Or you start with $250 million in seed funding for a NASA deliverable. And deliver that on-time, on-budget, then use the profit to bootstrap your way into the

Or you start with $250 million in seed funding for a NASA deliverable. And deliver that on-time, on-budget, then use the profit to bootstrap your way into the next corporate / government contract until you have a) developed the necessary experience and b) acquired the necessary funding to tackle your real goal. Like SpaceX or one of the others is going.