By Francis Chan

WHEN Singapore Management University graduate Anshul Jain needed cash to kick-start his business, he thought it was going to be a tall order getting investors to believe in his idea.

Besides writing to Spring Singapore in March, Mr Jain also sent proposals to more than 100 venture capitalists about his idea of producing a social media monitoring system.

The Singapore permanent resident did not have to wait long. By June, Mr Jain, 25, had received $50,000 in funding from Spring under its Young Entrepreneurs Scheme (YES!) for Start-ups.

That was on top of the $100,000 he and partner Ashok Patro, 27, bagged from private equity firm Mercatus Capital.

With the seed money in hand, ThoughtBuzz was under way.

'The biggest confidence booster for any entrepreneur is being able to convince someone else that your idea could work - that, for me, was really the toughest part,' said Mr Jain.

ThoughtBuzz is a Web-based application that helps clients monitor what users of social media platforms like Facebook and Twitter are saying about their brand.

Funding from Spring and Mercantus Capital plus $20,000 that Mr Jain and Mr Patro invested were used to employ programmers to develop the platform.

ThoughtBuzz went 'live' on the Internet in August and business is slowly gaining traction, said Mr Jain.

'We've already started working with public relations agencies and are now serving a few clients.'

ThoughtBuzz is just one of 38 new businesses backed by the Government under Spring's YES! for Start-ups programme.

The scheme was introduced last year to drive entrepreneurship among young people and provide funding to budding businesses like ThoughtBuzz.

Ms Chew Mok Lee, Spring's group director for entrepreneurship and innovation, says the proliferation of social media and demand for content analysis solutions mean ThoughtBuzz can address specific needs in an emerging market.

'The founders collectively are well-equipped with domain knowledge in IT and Engineering, and possess MBAs in Business Management,' says Ms Chew, adding that Mr Jain had worked at software giant Oracle.

But Spring is also looking for applicants with other attributes, like Fr3b founder Elfaine Tan.

'Fr3b's interactive platform was a first-of-its-kind in Singapore. Elfaine had also demonstrated great commitment and passion to the venture and had a keen sense of business,' says Ms Chew.

Last May, Ms Tan - only months into her first job at an engineering firm - resigned to set up Fr3b.

The company distributes free samples of retail brands to potential clients looking to try new products.

It began modestly as an Internet portal that a friend helped develop but Ms Tan has now set up a shop at Stamford House carrying product samples from more than 100 international brands.

Ms Tan, 21, says YES! for Start-ups provided her with the $50,000 she needed to bring her business from the Web to an actual bricks-and-mortar store.

'It was not just funding from Spring; I also contributed $12,500. It's the money I earned from the first few months of the business,' she says.

Raising her own funds to qualify for the funding was the easy part.

'I had no business training, so when I was told that I needed to submit a business plan to Spring, I Googled,' says the Temasek Polytechnic graduate. 'But what I think convinced them was really my passion and commitment.'

Ms Chew says the Government is committed to facilitating a conducive environment for budding entrepreneurs like Ms Tan to 'learn by doing'.

Learning by doing is just what the founders of SoundFarm Production Stu-dios are doing.

The three pals - Mandric Tan, 20, Ng Tian Hwee, 21, and Reuben Shaun Raman, 19 - met at Singapore Polytechnic when they were studying for their diploma in music and audio technology.

When they realised that they share a dream of owning a sound production company, they enlisted their polytechnic lecturer, Mr Jeffrey Low, who also doubles as business mentor and shareholder, to set up a studio.

Although the idea may not be unique, Ms Chew believes the combination of a growing music industry and the founders' commitment and expertise might just tip the scales for SoundFarm.

The three founders pooled together $12,500 from their savings and snagged a $50,000 grant under the YES! for Start-ups programme in July.

'It's very rare to find a small studio with a top-end digital audio work station,' says Mr Tan, who is serving his National Service.

'But the grant has allowed us to start our business with a respectable system so that we can be more competitive.'

SoundFarm generates revenue by offering sound production services as well as renting out its studio.

The budding entrepreneurs have produced five projects, including the sound production for local singing sensation Stefanie Sun's performance in July.

Mr Tan expects SoundFarm to record sales of about $60,000 by next month.

Additional reporting by Cassandra Chew

This article was first published in The Straits Times.