Worth pointing out that I didn't mean to imply that these skills have to be in separate people. A single person can be a developer, a salesperson, a manager, a

Worth pointing out that I didn't mean to imply that these skills have to be in separate people. A single person can be a developer, a salesperson, a manager, and a plethora of other things that are required to build a successful business. Most new entrepreneurs will not be competent in all those areas, but experienced ones will, I agree, have at least a baseline level of competence in all the key places (which includes sales and making things). That said, it feels like you might be the one generalising... I know some successful and talented entrepreneurs of both kinds. Some are generalists who do everything. Some specialise in what they're good at and partner up with others who make up for their gaps. In my own business (which I consider successful), I myself am clearly more on the build/delivery side while my cofounder is clearly more on the sales side. I can do sales (not very well), and she can write grant applications, but if we were to swap roles the business would die. So, both types of people can build successful businesses.