There are plenty of good brands out there aimed at more of a "starter" (lack of better vocabulary sorry).
Dk, Redline, GT and Haro. Just to name a few of the more common names, all have some really solid bikes that are good to race straight from the box. Many of those companies also do run the high end set ups, which is from memory what the Flight series is.
Then you also get other Brands like SE, Kuwahara and Chase . There are plenty of others out there, but that's a pretty solid chunk of the more common names you would find out there before going down the custom route.
Best thing I can recommend is, try both types out and see what you feel more comfortable on, which will lead to being more confidence.