IT WAS over a yakking session over coffee with close friends less than a year ago that the idea popped in Miss Sharon Lee's mind.

The then project manager at a creative company was complaining about how she lost numerous project opportunities just because she could not find freelancers in time.

She and her friend, then Singapore Management University (SMU) business undergraduate Jaslyn Lim, hit upon the idea of starting an online platform that would allow people to easily locate creative freelancers. It would also be a showcase for the latter's portfolios.

The result: Anydoodles, their very own portal, due to launch at the end of the month.

Miss Lee, 29, and Miss Lim, 22, both directors of the portal, see it as a project management service.

Acting as a go-between for freelancers and clients, it aims to 'see through projects from start to delivery', said Miss Lee.

While it was meant to be a hobby at first, the duo decided to pursue it full time when Creative Community Singapore (CCS) came in with funding and helped with industry contacts.

Calling themselves 'reckless entrepreneurs', they said CCS' support was 'a huge boost in confidence'.

With its funding, Miss Lee will study for a diploma in creative entrepreneurship at the National University of Singapore Extension in July.

Miss Lim, who graduated from SMU last December, relishes being her own boss. It's a particularly brave move considering most peers her age would opt for stable executive jobs upon graduation.

She explained: 'I'm a risk-taker by nature, and open to failure. Starting my own business was always something I wanted to do.'

As Miss Lee, who quit her job in August last year to start Anydoodles, put it: 'It's important to do the things that you like - that tends to produce quality work.

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