I am planning on prototyping first even though that may not have been clear.

There is a show in the US called American inventor which sounds similar to Dragon's Den (it probably is the same thing adapted for the US, like American Idol).

I have seen American inventor and you do learn a lot. The biggest lesson is not to spend too much on something which may not sell. I have seen people go on there and state that they have put their life savings or $50,000 to $100,000 on ideas which were not so great.

I have no illusions and tend to be pretty realistic. I think there is potential for my idea, but I would first prototype it and see if there is a market before building 10k units.