Maybe the job was easy enough (takes little number of hours, OP mentioned "advising"), but is also interesting in some way and OP sees it as something that help

Maybe the job was easy enough (takes little number of hours, OP mentioned "advising"), but is also interesting in some way and OP sees it as something that helps them grow. The prospect of significant returns after some serious investor comes in later - but if one was not compensated before, that is unlikely to change even if big money comes along.