This has always been a labor of love for me — a computer nerd’s version of an art project — but eventually monetizing all my hard work  sharing these photos with the people of Earth was always part of the plan.

Here’s the thing… I’m a computer/database guy.  I learned enough about color correction to make sure I was right about these photos, but a pro with Photoshop chops could do it better and much faster.  I know enough about web design to build these demo websites, but they are more like PowerPoint presentations than a real gallery or online store.

I’ve never enjoyed sales and marketing, so I’ve never become good at them.  I’ve run a successful business before* and I learned that I’m not a particularly good boss or HR person.  I dread doing bookkeeping.

So I decided to do the fun parts and then offer APE^x as an entrepreneurial opportunity for somebody else to develop.  Along the way I have been taking notes about different ways to do that, but the goal of this website is to generate unbiased input so I won’t elaborate here.

In my perfect world I’d spend my time finding beautiful photos, then I’d turn them over to a production chain. I already have a backlog of 2,500+ promising images. That, and keeping up with the relentless flow of new photos from the ISS, would be a full-time occupation that I would enjoy.

* Peak $2.1M/year (in constant dollars) against expenses of 35%, based on a software product that I invented.