Even figuring this out is valuable. Say I've got an idea for a hot new academic thing. I know who needs this, I understand their pain, but its really valuable

Even figuring this out is valuable. Say I've got an idea for a hot new academic thing. I know who needs this, I understand their pain, but its really valuable to understand their procurement process as well. If they need to have sales people as part of the process, I need to know that (and cost it in.) Talking to my target market, and understanding what it takes for them to pay me, is a big part of understanding if I have a real business idea or not.