Originally Posted by Far-L

I figure it based on first hand knowledge and years of experience.

I started out as "talent" in this biz. I have done everything from picking up the condoms after the shoot... which is a serious lesson in humility... to owning a company that has a brand that is established worldwide with a name that means the same thing in any language.

I think someone can become reasonably successful with almost zero start up costs if they are also willing to perform on camera. Now you might not be including that arrangement in your foregone conclusions, but I have the benefit of intimate knowledge of that potential scenario for success and feel it should be included in the discussion.

I am not saying that is prerequisite, but it would be the way to reduce start up costs to almost zero. However, even a tiny production budget could yield enough success to grow into what Ruseful has achieved. He can say how cheaply he created those scenes, but I know how they could probably be done for even less.

On a side note,I don't understand what people are bemoaning here... I personally am glad that there are many that try but few that succeed and will not apologize for it or wish it were any other way; things are tough enough with the amount of smart successful people in the biz already...