Music enthusiast Clarence Chen (27) has landed the coveted top award in the Shell LiveWIRE Singapore Awards 2013 with his live music gig finder, Bandwagon Pte Ltd.

Clarence received his SGD $10,000 (US $7,900) from the guest of honour, Desmond Lee Ti-Seng, Minister of State, Ministry of National Development at a special presentation ceremony at ITE College East.

The awards, now in their 8th year, attracted some 30 entries this year and the finalist businesses ranged from gamification and aerial photography to vegetarian fast food and children's healthcare.

Clarence's business, Bandwagon, is a live music gig finder in the form of a website designed to connect people to live music and to give local music a bigger stage. The website features the most comprehensive local gig listing on the Internet and also enables agents to discover new artists. Bandwagon is the easy way for music lovers to keep up with live music events in Singapore.

Having graduated with first class honours in Economics, Clarence decided to merge his passion for music and business by starting his own company. Creating his music industry contacts from scratch, Bandwagon is now connected to the main local and international concert promoters and record labels, with more than 150 venues and over 1,200 artists in Singapore.

Bandwagon is one of the few music and tech start ups in recent years that is widely acknowledged by both the music and start up scenes. The company has been featured in Esquire, TODAY, Business Times, 938LIVE, Yahoo!, I-S Magazine, Tech in Asia and SG Entrepreneurs. Its success is unique in the online music industry in Singapore and the wider region.

Clarence's advice to other budding young entrepreneurs is, "Live your passions, keep learning, and don't give up.”

Alongside the main Shell LiveWIRE Awards, special Shell LiveSpark Awards were also made to recognise the entrepreneurial potential of students in secondary and post-secondary education. Prior to the awards being made, a series of enterprise workshops were run for those entering both the main awards and the Shell LiveSpark category. These enabled the participants to learn from enterprise experts and successful Shell LiveWIRE entrepreneurs, who shared many useful tips and insights into developing a thriving, sustainable business.

Mavis Kuek, General Manager, External Affairs & Communications, Shell Eastern Petroleum (Pte) Ltd, said, "Shell is committed to helping build a sustainable future in the countries we operate in. It's heartening to see so many young entrepreneurs take up the challenge in the Shell LiveWIRE programme in pursuit of their enterprising business ideas.

"We believe too that by providing a conducive environment to encourage the growth of start ups in Singapore, we can help promote greater innovation for long term sustainability.”