> You may debate the merits of that argument and it doesn't take into account product maintenance and support–but I think there is some validity to it.

That's very true, but I'd also speculate that the vast majority of software products never pay back the flat cost of development.

IndieHackers is a compendium of founders who were successful enough to be worth interviewing, and even the vast majority of them make less from their projects than consulting can make.

> most SaaS/product success stories take the path of CONSULTING/AGENCY -> PRODUCT -> SUCCESS (e.g. Basecamp, SEOmoz, FreshBooks) but you rarely hear of the reverse

Arguably that's because it's so common that it's not worth talking about. I know tons of people who have launched projects which ended up failing, so they fell back on consulting revenue. Far more people than have successful side projects.