It seems you are overestimating the difficulty of getting into a FAANG. The hiring is highly optimized and standardized to attract non-experienced folks which

It seems you are overestimating the difficulty of getting into a FAANG. The hiring is highly optimized and standardized to attract non-experienced folks which means a rigorous 3 month diet of leetcode and grokking-the-design-interview puts you on very serious chance of making serious mullah in total comp (plus benefits, perks, good work life balance etc). But you are on spot on. 99% of the time startups wont make you rich and their biggest attraction by far is working on things you are care about and are interested in which you know you wont get at a BigCo (unless you are very very lucky to be working a hot new product blessed by someone high up). So if "interesting" things are what you want to work on why not just do a side project. This wont make you rich but atleast puts you on the path of producing "small" things to build your brand. Prioritizing 5-10 hours a week is not hard. Key is prioritizing.