You're right to be skeptical when costs are omitted. Skepticism is especially warranted when you're looking at a standalone company. However, cost estimation ca

You're right to be skeptical when costs are omitted. Skepticism is especially warranted when you're looking at a standalone company. However, cost estimation can be a bit of a dark art, especially for side projects. Sure, the article would be better if we at least got the readily available vendor cost information: hosting, contractors, etc. That still wouldn't tell us everything though: cost of the owner's time, cost of failed prior projects, etc. In short, generating a total cost estimate involves multiple choice variables. At any rate, do you believe his recurring costs, however you quantify them, are likely to be anywhere near $20k a month? It seems very likely that this is a profitable venture.