Why is Singapore not yet a superstar in churning out startups?

I am perhaps a perfect example of why Singapore is not yet able to churn out many startups as other places such as Silicon Valley and Israel. No doubt these are the rare few superstar nations that are able to do so, but Singapore, with its small size, surely it's citizens are able to rely on each other and create jobs for themselves? Instead, much of our economy relies on foreign MNCs for our ricebowls.

As a budding entrepreneur, I then ask myself, why have I not yet started a business?

(1) Technology. It all goes back to our history during our founding years. Singapore, while known for its high-tech industries prevalant today, was not always of a high-tech nature. This is very unlike that of Israel, where children are being inculcated into the importance of education since a young age. I once knew of a entrepreneur who started learning coding at age 6. That would never happen in Singapore. It was in our history for kids to help their parents in F&B or trading businsses. Both of which did not require much technological know-how. Even at times of war, it was our government who went after the British to supply us with weapons. Singapore has also been far less experienced in warfare. Contrast this with Israel's need for their own innovation in warfare and aerospace.

(2) Marketplace. While we have just about 5 million citizens (talk about a small domestic country), we were fortunate to start off as a well-connected entrepot hub. There was almost little need to create our own technologies back in the 1960s. Trade was the door to all wealth. That explains why youths are drawn to enter the finance industry instead of engineering.

(3) Talent pool. Face it, even with the flood of early-stage funding given by the government, there is a lack of mentors who genuinely wish to grow startups. Singapore once had a close-knitted community spirit, similar to that of Israel's Kitbutz system. However, with the government's push for public housing, former village mates lost contact. This led to the downhill in our social fabric. Want help from a community? It is much harder to find like-minded youths with the entrepreneurial (coupled with engineering skills).

So..how are things in your city?