The success of a project does not depend on the developer alone mate, if it does, then there will be a lot of successful projects cus I believe no developer wants to start a project and fail on purpose,
The success of a project is tied to Many factors and this factors are all focused on one common goal, "success of the project", if one part does its job well and the other part fail in its duties, there's a chance the project might still end up a failure, and to give you a hint of what I mean, community is very essential to the success of any project just like the developers is.
I disagree on the statement
" I believe no developer wants to start a project and fail on purpose" why! Because to me it seems you are including those scammers in the equation,
Those developers with the intention to succeed will work hard together with the support of their supporters to see the project succeed,
That school of thought does not applies to those scumbags who develop a project solely to scam investors on a short term period,
Developers are of different category, you separate the good from the bad, not making a general statement that will classify all as same, because they are not.
Well, youve clearly said it yourself, what I said was on a general note, I know that there are many developers out there that start a project with the sole purpose of scamming people and closing the project as soon as their aim is achieved, I didnt want to dive into this details so I made my comment generally based on the serious ones who come into the space with all genuinty.