Learning in the Lion’s Den

February 2026

Chloe Cheney, a Texas native, orig­inally moved to Utah to attend BYU, but she transferred to Ensign College because it offered the courses and degree she wanted to pursue. As a social media marketing student, Cheney has learned to market products, brands, and businesses—skills she now applies in her own enterprise.

Cheney got the idea for her business while exploring a new hobby. “I started sewing a lot more a couple years ago and got into a style called thrift flip­ping,” she says. “It’s basically where you use old or thrifted clothes that maybe have stains or damage or are just a lit­tle outdated and then make something new from them. I did a lot of patchwork, like hoodies and sweatpants.”

While she enjoyed this creative outlet, Cheney rec­ognized that the labor-intensive sewing process made marketing the final product difficult—and that sparked a business idea.

“A lot of sustainable designers sew, but they don’t necessarily have as much time to put together their web­site or do their marketing,” she says. So Cheney created a platform for buying sustainable clothing. She calls it BASE Hem, which stands for “be aware shop ethically.” “BASE Hem helps the sustainable designers with the website and marketing aspect,” she explains. “It is similar to an Etsy or an Amazon, but it is specifically for sustain­able fashion.”

Ready to take her business idea to the next step, Cheney entered the Lion’s Den Entrepreneur Chal­lenge at Ensign College. She went through several rounds of competition and ultimately won first place. Cheney’s confidence grew as she participated in the challenge. “This competition really motivated me to start taking the next steps in the business,” she says. “I’ve reached out to some people for mentorship. The funding from the Lion’s Den has really helped move that along as well.” Cheney hopes to have the business up and running soon.

To the generous donors who helped make the Lion’s Den competition a reality, she would like to express her heartfelt grat­itude: “First and foremost, thank you,” she says. “As a student, it’s definitely not easy. I moved here from Texas, so I pay my own rent. I pay for my own groceries. I pay for my own tuition, car insurance, and so on. I work two jobs to pay the bills. For one of them I get up at 5:00 a.m. It’s hard to put time and effort and money into my business and my dreams. And so having this blessing of donations has made a huge impact in my life.”