You weren't meant to have a boss 18 years ago
Back in the 70’s I started a burglar alarm company - I had the knowledge and there was a need in my geographic area for another provider.
I’ve been self employed on and off ever since. At 63 I’m having trouble finding a new business to start, not because I lack the drive, or ability to start a company but in this location and economic times I’m having trouble finding a way to leverage my knowledge and abilities into a new endeavor.
I suspect that a lot of your programers just haven’t found their “big idea” yet. In computer related fields, the cost of entry is now so low that a huge percentage of programers have some idea they are playing with on the side. Like many actors, they will be overnight successes.