I don't think most technical startups are that interesting (especially as a non technical person) in a pure 'solving the problem' way. What makes it interesting

I don't think most technical startups are that interesting (especially as a non technical person) in a pure 'solving the problem' way. What makes it interesting is all of the real world variables that come with it. Admittedly I'm not personally a technical person (I studied marketing and now work in sales), but as an example, just as I find it more interesting to work on the creation and process of making real world advertising than it is to do pure academic 'marketing' research. Patrick McKenzie has an interesting bit on how running a software company is something like 90% not coding. That's where the interesting bit comes in, the actual business that surrounds it all. But I think it all ultimately comes down to how are personally wired. Some people prefer working on pushing the limits of theory, others work on practical application, and some people work in the middle somewhere. All are good!