[furiouscowbell]

> a) the startup might hit it big enough to make you rich enough to have a lot of runway for your own project,

Do you also buy weekly lotto tickets and make wishes on falling stars?

> b) you might learn something about the process of founding and running a startup if you get enough personal interaction with the founders.

There are a lot of ifs and maybes in these statements. If you're lucky, you might get blessed with information, and that information may be meaningful for you. There's a fairly high chance that at the end of the day neither of these things will be true for most individuals.