FWIW, back then my friends sounded a lot what you are saying. Oh it's too hard. Oh you'll be up against big boys.
And I didn't do it b/c I'm a bit of a perfectionist. Uber did it. And, from what I understand, they did it by hiring someone off an offshore programming website. MVP.
And they built the human pyramid. That's what you need to do to retire. Build a human pyramid.