Essentially you want to get lucky! :) In my opinion, the success of a start-up is determined by:
1. Co-founder chemistry (how well they know each other, shared vision etc.). With this approach, you'll have no idea what your "so-called" co-founder is like. BIG risk!
2. A vision. Not sure how you can even run a company without having a vision of what you like to do, or what problem you're going to solve. At best, you can be an investor but not a co-founder. And unless you're well networked and bring something valuable to the table, not sure 8k means a lot; and 50% equity for that is too high.
3. Execution - LOT of work. Not sure a startup is as simple as you make it sound. A prototype for 5k + customers for 3k = success? I agree the cost of building a tech. start-up has gone down significantly, but IMO it takes a lot beyond that. Unless you have advantage of owning a groundbreaking idea/IP or something with high barriers of entry it all comes down to execution.
4. The right support and network.
5. And yes, luck!
...having said that, think there is still a chance (however small it is) that it might just work and you might get lucky, but what are the odds?
May be, you can start off with drop shipments like someone mentioned, and probably go for further integration down the line? I feel that any idea that has a physical or offline component has a higher barrier to entry and thus has a better chance of succeeding if you get it right, or are even able to provide some incremental benefit compared to existing options. I look at this way - if I don't want to touch something because it's too complicated chances are others feel the same way, and vice-versa.
I'm not sure if I have a complete understanding of your situation, but you mentioned the other guy isn't local. Perhaps the extra $8 going towards that guy's incremental expenses because he doesn't have a regular place to live, cook etc. like you do? As far as issue related to pay inequity goes, it's a bitter truth that you'll find it almost everywhere (at some level or the other). It's not a big surprise why HR folks ask you to keep your pay confidential. :) I think sometimes it's not a question of what others are getting, but it's more of am I getting what was was mutually agreed upon? If you think you deserve more, better have a strong justification for it rather than just saying my peers are getting more that I am. You always have the option of finding another different job if you don't like it.
I think it also depends on how much you value the work experience vs. the money at this point. I interned with a small company where I got paid just enough to pay my bills, but eventually that work experience helped me find an awesome full-time job.
Hi, I do not have a use case as such. I have used LDAP years ago and was curious if there are any better products now in the market and what the challenges with LDAP servers are.