SALT LAKE CITY — Ensign College student Liya Ngabola walked away with the $20,000 grand prize at the 2026 Tim Draper Utah Entrepreneur Challenge, a statewide student business competition hosted by the Lassonde Entrepreneur Institute at the University of Utah. Ngabola’s business, Shurugwi Prime Breeders, a poultry venture serving communities in Zimbabwe, was selected from among the competition’s top 20 finalists. Fellow Ensign College student Alex Goates also received a $500 judge’s choice award for his business, Uinta Life, which offers a guided fly-fishing experience along with an online community and master classes.
Managed by the Lassonde Entrepreneur Institute — a top-10-ranked entrepreneurship program at the University of Utah — the challenge is one of the state’s most visible student startup competitions including teams from colleges and universities across Utah.
Learning by Doing
Both Ensign finalists advanced to the March 28 showcase after refining their ideas earlier this year through Ensign College’s own Lion’s Den Entrepreneur Challenge, where students pitch ideas, receive feedback, and strengthen business concepts through faculty mentoring and applied experience.
“Liya and Alex’s success reflects what Ensign College is built to do,” said President Bruce C. Kusch. “Our students do not learn in a world of theory alone. They build, test, present, refine, and apply what they are learning. Because our curriculum is shaped by employer and industry input, students develop the practical skills, judgment, and confidence to contribute immediately in internships, and in the workplace.”
“Liya stood out because she paired a practical business model with a compelling purpose, then communicated it with energy and confidence,” said Brent Andrus, Business Management Program Chair. “Those presentation and problem-solving skills are practiced constantly here, and it was exciting to see her rise to the top in such a strong statewide field.”
Faculty Mentoring Creates Community and Inspires a Business Pivot
Liya Ngabola observed that Ensign College faculty were engaged in her progress and strengthened her ideas. On receiving the grand prize, she said, “I felt humbled and grateful. Winning the award reminded me that success is built through community, and I felt honored to represent Ensign College, where I have felt supported, trusted, and encouraged every step of the way.”
Feedback Alex Goates received in January during Ensign College’s Lion’s Den Entrepreneur Challenge led him to rethink Uinta Life’s business model. “Within two weeks of the competition, I had an epiphany of how to explode the growth of Uinta Life with a different model,” said Goates. He made the pivot, quickly gained market validation, and was ready with an improved business idea for the next competition.
Industry Input and Partnership
Ensign College’s career-focused model emphasizes hands-on learning, real client and project experience, internships, and curriculum shaped with direct input from employer and program advisory boards. Advisory boards are not symbolic. The groups made up of employers, actively help shape programs so students graduate ready to communicate well, solve problems, and add value from the first day they are hired.
College leaders say that approach helps students develop both the technical and professional skills employers want and the confidence to contribute immediately in the workplace.
For more information about Ensign College visit us at: ensign.edu
About Ensign College
Founded in 1886 and located in downtown Salt Lake City, Ensign College is part of the Church Educational System of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Ensign College has an annual campus enrollment of 2,500, with students from over 70 countries, and serves more than 19,000 online students in more than 100 countries in partnership with BYU-Pathway Worldwide.