Rick Segal, a venture capitalist at JLA Ventures in Toronto, writes advice for founders on pitching investors and building startups.
Commenters describe him as a stand-up VC and point founders to his blog for funding advice.
Wow, you've got a ton of great and positive advice here.
I agree with almost all of it, but would add this...
There are no shortage of ideas, and no shortage of businesses to build if you have the ideas. If the company/market you are looking at has a good implementation with market penetration and barriers to entry, and if you can't SIGNIFICANTLY make a difference, then maybe keep looking.
Take a read of Rick Segal's current post (and my comment there).
http://ricksegal.typepad.com/pmv/2008/11/features-of-the-world-unite.html
So, your final sentence says it all... go develop, you'll learn a ton going through that process and maybe find more ways to differentiate and improve on the market.
Don't forget to let us know when you launch.
Check out JLA Ventures. They are based in Toronto and just recently raised a new $100 million fund. Rick Segal is their most visible partner and he seems to be a very stand-up guy. http://ricksegal.typepad.com/