NOT many agencies in Singapore would call themselves a "mother agency", but Basic Models Management assumes the maternal mantle at the crux of of its business. Founded by Bonita Ma, it helps models work with secondary agencies overseas, on top of polishing and grooming local hopefuls "from scratch" to a shiny finish, constructing their portfolios, assigning gigs, and sending them for castings.

The agency has a steady source of more than 70 models available for booking. Of all of them, Basic has produced celebrity models such as Fiona Fussi, who appeared in Chanel's YouTube makeup tutorials this year, and Aimee Cheng-Bradshaw, who represented Singapore in the third cycle of Asia's Next Top Model. Their apparent fame and glamour is far removed from the real story - the startup's struggles in its early years.

Before starting Basic, Ms Ma worked as a manager in a separate modelling agency, which shuttered its doors locally. The boss had left the country, Ms Ma says, leaving girls who had contracts with the company jobless. She was the only agency manager in Singapore present at the time, and negotiated with the boss whom she says "ran away".