Bad example: in the given scenario, you would seek a patent and license the innovation to existing truck manufacturers. You capital worries go away. That said,

Bad example: in the given scenario, you would seek a patent and license the innovation to existing truck manufacturers. You capital worries go away. That said, I've many times been annoyed that I couldn't invest as a middle-class shmuck. Some companies I wished I could get on: AirBnB, GetAround, Occipital, Disqus, Twilio. Obviously I'm recalling w/ survivor bias, and there's no telling if those winners would have been happy to sell at a price I could afford (I don't have the juice VC/angel giants have), but I look forward to finding cos that I believe in and are happy to take my money. Edit: actually, I'll make a few prospective calls in case they want to call me: MindSnacks, Ask Your Target Market, Lovely, Beamit.