Over the past 6 months I was working on my startup with a private equity investor. One of my consistent responsibilities was gathering market and industry data.

Over the past 6 months I was working on my startup with a private equity investor. One of my consistent responsibilities was gathering market and industry data. Even though we could afford it, it was something we never paid for. My mentor/boss was always of the opinion that it all existed for free, and it was just a matter of finding it yourself. That said, market research is beyond valuable, but nothing is more important than customer development.