[mingus68040]

But what's the point of starting a business if it can't generate revenue? Getting to that point definitely takes capital; even if you've already built the product, the marketing and sales costs of introducing a new product in an existing large market are significant. Otherwise you're just gambling with the opportunity cost of your time on the hope of an effective word-of-mouth campaign.

[88e282102ae2e5b]

That's all true, but the question is why is this more prevalent among programmers than any other group. That opportunity cost is really quite cheap for most programmers, especially if you just enjoy the work. Worst case scenario, you can add something to your resume.

[mingus68040]

With salaries of over $100k available to programmers, I'd say the opportunity cost of a startup venture is pretty high. It takes years of determination and time for a startup to pay off, and most do not.

[keithblaha]

> the marketing and sales costs of introducing a new product in an existing large market are significant

Many side projects don't target existing large markets. Bootstrapping is a real thing that people do too, even in large, existing markets.