I have a number of friends who started funds straight out of college. In almost all of these cases, these friends had been able to get in touch with wealthier,

I have a number of friends who started funds straight out of college. In almost all of these cases, these friends had been able to get in touch with wealthier, more established fund managers early on via the internet and have gotten their help with raising capital. So this wasn't a case of rich kids getting bankrolled by their parents. These guys don't come from money. One started out with $2M in AUM in NYC, lives with two roommates, eats tuna fish every day, and has no entertainment budget. He doesn't go out to bars but spends his time at the library, museum, parks, etc -- free stuff. But, that is the kind of sacrifice that has to be made in order to make living off of a $2M fund work. In the long run it makes sense because if you put up good returns, that $2M can scale fast. Two years into it, a friend that was managing $2M is up to $50M in AUM.