Michael,
Neither of the options you have provided would equate to 'giving up'.
So I would give a definate NO to giving up.
Treating your project as a research project does not equate to giving up.
I don't know enough about this market/competitors/technology/market size, etc to define what you should do going forward.
The question I think you should be asking is 'is this a viable business'.
I suspect most of the YC community who are telling you to go for it! are potentially speaking from a start-up attitude of 'live the dream' etc. etc.
They may be right, but not every business is a good business.
Your technology might be the best out there, I just don't know. Personally, I wasn't blown-away by the demos, but I'm not saying that to be harsh, just that from my perspective, I'm not seeing your competitive advantage.
You've put a bunch of work into this, and it may be the best in the market and able to make a significant contribution to the world.
Does your university have a business school, or entrepreneurs club or something? Maybe you could get somebody there to help with defining the market and business planning.
Comments
Michael, Neither of the options you have provided would equate to 'giving up'. So I would give a definate NO to giving up.
Treating your project as a research project does not equate to giving up.
I don't know enough about this market/competitors/technology/market size, etc to define what you should do going forward.
The question I think you should be asking is 'is this a viable business'.
I suspect most of the YC community who are telling you to go for it! are potentially speaking from a start-up attitude of 'live the dream' etc. etc. They may be right, but not every business is a good business.
Your technology might be the best out there, I just don't know. Personally, I wasn't blown-away by the demos, but I'm not saying that to be harsh, just that from my perspective, I'm not seeing your competitive advantage. You've put a bunch of work into this, and it may be the best in the market and able to make a significant contribution to the world.
Does your university have a business school, or entrepreneurs club or something? Maybe you could get somebody there to help with defining the market and business planning.