Just think about how much better you need to be than someone with actual credentials (e.g. PhD in machine learning and real presentable experience) and then ass

Just think about how much better you need to be than someone with actual credentials (e.g. PhD in machine learning and real presentable experience) and then assess whether you are good enough to compete with them. If you don't know how good you are relative to the competition with PhDs, then it would be worth it to have a discussion with people who have a taste for the field.