I suppose easy and hard depends on who you are. Pre-2015 there were a lot of opportunities to get a running start without much investment. A cool new web-thing

I suppose easy and hard depends on who you are. Pre-2015 there were a lot of opportunities to get a running start without much investment. A cool new web-thing would spread organically, could be coded pretty fast, etc. Now, it's easier to raise money and use that to build a business. A not uncommon strategy is paying Google and Facebook $200 to acquire a $100. It loses money, but shows growth. For some people, the new way is easy mode. For a lot of people, the ability to raise, pay yourself a real salary and also recruit a well paid team is easy mode. For some people, three dudes and some ramen is easy mode.