The Surprising Amount of Money That Most Entrepreneurs Start Their Businesses With A new survey from financial services platform Kabbage reveals just how low that number can be.

By Nina Zipkin

Burak Karademir | Getty Images

More than half of entrepreneurs launched their companies with less than $25,000 and a third started with less than $5,000, according to a recent survey of 600 small-business owners from financial services and technology platform Kabbage.

The study found that the most expensive types of small businesses to start are restaurants, medical offices and manufacturing firms-- 38 percent, 23 percent and 19 percent of the entrepreneurs of those businesses, respectively, reported that it cost them more than $100,000 to get off the ground.

Related: 5 Tips for Financing Your Startup

The three types of businesses that need the least amount of startup capital to afloat during the first six months are accounting businesses, online retail and construction and landscaping. Forty-five percent, 44 percent and 39 percent, respectively, said they only needed $5,000 or less during that very crucial period.

Sixty-five percent of entrepreneurs reported that they didn't feel that they had enough money to start their companies, and 93 percent said they'd predicted a run rate of under 18 months. Eighty-two percent said they didn't have enough experience to run their companies. But despite those feelings of imposter syndrome, Kabbage noted that all of those businesses are currently operating today.

Nina Zipkin

Entrepreneur Staff

Staff Writer. Covers leadership, media, technology and culture.

Nina Zipkin is a staff writer at Entrepreneur.com. She frequently covers leadership, media, tech, startups, culture and workplace trends.

Want to be an Entrepreneur Leadership Network contributor? Apply now to join.

Editor's Pick

Business News

JPMorgan Shuts Down Internal Message Board Comments After Employees React to Return-to-Office Mandate

Employees were given the option to leave comments about the RTO mandate with their first and last names on display — and they did not hold back.

Business Ideas

70 Small Business Ideas to Start in 2025

We put together a list of the best, most profitable small business ideas for entrepreneurs to pursue in 2025.

Business News

'More Soul-Crushing Than Ever': Popular Hiring Platform Finds Around 20% of Its Postings Were 'Ghost Jobs'

Is that job listing too good to be true? There's a one-in-five chance that it might be.

Business News

'Masculine Energy Is Good': Mark Zuckerberg Tells Joe Rogan He Thinks Companies Need More Aggression

On the most recent episode of "The Joe Rogan Experience," Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg said corporate culture has become "neutered."

Business News

Zillow Predicts These 10 Places Will Have the Hottest Housing Markets in 2025

Zillow predicted that the hottest housing market of 2025 will be Buffalo, New York. Here's why.

Growing a Business

5 Risk-Taking Lessons From Founders Who Bet Big and Won

Discover the bold moves and strategic risks that catapulted these entrepreneurs to success. Learn how their fearless decisions can inspire your own path to growth.