And those are precisely the problems that the proposed start-up would have to solve: how to reduce the fixed cost of an employee to as close to zero as possible

And those are precisely the problems that the proposed start-up would have to solve: how to reduce the fixed cost of an employee to as close to zero as possible! I think the problems are solvable and what's more, I think that whoever cracks the problem will be able to deliver a sustainable competitive advantage, and that is worth money.