Do you have lots of contacts in your industry? If so, consider solving their problems with existing tech for now. Most unloved corners of the physical economy will pay a give-a-darn premium to smart people who genuinely care about doing good work and satisfying their customers.
If it’s new tech or bust, build the most honest techno-economic model you can and use that to make your go/no-go decision.
I'll take any opportunity to thank devjoe who maintains an index of all MIT Mystery Hunt puzzles as a labor of love at: https://devjoe.appspot.com/huntindex/
If it’s new tech or bust, build the most honest techno-economic model you can and use that to make your go/no-go decision.