$23/month does seem a bit steep, it'd be cool if you could work in a way for those start ups to get a percentage of the $$, that way we can feel like we are all helping the start up movement. I'd be more willing to spend $23/month if I thought it was going to help a start up in some way.
Get out there an meet as many people as you can! Go to local events, tap into your personal networkm do whatever it takes. Its not easy, but it is possible.
Being someone who is also actively looking for a tech person, from my experience you need to do a lot more than throw a post up on Hacker News, including being more transparent about yourself.
It wasn't until I launched a product (which i had developed by outsourcing it), marketed it up to 5,000 users, got paying customers till tech people payed any attention to me. I have also have deep industry knowledge and connections that help.
You don't need a tech person to get things moving. Outsource an MVP or prototype. Spend a little to get someone interested and excited.
Being fired launched me into my own start up..which has been a great thing for me.
biggest thing I learned was you have to pick you battles, and really only stand up for the ones you are passionate about.
though lack of passion in the 9-5 didn't directly lead to my being fired, it pry played a part in it. My boss an I butted heads a number of times, which I know is what lead to my firing. I always had support for every argument, but at the end of the day he was the one in charge. I'm much happier now though! I'm excited to get up and jump in every morning.
Solving the chicken an egg problem could be difficult, you may try partnering up with car services or cab companies
You could look into car services instead of cabs..some times these types of services will have specific routes/destinations planned..making it easier to match people up..a possible problem is people not wanting to share a car service though.
You could also look into partnering up with cab services that constantly service airports. you could set it up where someone could use your app to set up a cab ride prior to taking off at another airport. That way cabbies will have passengers set up, instead of having to sit and wait. you could pair people up who are coming in at similar times to share the cabs.
Just thinking out loud. I'd love to talk to you more about the app, I've been looking into developing an idea that involves pairing people up to share cost. (not related to your idea)
I found my niche by solving my own pains. Think about something thats a pain in your life, then think about if it could be solved with a simple app, would you pay for the solution you are thinking about? would others? chances are people out there also have that issue and might pay.
do a little research, build something and get feedback, you'll pry find your niche going through that simple process
I learned a great deal at RITs Industrial Design program. Now that i've graduated I feel like I could design/build almost anything. RISD is known as being the mecca of design and I got in, but personally I wanted a school that had sporting events and other things to do, RISDs very "artsy". You can't go wrong with either school
I'm not buying it..the post lacks any real evidence. I've outsourced plenty and have found some really talented coders. Outsourcing has helped me, a non technical person, make shit happen!
Outsourcing is a great way to build a MVP and prove an idea in my opinion, but to each his own I guess.