it sounds like this first phase is more market testing than the final product - I suspect if interest is high then they will have enough data and potential buyers to formulate a business plan.
My thoughts exactly. And we see articles on this kind of strategy on HN all the time. Typically they get a bunch of positive, "I like this in the abstract realm/will try this in the future"-type feedback. So I am a little surprised by the disbelief this particular instance is receiving.