I’m no business expert, but this approach seems like a huge gamble to me. Why spend years building a project before the usefulness and public reception is quantified? I’d rather spend a hard few months building something that fails rather than an easy 6 years.
That's not the dichotomy though. Most businesses start with one or a few people making someting useful and building a larger business around it. Like a plumber who learns to specialize in new urban construction and makes enough connections as clients that he decides to hire two people to help with his work.
I don't disagree with you, and which is why I qualified my thoughts with a filter of a "large and growing market". Impossible to fail in such a market if your goal is not to be a billion dollar company.
