How much money would you be willing to spend from your own savings to start a business?
Are you the kind of person who believes in your dream enough to burn through most of your savings on it?
For millionaires, this might not be a big deal, but what about people with a typical 9–5 job? I see how much a solid marketing campaign costs on just one platform (often the monthly expense is equal to at least a full year’s salary).
The day before yesterday, a friend told me he and his wife are closing their restaurant, which they opened just six months ago. They had taken a loan for it, which makes it even worse.
How much of your own financial reserve would you be willing to spend before giving up?
[I think that I would go with $40,000.] 😅🙈
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I'd say this depends on what you're spending that money on, when (what stage), and what your signals are. So, if you come out strong and start dropping cash (because right now you have it) and miscalculate the actual runway you need, you're in for a rough ride. Double your runway, triple it.
As example, I get asked for tips by people looking to start a services practice, since that's what I've spent most of my career doing. Almost every time, they start with proudly showing me their brand, logo, website, asking about an LLC, etc. That's where I drop the bomb (not really, lol), this is lovely, but none of it matters if you don't have your first client and haven't really thought through your ideal customer, what they need, your pricing ...and that stuff is basically free. Every dollar you spend, if you really need to spend it, should be directly tied to getting your first customer(s). If you're not getting bites, go back to the drawing board, repeat until you do. All the rest is next phase. I say that not from 'on high', but from having been there and not done that.
Obviously, this changes a bit with SaaS or other tangible product, but the principle is the same; you invest small, iteratively, and in direct proportion to revenue. I'm back building after many years, so I'm mostly drawing from what I know well, which is services. So, YMMV ...possible wildly. ...in my opinion ...allegedly. 😅
minimalist phone: creating folders
@dorothy_m_danforth What service do you want to bring to the market? 👀
@busmark_w_nika Hey! Thanks for asking. :) Love the minimalist phone concept. I deleted all my socials except LinkedIn when I started building.
Well, I've spent 18 years doing innovation strategy for corporations. I help them figure out the value of new products when the market shifts. Right now the job market isn't just down, it's restructuring. I've been hearing from colleagues with 10, 20+ years experience out of work, sending resumes into the void, and having no idea why they're struggling all of a sudden after years of success.
So, I built a platform that does for individuals what I do for billion-dollar companies, reveal their strategic value in an uncertain market. It offers clarity, a plan, and tools to help them better tell their professional story.
Early days, but I'm quite passionate about it. What stage are you at with minimalist phone?
minimalist phone: creating folders
@dorothy_m_danforth Thank you, Dorothy. What do you mean by "restructuring"? I suppose that it is because of AI, or?
When it comes to mp – we are expanding to iOS from Android, so more work is related to technical stuff and development. :)
@busmark_w_nika Yes, exactly, AI and it's ripple effects. So restructuring that impacts the number of jobs available in certain fields and also what skills will be needed in those jobs.
Makers Page
I’ve bootstrapped everything so far, and I’d say I’m willing to risk as much as I can emotionally handle losing, not just financially.
For me that’s probably around $5k-10k enough to give something real momentum, but not enough to ruin sleep or savings completely.
Once it crosses into “can’t recover if this fails,” it stops being an experiment and becomes a gamble.
minimalist phone: creating folders
@alexcloudstar Now I understand why so many people want to raise money. It is financially safer. But not mentally, because you need to chase yourself to satisfy investors.
Makers Page
@busmark_w_nika Yea, never would be a win-win situation
@alexcloudstar Totally agree — but I think the limit also depends on the type of product. If you’re doing deep-tech or infrastructure work, the timeline to see any income is way longer, so it almost requires some capital investment. With a simple SaaS or B2C app, you usually need to make money fast or you’re out.
i would go with 25%
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@oussamahm77 I would risk less tbh :D
Cal ID
I’ve always been willing to risk enough to prove the concept, but not enough to stab my future.
For me, that’s typically 30–40% of my savings, I guess. If I see real traction and the idea’s worth scaling, I might double down. I think its better to spend on something you believe in instead of just regretting later with those "what if?" thoughts.
minimalist phone: creating folders
@sanskarix Some risks are worth it :)
Theysaid
Haha, great question, Nika! Honestly, I’d probably start confident, saying “I’ll invest everything I’ve got!” then open my banking app, see the balance, and quietly settle on… maybe $200 and a strong Wi-Fi connection
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@chrishicken Sometimes wi-fi is the only thing people have :D
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@hanesz So would you rather use only your work and time instead of money?
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@hanesz time = money
I can't burn through my entire savings but no risk = no reward. We're completely bootstrapping and we've spent over 7k and we haven't launched yet. This will definetly go up with advertising cost. I think my max would be 20k.
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@bettinagrillo Are you aiming for external funding (VC?)
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@bettinagrillo Sometimes it is better not to owe anything to anybody. :)
Depends how young you are. In your 20s you can loose it all without it mattering too much big picture. High risk ideas often pay off so long as you aren't playing lottery ticket odds.
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@vsteppp When you are a student living at your parents' house – yes. But it is more about the situation. When you are a student already living on your own, having a part-time job, the risk is higher. A lot of energy is drained as well.
@busmark_w_nika Most people aren't students for their entire 20s. Some aren't students at all! As you said, it all depends on your situation.
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@vsteppp TBH, studying gave me some time to make my dreams happen. :D so it was useful.
Well, it's alway better to go as lean as possible.
Initially most of your costs should be around product and very less on marketing
You would spending your money at all the wrong places if you have a budget for marketing before PMF.
P.S: We have launched and are live today, hoping to get closer to PMF
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@tej_sai It depends on how complex the product (and its development) is, but agree, the product must be great, and then marketing is more worth doing.
relayd
I recently asked myself the same question.
The answer for we: I need to stay afloat for roughly 1 to 2 years and have savings to cover that.
So yeah, somewhere along 30-50k I would say.
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@jannik_jung I like how strategically you look at it. I am the same mentality :D