I can’t figure out how they add up to a good income.
I don't think anyone claimed they worked. Here are some statistics for new high-tech companies. Two years after being founded 5% have become successful businesses (traditionally sold to Microsoft or IBM), another 5% are barely breaking even, and 90% have gone bankrupt. Now these stats are obtained from venture capital companies, so they represent the ideal starting point for a company, with available funds and a professional board of directors.So your observation about betting against those odds, when you have a family and other financial obligations is correct.
What am I missing?
A budget, for starters. Once you get the numbers down on paper, you can figure out how much money you need, and lay down a strategy for how to achieve this. Our initial budget is about $220.000 USD, for the 13 months, which is covered by venture capital. If you have less than that, there's definitely something you're missing. At preset, I am doing this with a friend who suggested doing a Match-3 game because they seemed to have an enduring popularity.
I wouldn't bet on match three type games myself.What you need is a fresh idea and a niche market that you can dominate quickly. You don't necessarily need to be totally original but you do need an understanding for competition parameters and value disciplines, and which ones you think gives you the edge over the competition.