My career has jumped between startups and FAANG-likes. All the wealth I ever built up was from stock options at the FAANG-likes. I've never made anything from the startups.
But the jump-steps in career advancement came from the startups. There's where I had huge opportunities to learn and grow and do new things. I learned and grew a lot at the FAANGs too (except Amazon), but the huge jumps came from startups.
In my n=1, FAANG-like stock options are the best way to grow your wealth.
And in the end, the answer (which works for 99,9 % of startups) is: Sell your startup as soon as some big name company pops up with an offer to buy your startup.
But the jump-steps in career advancement came from the startups. There's where I had huge opportunities to learn and grow and do new things. I learned and grew a lot at the FAANGs too (except Amazon), but the huge jumps came from startups.
In my n=1, FAANG-like stock options are the best way to grow your wealth.