I like the concept. Could you explain what exactly "establishments on the ground" mean in your About us. Do you think this is scalable globally or is it only meant for US for the moment?
Lastly what kind of leads are you talking about here - can you give couple of examples?
Check out https://infotomb.com/ - these guys promote themselves - "Share files securely and anonymously." and "Your data your way". Might be similar value offering.
You have started a great discussion. I started as a software developer/analyst for IBM and then moved into developing and supporting financial systems for one of the largest banks in the world. I was never totally technical - wanted to know the larger picture and "chunk up" the issues/problems and it worked to my benefit. In my last role, I was doing exactly what you mentioned - bridging the gap between the in silo technical staff and the business. Metrics and Process improvement play a massive role - especially for companies which are relatively in the early stages of their maturity (< 10 years since inception)
Having said that, knowing how to write code gives you the ability to estimate your developers work and plan your workload/deadlines. Developers will feel connected as well knowing that you will understand their issues, joys.
I have managed people with different skills and demographics and have figured out being a manager is a natural progression in some countries like India and not many companies are bothered if the person truly is meant for the role. I have seen brilliant tech resources totally screwing up their career paths becoming a manager.
This is something which is less practiced in the UK. I have worked in the city and have worked with experts who have been in tech for 15 years and there is no pressure either from their within or from the management.
As the article very rightly cites - "Companies fail to choose the candidate with the right talent for the job 82% of the time"
This can also have a section where some people can post their ideas thats worth getting "opensourced" so that others with time, wish and resources can build that.
This will be helpful for non-tech people or techies who are too swamped with other things.
Just thinking on the legal side of things. What is the worse that can happen if one of the publishers want to screw the startup as they never published anything about them?
Great initiative. Just that the UX should be something a 12 year old or a 70 year old should be able to use. The target audience is only restricted by the need for blood.