I think a lot of people also get caught up in looking at people like you doing what you do and think that their only path forward is the same kind of 'sexy' projects that get 50k users overnight (without realising it took a decade of grinding to get there).
No-one wants to work on the unsexy problems for boring industries. Vet clinics, pest care, HOA/community management, self storage, funeral homes, linen rental - boring stuff through which billions of dollars are flowing.