I'm not sure which Unicorns are outside US or which one hire remotely... But there are a lot of them. InVision is the only one that comes to mind right now.
A growth mindset, having a plan, real effort and of-course some luck/support, are things that I believe in.
I suggest this thought-provoking TEDx talk:
The team I am currently on is finally using some AWS, but i feel the project level leadership is short sighted and the subject matter is extremely boring.
I heard a heartwarming story recently from Brandon Sanderson. He was saying in his writing class that a full-time writer has an advantage, but don't worry if you can't afford being a full-time writer! If you only write for 4 hours a week, after a year you would have a novel. You have even less time? It would take 2 years but you gonna have your novel eventually. The important thing is consistency...
As an outsider it's not my place to give you any advice. And I know it's not gonna be easy. But I want to encourage you to pursuit what you like to do! It maybe take more time but eventually it's achievable...
P.S. I don't have any technical background, but if you want to just chat with someone, we can be in touch on Discord... ;)