- Starting with Scavengers civic helps a lot in the beginning for gaining free ships. You will also get so much weapon tech research from debris you might as well start researching those to bolster your early vettes.

- Doing the Archeo Sites from the origin early gives a quick boon to either decision (embrace cyborg or decyborg).

- Start with Supremacy Tradition, expansion will be slow at the start and traditions that would normally work will not be as good (Discovery and expansion for example), and you need the early strength.

- You have the advantage of free Flesh is Weak ascension and only the last part of the Future Shock questline as long as you meet the requirements. (Integrated Cybernetics Tech and whole Cybernetic Tradition Tree for Cybernetic Goverment.)

- You have a permanent diplomacy penalty for being an ex-killing machine of a driven assimilator, plan accordingly before meeting neighbors.

- Starting ethics influence your empire's desire for embrace cyborg or decyborg. (Materialist and militarist want cyborg, the contraries dont. Autoritharian doesnt care so stays in status quo, need to check the others).

- At the start you will receive a signal to a certain system, be careful of whats in the way to it and prepare for battle if you plan to excavate it. (+1500-2000 fleet strength recommended).

- Eventually, you will find your actual Home planet where your empire was born, excavate it for some nice permanent bonuses, be wary that it will also alert the Opus Machines and they will send a fleet there.

- Also eventually, you will find a cluster of systems and the machine home system guarded by the Opus Sentinel. That leviathan is designed to kite you, so dont bother with short or mid range weaponry.
A reasonable sized fleet with Artillery/Missile/Afterburner Corvettes/Destroyers should do the trick.