Okay, sorry to re-reply but here are the two versions of the email I sent. Mind skimming them and tell me what I did horribly, horribly wrong? I'd honestly love your feedback. I think I would follow something shorter than this but the same in spirit for cold phone calls. So maybe you can save me some pain and anguish.

Polite Version: Dear %fill:FirstName%,

First off, sorry for this out of the blue email. I found your name %fill:FoundYourNameSource%, and was hoping you might be able to help me.

My name is Ian Fitzpatrick, I'm the founder of a small software company in Saint Paul. I'm investigating ideas for my next software product, and I'm interested in creating an application that serves your industry.

I see that you're a %fill:JobRole% at %fill:CompanyName%. Are there any parts of your job that you feel are a hassle, repetitive, or error-prone -- where if you had the right software at work, your life might be a little easier? That's the kind of thing I'm super interested in hearing about.

If you have just 20 minutes available any time this week, I'd love the meet and pick your brain. I'm honestly just trying to learn, and hopefully create a product that makes your life a little easier.

Impolite Version:

Hi %fill:FirstName%,

I’m a software developer investigating some projects ideas in the %fill:IndustryName%. I’d like to understand the problems and successes you've had at %fill:CompanyName% a bit better. I’m not trying to sell you anything, I would just like to hear your thoughts on a few things related to the industry.

Do you have 20 minutes available to meet at some point in the next week? I'd like to conduct an informal interview with you.