Group Effort

Is it difficult to start a business? Yes. Do you wish you had mentors to turn to sometimes when entrepreneurship gets scary? Of course. Never fear. There's a place where you can find camaraderie, guidance and fellow start-ups: YoungStartup Inc.

Founded by 24-year-old Joseph Benjamin in 1999, YoungStartup is a community of entrepreneurs and experts alike. Frustrated by the lack of support he found in his own quest to start a business, Benjamin was determined to be the trailblazer in helping the younger set network and offering them guidance. "We understand what the entrepreneurs have gone through-we're entrepreneurs ourselves," he says. "We know what they want, and we know we can give it to them."

"It" includes access to information, virtual networking through www.youngstartup.com, real-life networking events (held in New York City and eventually nationwide), and a willingness to listen to and work with entrepreneurs (of any age) with drives to start their own businesses.

This article was originally published in the July 2001 print edition of Entrepreneur with the headline: Group Effort.