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Why compare a tradesman to a software entrepreneur? The tradesman sells his skill and labor in exchange for money. A more direct comparison would be a SWE selling his skill and labor in exchange for money. Or, a manufacturing entrepreneur creating a product and selling it. In both apples-to-apples cases they either make money on day one, or it takes a long time to make money.

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I do agree with you, it's just the wording in the parent made it seem like a different scenario. When a software friend of mine says "I'm starting a business", I get a very different picture than a software friend of mine saying "I'm starting consulting". If a tradesman says "I'm starting a business" I envision him still doing similar work, but also finding clients, figuring out contract details etc.

The apples to apples comparison that pops to mind is a tech consultant. Where you own a client funnel and have some potential to scale and delegate. How hard is it to create this client funnel in IT vs manufacturing?

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