I'd love to receive open feedback on my side projects from tech individuals without incurring significant costs, aside from my family, friends, or colleagues.
Are there communities willing to try out digital products and tech tools without making explicit commitments?
Another method, guerilla testing, worked well in grad school. Go to a public place - a library, coffee shop, etc. Politely ask random people to test your project. The obvious downside is they may not fit your target audience, but it's a cheap and scrappy way to get some feedback.