Crowdfunding

I love the idea of crowdfunding, democratizing the financing of a project.
Test the value of your idea by putting it out there and seeing if you get the support of the community.
I've invested in a couple of projects so far and haven't regretted it.
Core77 has a comprehensive article on the subject on their website.
There are a few platforms for crowdfunding, well worth browsing to see if a project piques your interest:
Kickstarter
Indiegogo
Quirky
Projektstarter