At first I had trouble starting seeds too. I found that using the burped 72seed cell with the plastic top on it works best. costs 20$
http://www.homedepot.com/p/Burpee-72-Cell-Self-Watering-Greenhouse-Kit-95072/203110198
For the soil medium, I used a coco coir based seed starter and I had my grow lights on. I left the top on one of the sprouted seedlings wouldn't fit anymore, but it took about 2-3 weeks to get them sprout up, and even then after about a month i had some sprout after i separated them and put them in solo cups