[jsdalton]

Well, if you go back and read the article, they actually offer no useful information or opinions about why Tapbots might have been successful, other than the fact that it's "two guys in a basement" as opposed to some big VC-funded venture.

What gets my goat about this article is that they treat this like it's some novel idea -- as though there are not hundreds and thousands of hackers toiling away after hours and on weekends (yours truly included), to the chagrin of wives and girlfriends everywhere, trying to put together awesome applications without any kind of funding or outside help whatsoever.

Highlighting the fact that one company succeeded with this approach is not merely useless, it probably only solidifies the unfortunate myth that all it takes is a little pluck and a lot of sweat to be successful in an endeavor like this.