cawhitley:
I did see an Arduino-compatible project on the KickStarter program. Is anyone familiar with that program? I'm wondering if it's a good way to get funding for a small project.
I've backed several projects on kickstarter, including digispark http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/digistump/digispark-the-tiny-arduino-enabled-usb-dev-board?ref=category that you may be referring to. Everybody has a different reason for backing a project. For technology projects I tend to only back the project if I want the thing in question, and the person has a working prototype, and is looking to get funds to get to the step of manufacturing it. I tend to skip projects that don't seem to have a firm grasp on the non-techy parts such as building and delivery.
Right now, in this thread, you are nowhere near the working prototype part, so I don't think it would be a successful kickstarter product.
In addition you need plans for how to build the thingy, and you need to think about what happens if your project is very successful. Digispark is a prime example, where they started out with small goals, and it keeps on growing to nearly $200k. But if you read the posts, you start seeing people getting snippy and expecting yet more variations on the shields they are producing, and the team has basically come to the conclusion that they cannot keep adding new board designs.
One of the kickstarter projects that I backed, had a 9 month delay in delivery due to a number of things, including a part they designed around had gone out of production, their designs weren't exact enough, and when they got the cases, many didn't fit, and dealing with foreign factories to add to the fun.
Note, to be a kickstarter project, you first have to be vetted by the kickstarter team. You also don't get the money unless your funding goal is reached in the time period you specify. As I follow various projects, a lot don't get funded. Also note, that Amazon payments and the kickstarter company get their slice of the funds before you see it, and it will be a month after the funding part of the project shuts down before you get the money, so you need to make your minimum amount you are asking for large enough to cover these. Don't forget to plan for dealing with taxes, etc. Just like a startup business or a political campaign, you need to rally the troops in order to get the orders in.
You need to do the elevator pitch, where you are in the elevator with somebody and you only have the time before they get to their floor to interest them in the project. Your pitch has to be memorable enough to stand out from the other 5,368 pitches they got in the same day.