One of my mentors told me, holding my grant application in his hand: "This (the funding org) is a mafia. Do you know how you fight the mafia? You build your own

One of my mentors told me, holding my grant application in his hand: "This (the funding org) is a mafia. Do you know how you fight the mafia? You build your own mafia." Project is going like gangbusters, no government money.