I have done a handful of side projects that have lost money and lots of side projects with time spent on something that has not be productized.
I don't really thing you should do a side project with the anticipation of making money.
My focus on side projects is doing R&D and building skills or tools that will pay off in my paid work. From that perspective I don't really consider anything I have done to be a "loss."
I do open source but only to demonstrate something I plan to sell later or to establish ownership of IP.
Spending money on R&D is a great investment since you can deduct on taxes and get an automatic 30% return. That is much higher and guaranteed return compared to "investing" in stock market.
I don't really thing you should do a side project with the anticipation of making money.
My focus on side projects is doing R&D and building skills or tools that will pay off in my paid work. From that perspective I don't really consider anything I have done to be a "loss."
I do open source but only to demonstrate something I plan to sell later or to establish ownership of IP.
Spending money on R&D is a great investment since you can deduct on taxes and get an automatic 30% return. That is much higher and guaranteed return compared to "investing" in stock market.