The difference is the risk/reward ratio. During the California gold rush, around 300,000 came to hunt for gold.
Approximately all of them needed shovels, while approximately nobody (<1%) struck it rich. As an individual, you are far more likely to make a profit selling shovels than digging for gold.
It's almost as if there's a parallel to Silicon Valley and the startup scene here...
It's almost as if there's a parallel to Silicon Valley and the startup scene here...