You launch, I pay for the service and convince some frens to join. You only need a few like me and something that fills a need and you are pretty good to go. 

Have you ever heard of the 1000 true fans theory? Its a musician thing. Basically 1000 true fans who spend 100 per year across merch / product / events will fund a small project. The focus is then fanatically dedicated to their needs rather than on proselytizing. The word of mouth from a group this tight is a powerful force.

Just wondering if this idea may work for devs with passion projects as well.