A question popped up on the Canberra Startup Google group about proceeding past ideas stage. This was my response:
Get out of idea stage NOW.
Who is your customer. what is your problem and what 3 things will you solution do to solve this for them.
Speak to 10 of these customers. Face to face best or Skype if they are far away.
Is this problem real? Will they pay for it. Look at how Kickstarter works. People pay before something is available. do the same.
Once you have problem solution fit then think about building it and validating. Build a genuine minimum viable product and iterate from there.
Also, be prepared to tell people your idea. You can’t sell a secret.
PS: Step 2 is find 20 customers who are banging your door to get what you are offering, even if its not built yet.