Once upon a time, I found a software product I really liked. I emailed the (very small) company and asked if I could intern, and they said yes. A year later, I

Once upon a time, I found a software product I really liked. I emailed the (very small) company and asked if I could intern, and they said yes. A year later, I did it again, with a different company. I only tried this twice, and it worked both times. In both cases, I was paid enough to cover expenses, and the second company offered me a job. You could probably start by doing the same, but be clear "remote only".