I'm with Toni C...it doesn't matter whether your bobbin lays flat in front of the needle (I actually prefer this location myself) or stands sideways underneath the machine...you can still pull up the bobbin thread with the upper thread. You also need to be sure the bobbin thread is making that U turn as it goes from the bobbin to the notch in the bobbin case. Sometimes I get mine in backwards which creates all sorts of problems.
But the main reason for the thread creating a tangle at the beginning of your stitching is not having both threads back or to the side where you can hold onto them for the first few stitches. Any time I forget to do that I have a mess (usually accompanied by much muttering and mumbling. LOL!) I'm starting to "chain" from one stitching line to the next without cutting the thread as much as possible.