What you have to remember is the long term, not the short. Instead of looking for vets, look for players that do well but do not have a squad, theres plenty, and show them what you know, allowing them knowledge to make them better players, maybe they can give you tips themselves.

Eventually, you're going to have proto gear and will be able to keep up with the stronger players, remember this isnt a sprint but a marathon. You don't need to respec, because eventually you're gonna max out one area of your skills and then come back ones you've already started on, this gives you a place to start the next "profession".

Also, whilst your Corporation is small, seek allies, play with players that arent just in your corporation and work on communication with other corporations, we're mercenaries, the more people you know, the more likely you can get involved in contracts and earn yourself a reputation.

Organization is key as well. Having a corp that just runs together isn't going to be enough to compete with the top corps. OSG isn't the largest corp out there (We're quickly approaching 150 members) but we were semifinalists is the most recent player Tournament. With that said, we are constantly tweaking our squad composition, gear, position, tactics, and playstyle. A very high level of planning and discipline is what its going to take to stand against the big names out there.

It's not necessarily about SP or gear or even gun-game. All of those things help, but planning and tactics ahead of time are half the battle. I suggest you try to think more critically about what exactly you're doing and how you're going about it...because the enemy is doing the same. Check lines of sight, check ranges from points of interest, check spawn points, check your squad composition, ect. You need to have a deeper understanding of the more subtle aspects of gameplay and learn how to use them to your advantage.

If you ever want to drop by our public chat and see how we run things in battle, join OSGDD and ask it squad up sometime.

Best of luck man, I know raising a corp up from the ground can be a daunting task, but don't get discouraged, there are others out there that are willing to help, so dont be afraid to get some more hands on advice.