Noob question but if you've already bootstrapped your startup, aren't you ahead of the competition and likely to get the funding, instead of the funding going t

Noob question but if you've already bootstrapped your startup, aren't you ahead of the competition and likely to get the funding, instead of the funding going to your competitor. Just trying to understand the context here: your competitors apply/get-approved before you do, or is it that you don't want to take the funding? (or something else going on).