The Nanyang Technopreneurship Centre at Nanyang Technological University, for example, does not have full-time mentors.

Its director, Associate Professor Raymond Abelin, said: 'We don't have the money to hire full-time mentors. We have to rely on favours and our graduates.'

Matching entrepreneurs to mentors is not easy, he said. Some designated mentors may not be in the right field of expertise, or may simply not be interested in the company.

'It takes a lot of initiative and relationship building,' said the former banker. 'Good relationships are what get you through, as there is a lot of deception...a lot of people want to take advantage of young start-ups.'

Professor Wong Poh Kam, director of the National University of Singapore's Entrepreneurship Centre, agrees that more mentors are needed to give start-ups access to people who can help them.

'Social capital, or who you know, is just as important, if not more important, than financial capital,' he said.

The centre has seven full-time mentors and office spaces for start-ups. Prof Wong also heads a firm which invests in and helps entrepreneurs - Business Angel Network (South-east Asia).

There is 'a gap in Singapore's entrepreneurial eco-system' which the incubators and angels are trying to fill.

Such entities make money by investing in promising companies, of which only about one in 10 will grow to be a big and profitable business.

By investing in the high-risk early stages of start-ups, they can obtain a greater share of the company stocks, which can translate later to large profits.

Azione Capital, which started in 2006, mentors 25 companies, including nine i.JAM start-ups. None of these has folded, says Mr Chan. He said the priority of a start-up is to find a way to make money, as initial funds do not last long.

'Too often, aspiring entrepreneurs are inspired to start up for the wrong reasons, like wanting fame, or to call themselves a big name, like CEO, and making money without working hard.'

Start-ups which have survived usually have a committed and passionate team, a revenue-making business model, and products which can go global.

Mr Vinod Nair, 27, knows the difficulty of turning a good idea into a money-making proposition. His idea was for websites listing homes for sale and rent on a geographical map. But he and his four partners did not know how to make the idea pay.

When their i.JAM funding ran out, his partners left. Unwilling to give up, Mr Vinod focused on an idea which could make money.

He developed Smartloans.sg which helps Singaporeans compare home mortgages. His company now earns $10,000 a month from what banks pay him for referrals. And just in time too.

'I forked out the last of my savings for this new idea,' he said.

This article was first published in The Straits Times.

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