At least for software, the vast majority are in some sort of niche you've either never heard of or thought about. Software for managing operating theater procedures, software for managing doctors/dentists, software for managing money exchanges, software for managing legal conveyancing, software for managing schools, etc. Those are examples from places that I've worked that were purely software shops, add to that just about any sizeable company in any industry that have software developers, everything from you pet food brand to your toothbrush manufacturer likely started outside of silicon valley, most without little to no venture capital.
They used to be called micro independent software vendors (mISV) and before the silicon valley gold rush this was the dream of young entrepreneurs.
Those are absolutely terrible companies for software developers to work for though. I have several family members that work for them. If you want average pay and the owners to take all the profits, go for it. Otherwise, work for FAANG, a great startup or a finance company (hedge fund or investment bank).
Nit: With some companies paying below average, too, by the very definition of the term 'average', and also because the sizeable handful of FAANG companies skews the average even higher.
I think that is sort of the point, though. If you are able to work/succeed at FAANG, you could build software in these niches quite profitably, because the competition is likely not all that good.
This is why I've been putting more energy into networking and finding the right partners - people who understand these niche problems, have an existing network to sell the solutions to and just need the technical team to build and iterate on the product.
Brainstorming is still important to me, but I'd rather brainstorm with a specialist. If any HNers fit the bill, please do send an email.
They used to be called micro independent software vendors (mISV) and before the silicon valley gold rush this was the dream of young entrepreneurs.