The problem here is that selling your closed source project requires a significantly distinct skill set from writing good code. I wouldn’t be surprised if the Venn diagram of a good project and being able to sell the project for a decent living is much smaller than 5%.

> The problem here is that selling your closed source project requires a significantly distinct skill set from writing good code.

Similar skill set as required to make money via open source code.

1. Write awesome code!!!111

2. ...

3. PROFIT!

isn't a business plan, regardless of whether you're writing open or closed code.

You're not making code for the sake of writing 'good code', whatever that means. You're writing code to perform some sort of function. Otherwise it's not something to earn money with, but a nerdy art project.

Sounds like providing that skill set would a good business opportunity.

Make it a SaaS!

Already done:

https://bytepack.io

By the same team behind Elixir/Phoenix no less

They're talking sales and marketing, not software packaging and delivery (which most software devs can do just fine).

I should add that I got excited for a moment at the thought of some one-stop shop for sales and marketing for software devs building a product.

But no, just packaging and delivery. Which is cool, and probably useful for some people. But it doesn't help address the biggest weak spot for solo devs, or small teams: sales and marketing.

Back in the days before the internet became a distribution platform, there actually used to be software distributors that acted like this, they would publish in hobbyist magazines as well as send out their own catalogs. Some were better than others and would get the small shops they represented to collaborate to make complementary products work better together. In those days you could be a one person shop and just write the software. I don't know how one would recreate that model in todays realities.

> I don't know how one would recreate that model in todays realities

Seems like a good opportunity for innovation.

That looks pretty cool! I'm surprised they only have enterprise level contact us pricing though, it'd be an interesting SAAS self-service product.

JetBrains Marketplace is like this. It's a store for plugins to their IDEs but they also say they'll do co-branding and marketing with you, you get access to their reseller network, they handle a lot of the accounting etc.

But it's just for IDE plugins. Not the rest.

6: release parts of your closed product as open source (saying it was sponsored by the company that sells the moneymaker, so not some dual licensing of the entire product)

- 5% chance you make a living etc + fame and glory