You're Jaded (Score 1)

Sure a few corporate teams do well, but it's the mentors on the team that make the difference. Many of the big teams you're so [seemingly] intimidated by are fueled by some dedicated people who also happen to know how to effectively run design process and come up with a solution to playing and winning the game each year. There are many _very_ well funded teams who flop many more times than not. This year we ran with only around $14,000 ($9,000 of the 14 was corporate.) We won a regional, and were also a divisional finalist at nationals. 2 Years ago we also won a regional, and that same year two kids who absolutely worked their butts off won an animation award.