Besides what SwellJoe said, another issue to keep in mind that most people who want to be new independent developers (at least in newer markets like the App Sto

Besides what SwellJoe said, another issue to keep in mind that most people who want to be new independent developers (at least in newer markets like the App Store) don't have the life experiences to have "problems" that they think they can solve with their programming skills. And even if they can think of one, thinking of a solution workable in scope for an individual or small team can be daunting, especially if there's any risk of legal fallout from attempting the solution. (I've been in both the private and public sectors for the last decade, and heading into experimental development on my own this summer. Even I'm having difficulty thinking of a first product meant to solve "real world" problems without having a company above me to provide a client base or agenda. Hence my first project after being out of self-development for a decade would mostly likely be some kind of game or toy.)