I remember from my time working in the US that you couldn't be too paranoid in the quarter in which you had the annual performance review. As a team was graded on forced distribution, team members were incentivized to screw over others competing for the tops grades. In other words, if someone with whom you seldom work suddenly wants to loop you into a project, you should be suspicious that it might be an attempt to blemish your perceived performance.
Wouldn't that just move the problem from dealing with visa and mastercard to dealing with the banking sector?
Isn't it challenging for, amongst others, adult entertainers, the legal marijuana industry and bitcoin/crypto currency businesses to maintain stable banking relationships?
Perhaps you are not good at just one thing, perhaps you need to find a focus area where the three topics in which you are interested are combined. Robotics springs to mind.
I too feel inspired by talented people, and stand in awe of experts. Through feedback from others, I found that I was rather good in an area I would never have expected earlier, namely managing people and later building teams and running projects/companies. Perhaps your true talent lies elsewhere as well?
A friend of mine has a VR start-up and has shown me some demos. Some of those were of concerts and parties. The experience is quite unique, especially when the camera is on the stage.
It is a unique experience and if done right, I would likely purchase recordings, even though I am quite unlikely to buy regular recordings of live shows.
Unsure if this would even be possible. Perhaps the following would be more effective/motivational.
Figure out whatever it is that the boy likes, whether is in relation to learning/reading or not, and give him a toy in that subject. However, when you give him that gift, tell him something along the lines of this: "What you are about to do, going back to school, learning something new, is _the most important thing_ you could do for yourself. Endeavoring to become the best possible version of yourself is the most noble pursuit for any person. I could have given you an education gift, something symbolizing the path upon which you are currently set. However, I am gifting you something of which I am told you are currently interested, because what we are celebrating here today is you, not just the path upon which you are currently progressing. We are celebrating 'you', and all of that you may become."
Anyway - just a thought, I am still learning how to motivate my own kids and have found similar approaches unexpectedly successful.
Have you checked what the local universities are working on?
Are you tied to your area?
You should probably try to meet new people and network. Try to learn enough about their businesses, challenges, etc. As soon as you understand their challenges sufficiently, and you know of some solutions, suggest them. Eventually you will find something interesting you could do for them, and take it from there.
EDIT:
of course, you should double check if there's nothing interesting you can do in your current company.
Also, network with the purpose to be helpful / find something interesting, not with the purpose to find another job. In case of the latter, people are likely to give you an introduction than to go in depth about what they are working on.
What is most fascinating about your first choice is that you received an offer after telling them you don't want to do the work. Do you know why they want to hire you despite this?
EDIT: Depending on their reasoning to extend you an offer, option 1 could be an excellent opportunity.
Based on my very limited experience, VCs ask for either a one-pager or a pitch deck to separate the wheat from the chaff. I assume very few people actually follow up and send the info.
In my experience, VCs usually respond relatively quickly (1 to 2 days, week at most).
If you're looking for funding, you should be pitching/trying to pitch to as many people as possible and listen closely to the feedback you're receiving. Don't wait for a single VC.
After a week or two, you can always send a follow-up with a friendly reminder. Maybe asking if he has an feedback on the deck.
