Well you have two primary types of non-technical people. Those who understand tech but can't write code and those who don't understand any of it at all but have ideas. It's the ones with just ideas that rarely (although it does happen) succeed. Your relative seems to be the kind that doesn't understand.

But I think there is a bigger problem here. Even if he doesn't understand the technical stuff, he SHOULD be able to understand what it should do, how it should solve the problem, and ways he can make money. You don't need to know a lick of code or any technical stuff to know what you want out of your product. I think the problem is a bit different than just feeling out of element.

As long as he genuinely wants to solve a problem and is actually innovative and passionate about doing it, money or not as a primary motivator is not the issue. The issue is whether or not he can figure out all the things he need to figure out as the business guy.