You never win any games you don't play.
One thing we can all control is effort
If you have managers reporting to managers in a startup, you will fail. Once you get beyond startup, if you have managers reporting to managers, you will create politics.
Do the work. Out-work. Out-think. Out-sell your expectations. There are no shortcuts.
Once you have found out what you love to do, there is only one goal: to be the best in the world at it.
The sport of business is the ultimate competition. It's 7 × 24 × 365 × forever.