[nate]

Not having a demo or problem statement is tough probably? And you might find some great stuff using your lure like you are doing.

But I can't help feel you might have more fun and possibly better effectiveness if go the trite "scratch your own itch" route, or at least focus on demographics you are in or closely related to. You like tshirts? Call tshirt companies and focus on their problems. If you're calling on plumbing companies, great if that's what you're into. But you probably have at least a couple hobby areas you are much more interested in than plumbing. If you like puzzles, calling on game making/puzzle companies with something like "I love the games you are developing!" because you actually like their stuff is likely going to raise your response rates too.

Yeah, Adwords/Facebook/LinkedIn can work. Wasn't too niche. I targeted a pretty wide group, and the survey just asked "What's your biggest problem. A/B/C/D/other" and "How much of a hassel is that problem? Big, medium, small". You want a lot of "big" answers to one of those problems.

[domodomo]

My deal is that I already went down the 'scratch your own itch' path, totally ignorant of the customer development approach and got burnt bad. So now I am going extreme opposite. My guess is there is a happy middle ground I need to drift back towards. I'll keep your advice in mind.

All my hobbies are too nerdy, and therefor over-served btw. Except one: sailing. Maybe I should take a harder look at that.