Generously, we're talking about ~$100/hour, my guess is it was actually a lot less than that, maybe as low as half or a third, and this is for an idea that got some traction.
That could be a good wage for some groups of people, but my guess is you'd find a much better one either a) growing something to a larger size or b) working for someone else.
If you're really interested in building these tiny products though, then it could be a way to support yourself doing what you're interested in. I just wouldn't generalize this strategy to "this is a good way to make a living".
On the flip side, I bet doing this sort of thing really sharpens the entrepreneurs skillset - identifying good ideas, quickly bootstrapping a product, and negotiating for funding, so I bet you're getting some pretty big personal levelups as you go.
Building something that people want and will pay for has a compounding effect far beyond trading time for an hourly rate.
Sometimes what you build can be early, and it needs to simmer for a while or flesh out. There is a real opportunity time cost for sitting on things to ripen that someone else may be in a place to work.
It’s really shouldn’t be worded as a backhanded compliment that if it’s really what you want to do. There are people who have built and scaled things and have decided what’s good for them, and how it’s good for them.
Having 10m on a 100m exit or 10m on a 30m exit, or 1m of 1-2m exit is all the same to the bank account, maybe not ones self image.
Being an exited founder at any dollar amount puts a person in very small company, and learning to exit small deals can also teach one to be prepared on what to look out for on the bigger deals. This is probably the biggest thing, if entrepreneurship is in your blood you want to make sure you’re well rounded and prepped for those biggest outcomes of your life.
Still, it’s fun to see what you’re made of and see how much you can make of nothing. One can imagine what is possible with $ efficiency.
Generously, we're talking about ~$100/hour, my guess is it was actually a lot less than that, maybe as low as half or a third, and this is for an idea that got some traction.
That could be a good wage for some groups of people, but my guess is you'd find a much better one either a) growing something to a larger size or b) working for someone else.
If you're really interested in building these tiny products though, then it could be a way to support yourself doing what you're interested in. I just wouldn't generalize this strategy to "this is a good way to make a living".
On the flip side, I bet doing this sort of thing really sharpens the entrepreneurs skillset - identifying good ideas, quickly bootstrapping a product, and negotiating for funding, so I bet you're getting some pretty big personal levelups as you go.