[einpoklum]

> How I failed 5 side projects in 6 years, earning $0

Not earning money is not a failure. Wasting time on non-free software the purpose of which is making money - now that's unfortunate.

My advice to that guy would be:

* Write software you need personally. You will at least have one happy user - and if you write something you like, other people will probably want to use it too.

* Think of the software needs of people you know - in your family, physical community, or online communities - and see whether you can't help implement it or adapt/improve existing software for that purpose.

[Dylan16807]

> the purpose of which is making money

Most software that's capable of improving lives is capable of making money, isn't it?

> non-free software

I really doubt that throwing it up as open source would fix anything.

And if you remove those two factors then all that's left is "that's unfortunate".

[einpoklum]

> I really doubt that throwing it up as open source would fix anything.

You're probably right. What I'm saying is that the cause for embarking on a software project should be different. If you write software to address needs and desires, then you're more likely to succeed in doing that. And maybe you'll make money off it somehow, or maybe not.

[hvasilev]

> Wasting time on non-free software the purpose of which is making money - now that's unfortunate.

This sounds very ideological. It looks like a personal trap that you might fall in the future. Be careful.