If your competitors are VC funded you are going to have very hard time competing unless you are already very established. You can have smarter founders or whate

If your competitors are VC funded you are going to have very hard time competing unless you are already very established. You can have smarter founders or whatever, but VC company can hire very smart people as well. With how ubiqutous VC funding became in recent years, only small market niches are "viable" for non-VC funded startups. VCs will often still fund small market niches if they believe they can expand easily.