Nika

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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Igor Lysenko

If I know that a product has a higher chance of success compared to others, I would definitely invest in it. The key is not to miss those opportunities and to do everything correctly, because that creates a lot of pressure.

Nika

@ixord I think that many would do the same if they knew that the product would be successful... the trick is that you do not know and many founders blindly believe :D

Igor Lysenko

@busmark_w_nika I don’t think we can ever say for sure that a product will be successful. There are always risks. Even when the chances of success seem high, things can still turn out very differently. However, I’m confident that striving to increase the product’s chances of success is definitely worthwhile

Ernesto Enriquez

Depends on a couple things. Being on the younger side, with no dependents, and a super supportive family safety-net, I'd go all in.

I wouldn't take out a loan. But that's a personal risk-tolerance stance. Also, you can't put a price on the amount of learning you get with founding a company.

Nika

@ernesto42 yup, when I was younger, I didn't have that money, so I would risk less (because I had nothing). Now it is better but I am more reasonable too :D

no half-acts; all in and then some or there's no point.

Nika

@ty_lerche Hazard player :D

Ton That Nam

I started my own IT platform (ai-imageeditor.com) with an investment of around $2,000 for equipment. I saved money by doing as much as possible on my own to reduce costs.

Nika

@tonthatnam do you have any users?

Hong Phat Ly

To be honest, I’ve launched 8 products solo and kept spending very low — only a few dollars for domains, no paid marketing yet. I planned for marketing later, once I’m ready to scale. 💪🚀

Nika

@1001binary and were such marketing-less launches successful?

Denys

In most cases I'm trying to keep budget in between $10-20k. It should be enough to create MVP and prove the idea.

Nika

@denys_kuzin1 Cool, I think this one is bearable :)

basepurpose

for a physical/retail business, yes. not that much with digital one yet. if i've control over supply chain, product procurement, local market dynamics, i can choose a product i know where to sell, whether wholesale or retail. i can put a substantial amount of savings in this, i know i can make it work with more hard work, travelling, and networking.

Nika

@basepurpose Ufff, I reminded myself why I do not want to run a physical business. 🙈

Jordan Longbottom
Most i've risked to startup for my businesses would be £200 ish. I love a good challenge. Easy way is to easy and I lose interest.
Nika

@listgenius 200 pounds is bearable and totally okay :D but it depends on the way how to use it :D

HARSH RAWAL

Around 70,000/- . I boot strapped my podcast.

Nika

@harsh_rawal1 Uff, that's pretty much $. But did you have it from any other previous business?

Harley Allaby

Currently bootstrapping. MY co-founders and I are investing enough to give us 6-months of runway. After that business has to cashflow.

It's risky, but so is waiting for the "perfect moment." I like to think "what will I regret more?" and in this case, I would regret never going for it.

There is no reward without risk.

Nika

@harleyallaby You need to be the type of person who enjoys risks. Not many "sane" people undergo it :D (I mean this positively) :)