Have a great idea but don't have the money? Post it on the Internet, on a crowdfunding site, and wait for the money to come in. Apart from the fundraising, exposing one's project to a wider and global audience is another reason - or even sometimes the main motive - of crowdfunding. Chuah Sun Soon, an SMU student who started up Bamboo Bee bicycles a couple of years ago, used a crowdfunding site to promote his project. For him, the crucial bit was getting the first US$10,000, which got the ball rolling. “The initial phase was the hardest, and then there's another lull after the "external" market comes in after the initial phase, so you've to push again,” he shared. The crowdfunding market is getting more crowded now, and there are a lot of creative projects out there, said Mr Chuah. "So one's project would probably be pitted against 80 per cent of the projects out there unless it's super-cool." So far, he's had pledges for about 22 whole bicycles, but he said that the global reach of crowdfunding is worth it. "If I started this project five, 10 years ago, it would have taken me two years or more to get the same reach and exposure," he acknowledged.