I think a better approach is to solve your own problems. This way you don't have to waste time cold calling people and hoping they are sincere with you with their feedback. You are the user and the creator... It's a very powerful position to be in.<p>I would recommend reading Paul Graham excellent post on "startup ideas" (which could easily translate to "project ideas"):<p>"The way to get startup ideas is not to try to think of startup ideas. It's to look for problems, preferably problems you have yourself." <a href="http://paulgraham.com/startupideas.html" rel="nofollow">http://paulgraham.com/startupideas.html</a>
"I’m doing some research into software used by ________. Just curious, is there any software you’ve been looking for?..."<p>I think you would be surprised at how many people get confused by "software." I've received answers like "Safari" to this same exact question.<p>Just a thought, but instead of focusing on providing another piece of software (and phrasing it that way), look to provide business value. I know that's your end result, but I would present it that way from the first interaction.<p>Also, when you've picked the market/client base you want, I highly recommend seeing if you can visit the business for a day or two (if you can find time.) There's nothing better than immersing yourself...it will lead to better insight.
I stole Drew Houston's idea for ideas by carrying a little notebook around to write down things that annoy me; has lead to the beginning of several little projects.
I'd say asking them as well, "What do you think you'd pay for it?" could be useful to establish if it's genuinely worth going after it, but it's a really awkward question to fit in and it's a <i>really</i> awkward question to answer as well.
Another option: do what someone else is already doing. For instance, bug tracking and project management apps have proven demand. Sometimes you can steal enough market share by doing things better or by making subtle variations.
There is more than one way to skin a cat. Customer development based approaches like this are effective at birthing certain types of products. But lets not fall into the trap that there is a one-size-fits-all approach to innovation. Necessity is always the mother of invention, but often people can't conceive of what their life is missing or what parts of life could be more enjoyable or less painful.
Ideas, execution, problems, audience....<p>They are all part of the same thing.<p>You can choose to be the gold digger or the merchant. It doesn't matter. One is filled with risk but great fortune. The other is more secure but the prospects of making it big are much less.
I dig this overall process (and transparency), but I'm bummed that ultimately it came down to "I have an idea." It's an idea that has some customer validation, but the value of this series of blog posts for folks was to prove a process for creating a web application that didn't start with "an idea."
There are a couple of sites that help for finding or at least verifying viable markets:<p>1) U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (www.bls.gov)
2) and FreeLunch.com - <a href="http://www.economy.com/freelunch/default.asp" rel="nofollow">http://www.economy.com/freelunch/default.asp</a>
I really like articles like this (on how to "find" ideas) and have seen a few on HN. Does anyone have more articles like this book marked? I've seen PG's essay.