learning coding or outsourcing the dev work both seem like non-starters to me. It's not just about getting some prototype built and walking away with it to the market. Any first attempt will be half baked at best. How do you iterate after? how do even measure if whatever you built is even working? what is reasonable traction to be had?
taking a step back though, before plunging headlong into this journey, I would seriously consider all the steps between thinking about the prototype and the 'godzillions' to be had. Just like with almost every other startup, the initial reaction to your prototype/MVC is going to be that the market doesn't care (shocker!)..maybe you get lucky and get some traction. The data you get will be clear as mud. Would you persist and continue with iterations to uncover the real market fit?
also, it doesn't matter if you are tech savvy yourself. are you at least completely comfortable working with a strong tech person without letting them completely run the show? If you are unsure, I would recommend going to a few local tech conferences/meetups and get to know the people. Maybe you'll come away with an arrangement where someone talented is willing to work part time on your time for some equity.
take your time finding the right partnership arrangement; don't worry too much about the fact that you have this brilliant idea someone else will beat you to it.
this is not a direct response to your question but..'estimated 10M unique users'? this is an estimate for business you are starting? or are you building it for someone who already has traffic and expects to grow? if it's the former, I wouldn't worry too much about the scalability just yet..by all means use nodejs if it affords you luxury of using available resource skills and meets your feature needs..if it's the latter then it all depends on what is currently being used (for the tech stack) and why that's not good enough to scale
how is this helpful? this is the classic 'works for me' response when a bug is reported..try to understand that other people may have other personalities, environments, needs, interests
I totally agree with this notion. Don't just go out and learn another programming language..it's an addiction to go after the next shiny tool/language/package that comes along. instead step away from it and focus on how you're career has evolved. what are the aspects of various jobs that you've taken on so far that really appeal to you. try to do more of it on the side.
I am currently in a similar situation where I'm trying to explore how my experience can benefit other younger students or early stage programmers. The end result of being enthused by them and also helping them with my broader perspective is very appealing to me. You can of course ease into such a role; don't have to give up your day job. family responsibilities are very real, very important and very satisfying...
with all the varied experience that you have, why would you want to focus on a programming job. If you are good at sales, evangelizing tech, there are plenty of non programming opportunities where you can add significant value. Look at all the tech companies that want a community manager. There are lots of international tech companies that have good products that are dying to get a foothold in the US market. get in touch with them; tell them you help market, evangelize their product; you can help support their US customers. having a holistic business perspective is an extremely valuable skill.
definitely higher monthly fee
cap the number of support hours/incidents
assuming only a small percentage of incidents require physical intervention, contract out to part time local tech even if their per incident rate is high