It would make more sense if the example were of an app no one ever knew about, if that really was the case. His app provided more of a counterexample, if what you're saying is true.
I took the fact that his app became popular as a happy accident. That he made it mostly to satisfy himself, because he was, in his words, "scratching his own itch". That it worked out on the app store was just a nice benefit, but not really part of the motivation. Or such was my interpretation, maybe I have it wrong.
