As a dev who spent a couple of weeks trying to configure an automated Amazon EC2 setup, I can totally relate to what they're saying. Not really something new, but a good reminder to keep it simple, and I appreciate them saying what providers they used.
I've interviewed a guy from IBM before. He insisted on commenting everything and having getters and setters for all of his fields.
If you google you can find out why I didn't think this was such a good idea...
https://www.google.co.uk/search?sugexp=chrome,mod=11&sou...
Being in a company has a lot to do with how well you get along with people. You're new, and so I suggest that you listen carefully, ask questions about things that you don't understand (otherwise you'll feel like a dumbass next time they bring it up, and you still don't know what they're talking about).
When you've been working somewhere for a while you also tend to dismiss the problems around you. Make sure you note down all of the things that you find wrong about the place - ask people why these things are they way that they are - it could be a misunderstanding on your part, but it could also be that there are genuinely things that need fixing.
Make sure you keep a notepad on you - note down everything that you learn, problems that you see etc - it'll come in handy.
After a couple of weeks you can start acting on fixing the problems that you've seen - if you actively seek to solve problems, then you can become a hero in the company - the guy that made our lives better.
Lastly remember that if you want something you'll have to fight for it. Don't be afraid to disagree with people, but you have to play a fine game when you've just come into the company - you don't want to piss people off, but you also don't want to set the expectation that you're OK with shitty code.
Well to answer the last question - yes a decent dev will be able to MAKE the frontend and backend. Designing the front end is a different story...
The advice I give in these situations is to sell the product before you have anything. See if your boss would buy it - tell him you've found a great solution which does x, and y, and costs $Z per month. Don't underprice your offering - if it's good, and it solves a real problem, then people will be willing to pay a decent amount for it. I don't know what prices you were thinking of, but you could tell him it costs $50 a month.
If that's too high for him, ask if you could get it down to $30 if he'd be willing to pay for it.
Before you pay a developer, do a front end design - make it look nice (I'd steal someone elses design), and have it explain what your service does. Then set up adwords or advertise your site, and see if anyone clicks to buy the thing.
If people are clicking to try what you've got then you might have a product -otherwise you've just saved yourself a shit load of money by not building the whole friggin thing.
I'd be quite interested in meeting up once a week with people at the beginning stages of creating a startup. It could be a good way to say what you did this week, where you're aiming to be next week, problems etc that have happened along the way.
Could be a good way to motivate people to do what they say, and get help from others. It'd be good to note down what people want to achieve each week, submit it all somewhere centrally, and then go around each person who gets 2 minutes to say what they did, problems they had, where they will be next week...