I think there are multiple ways to start a startup based off of data. 1) Take other people's data and learn how to represent it in a way that will let them und

I think there are multiple ways to start a startup based off of data. 1) Take other people's data and learn how to represent it in a way that will let them understand it better. See FlowingData, Stamen, and NY Times graphics http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2009/03/10/us/20090310-immigration-explorer.html http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2009/03/10/us/20090310-im...) 2) Take other people's data, glean information from it, and offer a new service based off that information. See FlightCaster and TweetFeel 3) Develop tools that will allow people to play with their own data and do their own analysis in-house. See Datameer, Google Prediction API, and Palantir. Whatever the route, you'll probably need someone who is comfortable dealing with databases, a graphic artist to make the information pretty, and someone with the algorithmic knowledge to capture new insights from massive amounts of data.