Having bootstrapped Neatorama and the NeatoShop, I know firsthand how hard it is to get something started. For Buckyballs, the little rare earth magnetic balls playset that could, that start has a name: their very first customer named William McShane:
... He's the guy who, with one click of the mouse, bought the very first set of Buckyballs and changed the course of our history. We like to think of Will as a pioneer of sorts, but he stands for more than that. He's a supporter of innovation and ideas; the one who believed in something new before anyone else did. He's the proverbial dollar bill hanging on a business wall.
Now that Buckyballs is giving back: along with Brookstone, it has started the William McShane Fund to provide $25,000 in startup cash for inventors who'd like to come up with the next big (or in their case, small big) thing: Link - Thanks Craig!