I mean, maybe that's the way to go?
Custom aluminum frames that are geared towards top athletes (Elites, Elite-fast Masters & Juniors). The selling points can be all of the above.
The key would be to provide reassurance that aluminum frames are just as good using science, Morty.
Maybe provide head-to-head tests using the new aluminum frames against LOOKs, BTs, Felts, etc... whatever you can get your hands on. Measure stiffness, drag, etc...Hell, you could even do that
before starting the company to simply validate your ideas. Ask friends, teammates, etc... to loan you the top frames for testing. It would cost maybe $1000 in wind tunnel time. One set of wheels, one set of bars, one rider. Do deflection (stiffness) tests in a lab.
You can work with one person to design the bike then contract the manufacturing out to those who weld aluminum in your country. I knew a guy in Portland that did such work. He welded frames for electric bikes for some big company.
I know there was a guy here on BF that was looking to start a bike company that was focused on elites using aluminum bikes. He was in the prototype stage. Not sure what happened.