So yes, I did, and yes, their docs suck (better documentation is on their roadmap).
There's a really good guide here on Lemmy that I recommend instead. https://lemmy.ml/post/25006407
Following this I had it up and running in no time. Check the comments as well, I added some notes on getting attachments working. If you're still having issues shoot me a message and I'll try to help.
I'm not sure what would make you think the "customers" for an enormous DNA database were the people providing the DNA.
Those people were just paying to be the product.