I have talked to literally hundreds of people off the street, coffee shops, etc. about my startup ideas. In all honesty, most of them were a waste of time.<p>Now, I take a different approach. I talk to my friend's friend's friends until I find the <i>right</i> customers to talk to. I contact my friends and ask who they know and then I ask who they know and so on. Its pretty easy once you get going. And a warm intro is an easy way to get the time you need.<p>Other resources are LinkedIn, Twitter, Reddit, Quora, etc. Find someone on there that has an interest in the idea you are working on. After you have a short interview ask who they know. Once you get the referrals flowing its very easy to find enough people to talk to.<p>A great read on this topic is Talking to Humans. A couple of takeaways:
1. Approach talking to others as a way to question your assumptions.
2. Ask for stories. People do a better job telling a specific story about their life, rather than answering hypothetical questions.
3. Look for clues, workarounds, passions, and pains.<p>- <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Talking-Humans-Success-understanding-customers-ebook/dp/B00NSUEUL4" rel="nofollow">https://www.amazon.com/Talking-Humans-Success-understanding-...</a>