You are right. However since my product is a social consumer-facing product, it is harder to validate without having something to show users (and honestly the marketing will be more important here). The customer portion of my app/business comes from the data gathered and it is hard to show how useful that data is without some real examples (and no I'm not gathering this data maliciously).
I will look into making a page like those "Fake it before you make it" MVPs.
Thanks for the advice. I am going through those steps. I emailed a bunch of CS departments and am going to meetups (can't do too many because school takes a lot of my time).
I am really big on the quality and detail of the product so outsourcing is a last resort.
I'm in that rut where customers say "Interesting idea, show me how well it works" and the technical guys say "Show me customers that are onboard before I build the thing".
I get what you are saying though. Obviously having a product to show customers will be huge in acquiring them.
Unfortunately the character limit on HN made me cut that paragraph out.
I have researched my idea thoroughly. I have the market, the business model, the validation. I have contacts that I have been trying to cultivate with investors, I have the marketing strategy worked out. I have been reading up on design so that I could craft a basic design for my app. I have read everything that I could get my hands on (HN included) to learn about entrepreneurialism, technology, and start-ups.
I didn't mean to imply that CS students aren't entrepreneurial. I just meant that when I talk with the CS students in MY school they aren't entrepreneurial.
Also I only added the "Python(optional)" because that is what I have learned so it would be easier to work with someone who uses it as well.
I have nothing but respect for CS students. Poor phrasing on my part.