It is nearly impossible to have the impact required for these levels by building a thing yourself. These companies are too big. You can't just say "I built a be

It is nearly impossible to have the impact required for these levels by building a thing yourself. These companies are too big. You can't just say "I built a better database" because even if you somehow did to that you'd need to convince the company to shift to it. L9s are usually having industry-wide impact and that involves a shit ton of just talking with people and convincing them that your path through the forest is the right one. You need the right ideas, but you also need the skills to convince a whole bunch of smart people, often at other companies entirely, that your ideas are right.