By CHEN HUIFEN

ELIM Chew, the founder of apparel and accessory firm 77th Street, lamented the difficulty she had to face in persuading people to attend a seminar on how to have a millionaire mindset last weekend.

Even though her company had sponsored the tickets, the people she tried to convince to go were unwilling to sacrifice the three long days of commitment required.

'They come up with all kinds of excuses like, 'I have no time',' she said. 'But you know, in everything you do, there's always a sacrifice. For me, if I can go three days, and spend three days to learn how to be a millionaire, I think I would go.'

She was using the anecdote to illustrate how some aspiring entrepreneurs tended to think too much when considering whether they want to start a business. She noted in her interaction with aspiring entrepreneurs that some were suspicious about government funding support, or concerned about the processes of starting up. Some spent too much time researching that they may have missed an opportunity.

Sharing her own experience at a Start-Up@Singapore Entrepreneurs Unplugged event last evening, Ms Chew urged aspiring entrepreneurs to get their ideas out first and tap on Singapore as their base. Here, one can form a company via the Internet in 15 minutes and there are also numerous support schemes to help young entrepreneurs along.

'But you have to take that big step,' she urged the audience of more than 200 students and budding entrepreneurs. 'That step will lead to another step. If you never take that one step, you will never go to another step.'

Her message was echoed by fellow panellists at a discussion on 'Entrepreneurship, the Journey'. Serial entrepreneur Saeed Amidi, who has 14 firms under his belt, urged the audience to speak to as many people as they can about the business ideas that they have.

'The way you find a team is to share your idea, refine your idea and crystallise it, and have brainstorming sessions with classmates, with your professors and ask them, do they know anybody who could complement your trade,' he said. Drawing from his own experience, it is through the provision of networking opportunities at Plug & Play Tech Center - an incubator in Silicon Valley that he co-founded three years ago - that saw some of its start-ups win over angel investors and find funding support.

A third panellist, Dennis Goh, managing director of HungryGoWhere.com, encouraged the audience to seek advice from experienced entrepreneurs. He himself once sent Ms Chew an email in the past to share his idea and learn from her entrepreneurial journey.

'So basically, do have a bit of thick skin,' said the civil servant-turned-founder of an online food guide. 'I think that's very important. Because I connected entrepreneurs before. I said, 'Hey I think your idea can work, why don't you link up with this person?' You know what they tell me? No lah, paiseh.

'Go for it. They are usually a lot friendlier than you think.'

Held at the HDB Hub auditorium, Entrepreneurs Unplugged was held in conjunction with the worldwide Global Entrepreneurship Week, which opens in Singapore yesterday. The panel discussion was moderated by Alvin Yap, founder of TheMobileGamer.

This article was first published in The Business Times.