Yea, the problem with the "go work for the next FAANG" advice is that you need a crystal ball. For every person who got in early and held their stocks for a 20X gain, how many other people got in early at some other company that went nowhere, and they should have sold their stocks immediately? How do you know which kind of company you are at? You can't know until it happens.

I have always believed that stocks go up and down mostly randomly or at least non-deterministically, and anyone who tells you they can simply look at a company and know whether the equity will 20X or 1/20X is full of shit. Nobody has a crystal ball. Some people guessed right and some people guessed wrong.