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>> ASIAONE / BUSINESS / SME CENTRAL / SME CENTRAL /PRIME MOVERS / MBA students turn class projects into 'real' business They let service apartment-style units to students at below-market rates S'pore firm introduces mobile phone bookings for movies in India It offers new range of mobile commerce solutions Far from sluggish Long-time friends Sharon Foong and Sophia Leong gave up stable jobs with regular income to find their calling in the F&B business S'poreans not yet coffee connoisseurs, says local barista Two brothers who gave up their high-paying engineering jobs to make coffee Choc retailer seizes opportunity in downturn Former accountant Benny Chua started Chocz during the Sars crisis; outlets now bring in $3m in annual revenue Rolling in dough BreadTalk founder George Quek had his fair share of failures, but his dogged determination helped the 50-year-old pull through From a chemical spill to a million-dollar dream 'Liquid armour' inventor came up with formula by accident after two years of experimenting Bold move pays off for Apple computer store owner Jimmy Fong had invested $200k in single-brand store despite not having any retail experience. Always on a roller coaster Running a business and looking after her children keeps Ms June Jumain on her toes, but she would not have it any other way Mall tycoon tops Philippine rich list Henry Sy is richest of three billionaires on Forbes list of 40 wealthiest Filipinos Zhang Yin: World's richest self-made woman This Chinese waste paper tycoon is worth more than twice as much as American celebrity host Oprah Winfrey A passion for art, a nose for business Founder Mark Tan tells how Page One succeeded against the odds Small businesses find room in China's west Western China: their start-up capital may be modest, but some entrepreneurs show that a lot of guts and some creative adaptation can help them break into the market Inventor struggled to get funding Firm nearly folded in 2003 during the Sars outbreak; staff members volunteered to take pay cuts to see the company through Two local firms win prestigious tech pioneer award Biotech companies awarded same honour as previous winners Google and Napster A chance to build Asia in Second Life Its co-creator says Singapore could have first mover advantage Hong Kong's Richard Li struggles to match his tycoon father's "Superman" reputation He used to be lauded as Asia's Bill Gates, but these days, Richard Li appears more like a hapless hero stuck in a messy melodrama Top ten man & million-dollar world Orchard Tower disco was his first business venture I'm not a Paris Hilton Dressed in a stylish Chanel outfit, Mrs Moran cuts an intimidating figure as she spoke with authority Fandi is too nice for his own good A great friend but poor businessman, his debts have forced him to work overseas Finding their own niche The three Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year finalists in the lifestyle & consumer services category share with WEE LI-EN their challenges in starting their businesses and growing them, and how these have changed over the years FilmTack: Banking on dad’s advice They did not go on to university because their dad wanted them to run FilmTack, a family company selling solar control window films SPL Innotech: Tapping the potential of IPTV SPL Innotech is striving to be the global IPTV leader Learning EDvantageL: Making e-learning lively Revenue in the first year of its operations exceeded $5 million — a rare feat for firms in the e-learning business Aeromobiles: Reaching new heights Developing the market potential of the A380 lift is a quick way for Aeromobiles to get international recognition for its brand Synergy Logistics: Staff-driven success They work hard to ensure that customers get every shipment of the cargo handled by the company L.D. Waxson: More than skin deep L.D. Waxson is aiming for double-digit growth annually in the years ahead and hopes to hit $100 million in turnover in 2009 Lian Bee Metal: Constantly raising the bar Lian Bee currently produces about 35,000 tonnes of rebars a year and claims a respectable market share of between 4 and 4.5 per cent in Singapore Kim Ann Engineering: Its specialty is metal It is a supplier of specialty metals spanning over 1,000 product lines serving four industries: electronics, precision engineering, oil and gas and aerospace Silicon Applications: Making electronic connections To increase its margins, Silicon Applications went in search of something different The Stanfield Group: Giving dept to learning Chairman Kannappan Chettiar is a believer in the educational value of first-hand experiences Oceantrade: Swimming in success The group’s annual turnover in 2005 was $87 million, up from its 2004 annual turnover of $61 million Teambuild Construction: Building on teamwork This home-grown company has not only bucked the trend, but is rapidly growing its annual turnover to nearly $100 million The GMP Group: Innovative headhunting When Ms Annie Yap was thrust into the position of heading human resource (HR) consultancy The GMP Group at 29, it was not the happiest of times Tru-Marine: Training a ship-shape team It specialises in servicing the turbocharger, a