I've been in this industry for decades. In summary these are my criteria:
* If the solution is software only, then there's probably a 100+ comparable solutions out there. See the point below about competition. I prefer problems that involve real people, real money and tangible solutions. YMMV
* First and foremost: Talk to real people who might have the problem you are solving. Emails, forums, etc are a waste of time. If you can't in person contact with 10 people who have the problem you are solving, then how are you going to scale to thousands of millions?
* How big is the pain you are solving? Getting people to part with money causes them existential pain. So your solution needs to transcend that.
* Check out the competition. If there is none, there probably isn't a market either. If you have competitors seek out how you can deliver 10x value compared to them. If you can't, then move on.
* Can you deliver a demonstrable, working MVP within 6 months. If not, then others will probably beat you in that race.
* If the solution is software only, then there's probably a 100+ comparable solutions out there. See the point below about competition. I prefer problems that involve real people, real money and tangible solutions. YMMV
* First and foremost: Talk to real people who might have the problem you are solving. Emails, forums, etc are a waste of time. If you can't in person contact with 10 people who have the problem you are solving, then how are you going to scale to thousands of millions?
* How big is the pain you are solving? Getting people to part with money causes them existential pain. So your solution needs to transcend that.
* Check out the competition. If there is none, there probably isn't a market either. If you have competitors seek out how you can deliver 10x value compared to them. If you can't, then move on.
* Can you deliver a demonstrable, working MVP within 6 months. If not, then others will probably beat you in that race.