I think one of the causes for the endless stream of "I built a reddit/twitter/[x] clone in [y] hours" stories that pop up regularly is that many people often incorrectly attribute the success of businesses to that which is immediately apparent. They see reddit list stories in a certain way and assume that this is the reason it is so popular.

95% of discussion I have with non-entrepreneurs about my startup relates to things that they can see or grasp intuitively - for instance our design choices. Few understand that the code I write is just one of a myriad factors that will determine eventual success.