These days, you can start a successful internet business in your basement with just a computer. Nobody has to see you, your clothes, or your bad manners. You don't need a university education, though you can get one for free online as needed.
Sure, you will be able to point to many people who have managed to do it. But many, many others have tried and failed - through no fault of their own.
The parent I replied to says you're 16. You're not working 50 hours etc.
At the same time, do you think the average income of a given internet business--let alone the segment that are run by solo entrepreneurs in their basement with just a computer and a $5 droplet--compares positively to the salary of the average CS graduate? Because we're talking about inequality, not asking "can poor people possibly make money online?"
The fact that the internet has made things better does not mean the problem is solved.
Even if you fail (and you probably will) what you learn from it will position you much better when trying again. It often takes multiple failures before making it work. (Even Gates/Allen had business failures before starting Microsoft.)
> does not mean the problem is solved.
Most people don't recognize opportunity because it comes disguised as hard work :-)
This kind of can’t-do attitude really saddens me. I see it all the time in these discussions about wealth inequality.
The idea that someone somewhere can probably maybe might be able to make this work does not make the case that people have opportunity.
But if you have a library nearby, that can take care of a lot of the concerns you’re talking about. Before the pandemic, I frequently worked out of one. Your hypothetical 16 year old likely has a suitable spot at their school.
You really don’t need an existing network to get a business started. You can find initial users on Internet forums, or reach out to people on LinkedIn.
There are quite a lot of successful small saas startups that took no funding. Are you familiar with microconf? The business of software conference?
It might seem rare if you don’t know anybody doing it, the knowledge isn’t evenly distributed. Doesn’t mean it is rare.
But what about advertising? Branding? Anything that a $5 droplet can do, someone else's product can probably do too -- you don't have the tech advantage. Do you stand out with UX? By doing the legwork yourself? All of these take manpower, and that means capital.
It's not the website that costs money to make; it's making that website profitable.