My startup failed because I built it for the wrong people. I didn't mention this in the post, but I did approach schools in my area and offered a free pilot program. After a couple days of emails and cold calling I couldn't get a single taker.
The lesson is that you need to make sure you have a market before wasting time building a product. Most tech guys get this the wrong way around (but don't really care cause they like building stuff).
You're right. Next time around, I'm starting with a landing page and email list, and I'm only coding if I get a decent level of interest. I spent way too much time on this without knowing if I was on target.
