I'd like to know more about your business, but off the top of my head, you could get some video testimonials up on your site. Their genuine interest and excitement in what you are doing will resonate with others. (Assuming you are promoting this online, if not, how are you doing promotion?)

Can you get it up and running using something like Square Space? What does your plan entail? Are you going to raise money? If so, you will need to prove out demand. It would be good to set up experiments to learn more about your audience. Can you provide more info? I'm interested.

It's really good that you are putting yourself out there and interviewing. I would suggest you start reaching out to different start up peeps for coffee. You can learn a lot about an industry or venture over casual coffee conversations.

I came across two sales roles in my past at startups by getting out there and meeting people.

Reach out if you want to chat more about this.

I think you have a powerful opportunity here. Yes, he is a billionaire, but that means he is also human. Communication is a powerful tool, so this will be a great learning experience regardless of the outcome.

I would just reach out to him and let him know all of the things that you learned on your projects, what you did to try to save them, what you are interested in now, and then tie that into what he is doing (do your homework). If you tell him how you can fix HIS problem then he will be open to your work.

Worst case scenario, you are in the same situation. This is just a good way of acting in a place of diplomacy. Boldness, yet humbleness.

Also, because you are feeling the way you are about this particular individual, I would challenge you to start having conversations with "power players" on a weekly basis. This will help you to get out there, get some bumps and bruises, and play in the arena.

I can help you come up with a full "grand strategy" if you are interested.

Do you do much writing? I think it would be interesting for you to understand this anxiety. Writing can be a good outlet for self discovery.

Maybe you could shift your focus toward another career path. It's really hard to say without more information. Feel free to reach out if you'd like to go into this in depth.

Why do you want to start a business? I see this as a means to the end. I read a great book written by a Navy SEAL that was adamant about first identifying the target and THEN choosing a weapon. Starting a business, in this context (and in my opinion), is the weapon. If you have 12 months of runway I would start by really taking the time to learn who you are at a level you never have before. You lost your job, but you have gained an opportunity to find out what *you* truly want out of life and THEN figuring out what tactics you develop to move forward toward a life that is congruent with your values and interests.

If you are still looking to find a job and want to chat I'd be happy to offer up a "gifted" call to discuss. I have had some experience networking, moving within a company, and making an exit from the corporate world. I'm in Thailand now but I'm sure we could find a time. Just let me know.

If you have to choose between one or the other I would travel now and build something later. You'll have more experience and meet new people while you are away. There's really no "right" answer here. You've stumbled upon microsm of life. If you truly value travel but this startup keeps you in one location then maybe it's a sign that it's not the best for you. As Jim Collins says "a once in a lifetime opportunity is fact, but not a reason".

Just because your vision is idealistic doesn't make it unrealistic. I would talk to friends and get some really good feedback from them on what they see as your strengths (and weaknesses if you can stomach it), also pay attention to what strangers say about your strengths. I would take a myers briggs if you haven't yet and buy strengths finder 2.0 and get ideas from those areas to see what comes up and how it resonates with you. These results aren't set in stone (they don't DEFINE you), but they can be insightful and help you to understand how to line up your strengths with a gig that you would enjoy dedicating work/ energy into.

Finding something may take some time, but remember that this is a process and so is life. I would look at this journey as a big experiment with a bunch of smaller experiments along the way. You make a hypothesis, set up a test, gather data, you then learn, rinse and repeat.

Also, check this video out:
The key to transforming yourself -- Robert Greene
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gLt_yDvdeLQ