There are lots of small hybridizers doing great things with daylilies without spending a lot money. You just need to decide what form or forms you want to work with. You can't do them all and be successful, I tried that when I first started and ended up with mostly junk each year after planting, and trying to evaluate 10,000 seedlings each year. Focus on one or two things that YOU really like and not what the latest fad may be. Buy a few of the best you can afford to begin with and before long you will be working with your own stuff. As far as competing, I never looked at it that way, just do my thing and hopefully someone other than myself will like it.
