Making side projects isn't a trillion dollar industry tho, adding to the fact that we are facing another global supply chain crisis due to the Iran War; the US is about to commit the biggest self-own ever in the history of empire.
Apple was Woz's side project, once upon a time. Adsense came from Google's 20% time. Social media started as a side project.
Forests grow from trees. Trees grow from seeds. More potential seeds = more potential forests.
The question was "are side projects a trillion dollar industry" not "has a side project ever started an industry"
How much of a new $1T software product will anthropic capture in token costs, anyway?
But which self-own exactly do you mean, of the many there are?