Convincing professors to help with the founding of new university

There are a number of issues here:

1. The new university probably isn't accredited (yet?) and is for-profit (at least that's how I interpret "this does not mean it is non-profit"). In principle a for-profit, unaccredited university could be innovative and wonderful, but it will face a lot of prejudice because most such universities are not.

2. Joining a new venture like this involves putting a lot of trust in the people who are running it. If they turn out to be crazy or dishonest, then everyone involved will look bad. It's difficult to reach this level of trust, and almost impossible starting with e-mail from a stranger.

3. Advising research students takes time and effort. It's not just a matter of proposing a topic and waiting for the thesis to come in; instead, there's a lot of advising and mentoring. This is a major commitment, and I wouldn't want to have my name associated with something like this unless I was doing everything necessary to help the students succeed. Some of your comments (such as "virtually no need of professors until it comes to marking theses" or "we need academics associated with the university for the sake of the application, even if its only in name") sound like I would be setting students up for failure or misleading them as to my level of involvement.

4. Time is a major limiting factor. If I had all the time in the world, then I would cheerfully volunteer to help with all sorts of things. As it is, though, there are a lot of students at my own institution who seek supervision, and working with them in person is more satisfying and productive than supervising someone over the internet. If I maintain my current level of engagement with students in person, and add internet activities, then what am I going to cut? It's not enough to make a case that participating in this new university is valuable. Instead, you have to make the case that it is more valuable than whatever I might be doing instead, such as research or family time.

5. What you describe comes across as saying professors aren't really necessary except for validating research output and ought to be willing to do that for relatively little money. This philosophy won't be popular with many professors, who would like to believe they engage in plenty of crucial activities. If this isn't the impression you would like to convey, then you need to modify your sales pitch.