Speaking to potential customers about the specifics of feature implementations might sometimes be a bad idea before version 1.0, but I definitely think it's goo

Speaking to potential customers about the specifics of feature implementations might sometimes be a bad idea before version 1.0, but I definitely think it's good to speak to potential customers. It's by far the best way to understand your market - figure out what problems they face, what they (think they) want, and what they might be willing to pay for it. I've spent the last year working on a new product. (What can I say, I'm slow!) At several points I've thought that I've spoken to enough potential customers, that I've got all the information and understanding of the market that I need to go on with... And then another potential customer pops up, I speak to them, and gain valuable insights that I never would have imagined I was lacking. These conversations haven't really slowed me down; if anything it's the opposite. They've helped me make decisions that I was struggling with and they've helped me to prioritize what's important. I think they've helped me to avoid costly mistakes. Every month I feel more comfortable with the product that I'm soon to launch. And I can still change direction after launch, if it makes sense to do so. It's not just about figuring out what features your product should have. It's about figuring out what types of people (or companies) are going to want to buy it, which you can most profitably target, how much they're likely to want to pay, and how best to sell it to them (e.g. what about your proposed product really pushes their buttons?). Understanding this stuff affects so much, like your choice of product name, how you should market it, and price it. Figuring out the initial feature set is just part of it.