It was too hot an entrepreneurial idea to pass up.
Singapore Management University students Eugene Yeo, 25, and Dararith Saing, 22, were in Cambodia doing community work when they spotted a business opportunity.
'In Cambodia, cars heat up after just 15 minutes in the sun because the windows don't have solar-control film to block out the heat,' said Mr Yeo.
Never mind that the duo had no experience with window films. They read up on the products and tapped into the knowledge of others in the industry.
They roped in another schoolmate, Alex Tay, 23, and clinched exclusive distributorship for four brands of solar-control films from the United States, Taiwan, Singapore and South Korea. The three put US$40,000 (S$60,000) into the business, pooled from friends, family and their own pockets.
SCool quickly became the industry leader after its launch in August last year. It generates about US$20,000 monthly in revenue today.
The trio's entrepreneurial derring-do is probably what the first Global Entrepreneurship Week hopes to encourage.
Organised by the Action Community for Entrepreneurship and the National University of Singapore (NUS), it will be held at locations across the country from tomorrow to Sunday. Organisers hope to inspire more Singaporeans towards entrepreneurship. Half of the activities - ranging from a multinational Skype networking session to a national pushcart challenge - will focus on youth.
After all, a recent Global Entrepreneurship Monitor survey showed that those aged 18 to 34 make up almost 15 per cent of entrepreneurs, an increase from 10 per cent in 1999.
Meanwhile, the 2008 Start-up Enterprise Survey of Singapore (Steps Survey) shows that about one in five businesses surveyed last year was owned by individuals under 30. Almost three in four have tertiary qualifications, supporting studies that suggest those with post-secondary or graduate education are twice as likely to start businesses as non-degree holders.
NUS Entrepreneurship Centre's Professor Wong Poh Kam said: 'Singapore is becoming a costly place, so it is not easy to make money through self-employment unless you have some knowledge or skills advantage.'
The Sunday Times spoke with 15 entrepreneurs under 30, all of whom have degrees or are getting them. More than half do not have work experience but feel this is the best time to venture out.
'Starting a business is something you have to do when you can still afford to fail,' said Mr Vincent Ng, co-creator of Fresbo World, a virtual social networking world launched in April this year. Aged 26 and single, he has few liabilities - no mortgage or car-loan payments. He does not feel a pressing need to contribute to the family as his parents are working.
He co-created Fresbo World with three schoolmates while at NUS in 2006. It didn't kick off, so the team disbanded. Mr Ng became a software engineer upon graduation, drawing $2,500 a month.
However, he refused to give up. Last year, he quit his job, took a $2,000 pay cut and regrouped with his team. A $55,000 grant from the Media Development Authority in October that year helped kickstart the business which now produces close to $20,000 in revenue a month.
Association of Small and Medium Enterprises president Lawrence Leow said many young Singaporeans like Mr Ng can afford to become entrepreneurs because they do not need to supplement their family's income.
Take custom travel agency Quotient TravelPlanner, started by university friends Lim Hui-Juan and Javiny Lim, both 29. The idea took root when friends often asked the two avid travellers for tried-and-tested itineraries.
'We started out creating honeymoon itineraries as favours, but soon realised there was a market for what we did,' said Ms Lim Hui-Juan, who was a full-time aerospace engineer. Ms Javiny Lim was in car sales.
They forked out $150,000 from their own pockets to set up shop along Orchard Road to 'engineer the perfect holiday'. They have since moved to a bigger location at Boat Quay. Quotient, launched in May last year, broke even operationally in just three months, and now rakes in up to $300,000 a month.
The duo plan on taking their business online with customisable Web itineraries, a service to be launched this month.
In addition to a gung-ho spirit, experts also point to a growing acceptance of failure as another reason for the growth in entrepreneurship.
DP Information, which conducted the Steps Survey, observed that more young entrepreneurs are willing to shoulder the financial and psychological risks that come with starting a firm. 'Entrepreneurs today have the ability to identify market trends and demands and are confident that they can fulfil these demands through their own firms,' said managing director Chen Yew Nah.
The Fresbo World team found their testing version, launched in January, failed because they 'copied blindly' from existing virtual worlds without understanding their target audience. They interacted with users to solicit feedback and improve the product. Four months later, they released Fresbo World beta. Their user base grew to 375,000 - from just 30,000 in January.
Indeed, many entrepreneurs said setbacks make them more resilient. Not surprisingly, some question the wisdom of striking out on one's own in a world beset by financial doom and gloom.
Insead Affiliate Professor Patrick Turner has a different theory. He believes there is no safe route in entrepreneurship, and entrepreneurs must master the same lessons under any economic conditions.
This may explain why all those interviewed said they were confident of their business models. 'You can call it drive or stubbornness, but life is about what you want to see happen for yourself,' said Ms Sabrina Li, 23, who will soon launch arts facility The Faculty with three partners. With a start-up capital of $100,000, it occupies the right wing of the Thian Hock Keng Temple in the Central Business District and offers performance arts classes and designer fashion.
Of course, not everyone has an appetite for risk or business.
Clinical psychology student Goh Zhengqin, 25, said: 'I'm not a big risk- taker financially, nor am I in pursuit of money. You need interest and passion to succeed in business.' He plans to work in mental health when he graduates from NUS in two years.
But the notion of becoming a salaried worker does not sit well with the team behind Spree2shop.com, a blog directory website that aims to be the Yellow Pages of blog shops in Singapore.
Co-founder Sim Kim Sia, 27, who started the site with Garret Yap, 27, and Sam Yong, 16, believes nothing gives more satisfaction than striking out on one's own. He said: 'I have to do something on my own because I want to do something with my life that will actually matter.'
This article was first published in The Straits Times on November 16, 2008.
