The thing about funded startups is that their founders have a lot of access to capital. Whether that's through their educational or family connections, (almost)

The thing about funded startups is that their founders have a lot of access to capital. Whether that's through their educational or family connections, (almost) every startup you see starts with someone who can make a few phone calls, have a few meetings, and raise $200k. Making interesting/important tech isn't usually the way that people get funding. It's more about finding a strong business need and working up a product to meet that need. Here again access matters: if you're not able to call on half a dozen CTO's to tell you about their challenges, you're gonna struggle to meet a need.