I have something to add to this conversation.
I think you are both right in some ways but I like the idea of alcurEX being a mixture of BTC-e and Mintpal most.

AlcurEX will offer leverage trades and this is a big feature which stands out from the rest.
But leverage is not a feature for the average Joe, it is a financial instrument which higher the risk.
It is a tool for speculators and because of this we should have coins which are mostly traded by them.

AlcurEX is not here to change the cryptoworld. Coins like AUR will rise and fall and as a good exchange you should give your user a possibility to profit from this.

I neither like this idea of heaving only 5 trading pairs nor having 50+
There should be a balance to keep this exchange something valuable.

Heaving the biggest coins by volume is a good way to start.
Another thing should be a fast behavior when it comes to new and promising coins which are not listed on bigger exchanges.
Very important is to remove dead markets of the exchange to keep the amount of all trading pairs at a low level.

We need to set some rules for this topic by voting and then everybody can decide if he/she wants to sell their shares