No. There has to be a day one for everyone, and no prior government contracting experience is required to join or to bid.
Past performance really means experience in the work you do, such as running campaigns, cleaning facilities, or delivering your service, not prior government contracts specifically. Your positioning is simply set differently depending on whether you have prior awards.
The system even includes fairness mechanisms for newcomers. Federal bid questionnaires ask whether you have an active contract, whether you have been awarded anything recently, and whether you have ever held a government contract. When other factors are equal, a bidder answering no can receive preference, because the government deliberately spreads awards around. That is the opposite of the private sector, where a lack of prior customers works against you.
Inside the program, everything is broken into step-by-step courses, templates, and checklists, and your mentor and account success manager tell you what to do next at each stage.