One lesson that is hardest to swallow for most inventors or technologists is that your idea is the key driver of value that everything else revolved around. 

The reality is that everything revolves around execution.

Learn this lesson early and save a lot of heartache.  Unfortunately, only a small minority of ideas ever see the light of day.  Did you know that over 95% of all patents never make a dime?  I mention this not to scare you away from pursuing the market but instead to help you get a grasp of the effort ahead.  Be prepared to work hard – very hard.  Learn how to sell yourself so you can remain on top of each negotiation and each opportunity.  Remember, if your innovation is good enough to land funding, a VC will gobble up a significant portion of your equity, so try to develop the market yourself as long as you can and build value around your idea so that you improve your leverage.