Sales 101 really applies here. That fear of rejection needs to be overcome. This is especially true for something one or a few people are building for potentially hundreds or thousands or even millions. There is no way for those few people to completely understand the needs of many. You WILL fail. You WILL be rejected. It's not a matter of "if". It's a matter of how yo learn from those rejections and failures.
I absolutely agree with everything you said here. Avoiding failure isn't the key. You HAVE to fail. As long as you learn from the experience then the failing is worthwhile.
Pitch your app to everyone who will listen. What do you have to lose right?
Yes, fear of rejection... No matter how often we repeat: "WHAT DO YOU HAVE TO LOSE". Still. People are scared of selling. It seems that a rational argument doesn't work. Does anyone have a more emotional argument that would convince an otherwise shy geek to start selling?
Hey, I wrote a little piece about more technical things that we did to get our servers back up here: http://dshipper.posterous.com/44286486 feel free to shoot me an email if you want to know more
Whilst this is a simple little statement, a fear of rejection has crippled so many businesses before the even got off the ground.
Well done. I'm glad your honest approach has paid off.