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What constitutes a "business"?

I think publishing an app or game isn't really a "business" except in rare cases where they can grow to support ongoing development and multiple people. Same with many open source projects.

Passion-projects like solo-games can take years before they manifest as anything public too, pretty easy to keep something like that private. If "pre-launch" projects were also considered a business.

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I agree with this. Create a MVP for a side business, build your email list of users, and iterate, iterate, iterate with improvements until people are beating your door down to pay for specific pro features. Offer to put people on a pro-version waiting list (for a specific dollar amount) and you'll know if you can expect enough money to make your exit worthwhile.

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