<i>Plan that most of my competitors are better funded than I am</i><p>That should be your assumption anyway.  &quot;Hope for the best, plan for the worst&quot;.  Besides, most startups aren&#x27;t killed by competition, they&#x27;re killed by building a product nobody wants.<p><i>Compensate for those deficits before engaging in a startup</i><p>Again, anybody founding a startup already knows they are facing an uphill battle.  This article doesn&#x27;t present any data that would change that.<p><i>look for an angel investor (difficult, because there are none associated with my family or friends).</i><p>You think everybody who ever got angel investment got it because their friends and family knew angels?  How about going to entrepreneurial themed events in your area and networking and meeting angels, VCs, and other founders there?  Don&#x27;t live in an area with that kind of thing? Move.  (That&#x27;s what I did, FWIW).  Check AngelList and&#x2F;or  scour LinkedIn to find local angels, and find a way to work your way into an introduction to them.  Hint: founders of existing startups are often very open to helping new founders network and meet investors and what-not.  Cold email celebrity investors (low percentage, but Mark Cuban has done deals that came in as cold emails).  Apply to go on Shark Tank.<p><i>Be open to government policy proposals that would even the playing field - not to take it away from the wealthy, but to provide an on-ramp for the non-wealthy.</i><p>Meh. These kinds of policies may be well-intentioned, but most have unintended consequences that outweigh any good they do.