Here are some of the options I considered:
* FAANG: Graduate, get a job at FAANG and start saving/investing. Probably the safest but not the easiest for someone without a visa. I already tried to get an internship but got stuck on the team matching at Google and didn't get called on the others.
* Software outsourcing: Leverage the fact that I live in a third-world country and build a software outsourcing business, start as a freelancer until I can hire people and delegate the work. Probably the easiest one to start but hard to scale well (finding enterprise grade work is hard). This year I started freelancing for a few months and made around 10k, which is decent for the amount of work I put in but I found it very hard to scale it.
* Product startup: A lot riskier than the other options but with a bigger yield (if it happens). They are also more interesting.
I would like to completely focus on one option so I can work towards my goal. However I can't decide which one would give me a better yield/probability, I appreciate any new input.
Get the job with big tech if You can, then make small to medium investments in other ventures that are not going to cause conflict with your employer.
If You can't land the big tech job You can still go for your 2nd option, and still invest in other enterprises. You also shouldn't limit yourself to just software. If your cousin or anyone else for that matter, that You know and trust wants to start a dog walking buisness for example. But they need funds for leashes, a pooper scooper and whatever else, You could invest in or start a partnership with them as long as they have a solid buisness plan. I just used dog walking as an example. There are tons of opportunities out there, especially if You are in a developing country. Ideally choosing ventures that will require none or very little of your time.
You won't get rich off any one venture and some You may even lose on, but just as a farmers success depends on how many seeds they have in the ground, the more enterprises you invest in or stack, the greater your chances of success.
This strategy will make You financially resilient, which IMHO is much better than being financially independent.
What were your exact issues (so we can help)?
My suggestion to scale is to find people to work for or with you. Essentially create an agency for yourself. If you want to create a formal business fine or if for now you want to sell "your" services and have trusted friends do your overflow work that is fine too.
Hire people to find customers for you (via e-mail, etc) but then you are the one who shows up for the face to face (your employee pretends to be you for initial outreach).
Hire a general purpose assistant to do things.
Upwork, Fiverr, FlexJobs, Freelancer etc.
Tip: assuming you're legit charge MORE money than your competition.
re: product startup well do you have an idea? lol