WHILE most of Mr Ramesh Pillai's success as the founder and chief executive officer of sound and lighting company Stage 4 AV comes from hard work and tenacity, he admits that a small portion is also due to his personal charm.

'Every time I do a job, people just seem to like my face and my enthusiasm and I get more assignments after that,' said Mr Pillai, 32, who is a member of the Singapore Indian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Sicci) youth committee, as well as the 2006 Sicci-DBS Singapore Indian Entrepreneur winner in the Young Entrepreneur category.

He has supplied sound and lighting systems for major events in Singapore - the ethnic festival light-ups in Chinatown, Little India and Geylang Serai, fashion shows as well as business events and conferences.

He started out in the business at 15, deejaying at private parties and events. After his O levels he decided not to continue with his studies as his grades weren't good enough to qualify for a spot in a polytechnic.

His first job at the age of 17, with a Taiwanese sound equipment company, proved to be the stepping stone to his entrepreneurial path.

'Whatever my boss taught me, sound systems and programming lights for clubs and events, I learnt very fast,' said Mr Pillai.

While still serving his NS, he registered his company under his mother's name as he was not yet 21, and tendered for his very first job to supply equipment for an event organised by a major telecommunications firm.

'When I went in to apply for the tender, they were surprised to see this young fellow. They insisted on coming back to my house to see if the equipment I had was really mine,' he recalled with a laugh.

He held on to the contract for three years running which led to other jobs that gave him enough money to buy his first van, rent his first warehouse space in Kallang and eventually hire his first employee.

Today, he has a five-man team and owns a 3,200 sq ft warehouse space at the Enterprise Hub at Toh Guan Road in Jurong. He has invested about $1.5 million to get the latest sound and lighting equipment. He is also looking into expanding his business regionally.

His biggest sources of inspiration are criminal lawyer Subhas Anandan and former national footballer-turnedbusinessman V. Sundramoorthy for showing guts and tenacity in their chosen fields and his family for supporting his ambitions.

He wants young entrepreneurs to find the potential within themselves.

'Prove yourself in your industry, make a mark and don't listen to what other people have to say,' he said.

Sheela Narayanan