Yes ofcourse! The struggle is ongoing; especially when you have a team of software developers. We do continuous market research by regular interviews/polls, kee

Yes ofcourse! The struggle is ongoing; especially when you have a team of software developers. We do continuous market research by regular interviews/polls, keeping up with news in the interest area, talking to people (or forums) dedicated to your target area and finally looking at current companies in the focus area. We have one engineer give 30-40% time on market research and other's keep tab on specific focus areas. Keep coding on the side, work on the re-usable components (in case you change the focus area or the main value add). Example, infrastructure (databases, user management etc), maybe getting your garage ready for primetime. Even if you discover the idea you have would not work in the market next idea can have a quick ride on this infrastructure. And finally, experimenting is the best way to find out. If you are thinking revolutionary then any type of market research will not be conclusive. If the idea is evolutionary then you have lots to gain from existing market research (get membership of some marketing companies) and you own! Best of Luck ~M