piece of precision equipment in the engine that rotates at tremendous speeds, boosting the power of the engine by driving more air into it for combustion S & I Systems: The perfect solution, always The IT solutions provider has churned out enterprise infrastructure and business solutions for its customers since 1998 Ma Kuang: Traditional medicine, modern methods Instead of venturing into China and Hong Kong, Mr Huang decided to open his first overseas TCM clinic in S'pore in April 1999 iWOW Technology: Inspired by ideas With three friends, he established iWOW Technology with a modest start-up capital of $25,000 Taka Jewellery: A glittering success Taka Jewellery has set up offices in Hong Kong, Dubai, Tokyo, Vancouver and the United Sstates, and continues to enjoy sustained growth Orient Express Lines: Going places Last year, it won an E-50 award, and it continues its successful run this year Franklin Offshore International: Lifting higher and higher Franklin Offshore International’s business is, reassuringly, big Wee Tiong: Keeping it sweet It is one of the leading physical commodities trading companies in South-east Asia, specialising in sugar and rice, as well as branching out into salt, groundnuts and cooking oil Lipico: Powered by oils and fats Lipico sees its move into biodiesel as a natural progression APS Asset Management: Third time lucky The company had come in second for the last two years for Enterprise 50 awards In celebration of enterprise stars An Enterprise 50 award is not just about prestige. For 50 local companies, it is also a recognition of courage, strong entrepreneurial spirit and the determination to be global players. Read some of their success stories in this Special Star-gazing An indomitable fighting spirit, courage and passion were some traits which were celebrated at Friday’s Enterprise 50 and e50.start-up Gala Dinner and Award Presentation Tap into FTA network to gain entry overseas: Minister Minister of State for Trade and Industry Lee Yi Shyan spoke at Enterprise 50 and e50.start-up Gala Dinner and Award Presentation He creates his own product with Apple Just a young poly grad, but ... he creates his own product with Apple Blush! named franchisor of the year Homegrown franchise concepts have more than doubled, from 85 in 1995 to 190 in 2003. Sheng Siong's recipe for business growth SME SPOTLIGHT: Sheng Siong supermarket chain Upstart mini-marts New players in the 24-hour grocery trade are giving the big boys a run for their money Vietnam: A country hungry for progress And Singapore can be a gateway to the world for Vietnam, says American businessman Tony Salzman, who is sometimes teased by friends as "Mr Vietnam". Young entrepreneur who is not afraid to try At 21, has two IT companies – Reactive Systems and Tinkerbox Corporation – under his belt Innovator in tracking lost cellphones His company was named one of the 100 hottest technology companies by Red Herring for revolutionising mobile phone security Lessons from the heady dot.com era Hotmail founder Sabeer Bhatia: many dot.com ideas were not hot air — just ahead of the times The heady, swirling business of selling wine The key to a successful wine business is to stand out and understand what people like to drink Surviving the heat Restaurant owner Diana Cheng, who was among the pioneer batch of SP business students, talks to JAMIE LEE about her successes and failures, which have not deterred her from expanding overseas New entrepreneurship landscape Utac founder Inderjit Singh tells CHEN HUIFEN things are much better now for entrepreneurs in Singapore than when he started out S'pore best place for startups, says GlobalRoam founder There are numerous funding schemes offered by government agencies to give startups a fillip Getting a leg-up from incubators NANDE KHIN looks at some institutions that make innovations available to start-ups Entrepreneurs by choice Singaporeans are increasingly forsaking the safe route and setting up ventures from tiny pushcart stalls to technology firms Pushing Sales More pushcart vendors are opening brick-and-mortar stores From small business to strong survivor Tee Yih Jia's Sam Goi tells why going overseas was crucial to the business Millionaire's touch of glass She started a glass-making company in 1986 with just $500 and she earned her first million eight year later Turning a hobby into a career Gemologist Colleen Tan noticed a growing interest in jewellery among the young and started her own boutique More youths becoming their own bosses Many are setting up their own businesses — even when they are still in school It's a shoe-in He customised shoes for sneaker boutiques Atmos and Chapter in Tokyo, Japan, garnering a league of fans T-shirt designers with an attitude We appear fierce, but that is because we want to make a strong statement, says MeowMoo's designers eSys boss is named Entrepreneur of the Year Mr Goel started from humble beginnings - his first job here was as a computer re-seller in Sim Lim Square with a salary of just $2,000 Master of multi-tasking Young entrepreneur Jason Goh speaks about the challenges of juggling a business, university assignments and family obligations

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