Wow, Thanks for the comments! Very insightful...I like the idea to sell medical products on a subscription based model...it has some schleps related to it :)http://paulgraham.com/schlep.html
Take the money and run....no just kidding of course. Is it possible to pivot your idea? You must have thought about this I am sure...Your team must be pretty good, otherwise you would n't have an outstanding angel board and I assume you wouldnt be able to keep the money. I agree with the approach of "lifeisstillgood". Can you tell us a bit about your "failed" idea?
It might seem strange at this point but have you considered to apply here?: http://ycombinator.com/noidea.html
I would not do anything. Just wait and see whether this guy gets accepted for an interview...if yes tell them you have been asked to join and did yet not confirm your participation and if not you are free to do whatever you want. Since you have been listed as a developer you can easily apply again with another idea.
I agree with you that the one who will get the favor done wont be interested in buying the solution. It also depends of course on the favor...(i.e. reviewing code cant be done twice in a row since each problem is going to be different).
However, the following people that have the same problem maybe will. Lets say the initial favor costs 1 USD and the solution 50 cent....then you might opt for the solution.
Didnt Amazon have a small-task service? You might also check out mightybell.com for some inspiration on that...
I see your point. However, jf you have a smart solution that's worth buying, people will buy it over and over again and even when it seems "cheap" it could generate significant revenue (just like the songs etc. on itunes)...
You can monetize with this: add the feature that the ones who do the favors also can explain other how they did it, if you want to know how to do it you have pay a very small fee (maybe 10 to 50 cents). I know there are already code review pages outthere, but I would definitely add the feature to review/add code snippets.
You would rather "tax" the user for digital services (a bit like itunes which "taxes" users for digital products). Depending on a lot of stuff this might actually be a very good idea. When you have your fvp send me a mail.
I would set up coding and design schools in areas of the world where students do not have access to fancy IT equipment and software etc. Then I would set up small incubators in those areas to foster entrepreneurship.
Then I would give each Apple employee 15 days of per year to travel to those areas.
Thanks guys for the comments. Really appreciate it. And please excuse the lack of asking more precisely, what I meant to ask was if you guys see any chance and need in a new company that produces hardware and software? Of course thats not all Apple is about...after all you might not need a similar company whatsoever. However, currently I don't see any company out there with the potential to come up with a similar set up (hence I totally agree with chris_dcosta and in part with dholowiski).