony BY 1mm Noe Ru {he Chronicle Also, Fung is looking for- ward to the feedback that he will receive from the panel of judges. many of whom are part of large Canadian corporations themselves. The award recognizes Canadian post-secondary students who have devel- oped and operate an innov- alive and entrepreneurial company. "I'm pleased with the successes that Lewis Media has had. It was very reassur- ing and satisfying to see that the judges also had a similar impression." Lewis Media has now partnered with the Adan Institute for Change and launched Newmarket-based OnMyBlock.ca, which gives businesses the ability to sponsor web sites for neigh- bourhood groups. Fung believes this is a good initiative because it builds businesses reputa- tions in the community, while giving neighbour- hoods a web site to share news and information. held in Toronto, The Lewis Media co- founder was selected from three finalists who compet- ed for the CIBC award. "Excited and satisfied," said Fung, about how he felt when he was awarded. He feels fortunate that at the ceremony he was able to meet many other young entrepreneurs from across Canada. Also. Lewis Media offers several other computer sen vices that can assist compa- nies with creating newslel- ters, instant pages and sta- tistics tracking on their web site. So far. they have done software work for the Cana- dian Department of Defence, Toronto Maple Leafs. Toronto Raptors, Xhox and various discussion forums and other business- es in Canada. the US., the United Kingdom. Thailand, New 2realand and India. BUSINESS When Fung began his company. he was doing it part time. but now he's at the King Street office full time and finds it hard not to take on new business. For example. he esti- mates from 2003 to 2004. the company has seen just under 400 per cent growth. "School has heFome an afterthought." he said. "I don't go to class very much." Although. Fung said he studies in the evenings and is grateful for his classmates who have helped him with his assignments and home- Fung has been involved with web development since high school and opened his first company, a desktop publishing business. when he was 15. work as he tries to catch up. He started Lewis Media because he recognized his customers wanted more cre- ative control over their web sites. "When we realized that we could also develop WehAdmin. that's when the "The support of my cuss. mates has been invaluable," he said enthusiastically. They wanted to support the online and the local community, to build strong relationships with their cus- tomers and to make tech- nology accessible. He estimates before 2010. the web development por- tion of their business will make $3 million in sales per year and the company will have increased their staff to passion really, really, kicked in," he said. Fung explained when they founded the company they had three goals in mind. between 15 and 20 employ- ees. He said it will still be a small business, hut it will be one of many business units. "We're a growing busi. ness, one of the key things that we try to do is have every customer so happy that they've worked with us that they equally tell friends. neighbours and other cus- tomers." said Fung. "We're trying to build customer ambassadors essentially." For more information on Lewis Media, visit their web site at www.lewismedia_com.