But the big issue here is the reason HIV and even the common cold is hard to treat -- high turnover and high rates of mutation.
So, even if you have Ab's and/or helper T cells (cell that remember an infection) against one or more strains of HIV, the presentation of the strain that an individual may pick up later on in life may be different and thus might not mount an immune response. Also of interest -- Helper T-cell sare the primary target of HIV.
In order to really determine if or not this vaccine is effective, we will have to observe the responses in people who have been given the vaccine and then contracted HIV later in life. While this is promising and will add another barrier against HIV, its unlikely to eradicate the virus.
To develop any product (tangible or virtual) you need manpower. You could code all you want and never complete the product. In order to execute an idea you need help and in order to execute big ideas, you need help from people with diverse skill sets. Its unlikely that you are going to be able to run the whole show and/or control everything.
Something that we never seem to learn (me included) -- You will get burned by implicitly trusting people. To succeed, make sure you put the trust in the right people. Josh, you had it right --- go with your gut, listen to that voice in the back of your head that is giving you hints that this person might not be the right guy even though he presents as a "superstar".
And you get almost 2.5x the cash compared to others. gotta love being able to survive on stuff other than ramen.