I'm really not convinced that bulbs is a good space for a small startup. It's the type of product that needs a lot of push behind it, and that's exactly what startups don't have.
I'm not convinced that it's an easy space either, but that's really all about the distribution channels. If you wanted to do this as a startup what you'd need to do is to lure away someone who's specifically connected in the lighting industry. I think access to the distribution channels would be much more important than money -- and I'm not even convinced that if you did have money that you could automagically solve the distribution problem. There are of course fabrication expenses, but I can only assume that the original poster has taken those into account.
Yes, you're right of course, distribution is another problem. I really don't see how something like this would work - if someone made me head of a light bulb startup and gave me $500 million, I'd still be quite lost as to how to go about doing things. I'd probably burn through a lot of money on consultants and all that.
I think some types of business are better suited to big companies, and some are better suited to smaller companies.
