Enzyme isolation might be tricky, and unpredictable, but the equipment isn't particularly expensive. You can buy top-of the range equipment from various suppliers, or literally build it yourself. You could build a system like ÄKTA [0] yourself if you have a minimum of engineering knowledge. Or share a second-hand version with some other "biohackers".

The advantage that a bio-hacker might have, though, is in the ability to patent novel proteins or processes, and then trade those for further investment. The time-to-market for novel biological processes/inventions is far too long to expect a significant first mover advantage without significant financial backing and IP protection.

[0]http://www.gelifesciences.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/cata...